Hot Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now

The heyday for refiners is far from over, says Igor Greenwald of Personal Finance, who discusses a couple of names from the industry that still have great potential.

Record refining profits are showing no letup. We're taking advantage of this multi-year window to add HollyFrontier (HFC) and Tesoro (TSO).

Tesoro has been the standout year-to-date with a gain of 29%. Meanwhile, HollyFrontier is the clear refining laggard, with a 41% one-year gain, and now down year-to-date. Despite its startlingly strong fundamentals, HollyFrontier has been plagued by fears that its future isn't as rosy as its past.

Investors are obsessed with the titanic efforts to move the millions of barrels of crude flowing out of tight oil formations in the North American interior to the largest and most complex refineries on the Gulf Coast. The effort is already driving up costs for HollyFrontier, whose mid-continent refineries used to have fewer viable competitors for the cheapest crude feedstock.

Top Computer Hardware Companies To Buy Right Now: Whole Foods Market Inc.(WFM)

Whole Foods Market, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of natural and organic food supermarkets. The company offers produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, and vitamins. It also provides specialty products, such as beer, wine, and cheese; body care and educational products, such as books; and floral, pet, and household products. As of February 9, 2011, the company operated 302 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams, Travis Hoium, and Alex Planes]

  Next, I envisioned Starbucks as an emulator that saw a concept from another vendor and ran with it. This is what prompted Starbucks to develop its own single-serve brewing and espresso machine known as the Verismo to take on Green Mountain's dominant Keurig system, and this is also what drove it to emulate Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) by striking deals with local and organic growers to bring more nutritious food choices and drinks into its stores.

• [By Joe Tenebruso and Richard Engdahl]

  You may have heard your friends refer to Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM  ) as "whole paycheck," in reference to its high prices. Whether that's a bad rap or not, perceptions can damage a brand. But can the grocery stalwart clear out this bruised fruit without getting into a defensive price-war?

Hot Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Thalman]

  A few Dow losers
  Shares of both Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) fell by 1.25% and 1.11%, respectively, today. With neither company having yet announced first-quarter earnings (Merck is scheduled for May 1 and Pfizer for April 30), investors pounded the drug companies after Bristol-Myers Squibb reported that sales fell 27% in the first quarter this morning. Bristol-Myers did match analysts' earnings-per-share estimates at $0.41 per share, but it missed on revenue. Two of the company's big drugs, Plavix and Avapro, saw their shares fall 95% and 78% during the quarter because of generic competition. With Merck and Pfizer also fighting the patent cliff, this is probably one reason investors are selling today. �

• [By Max Macaluso, Ph.D.]

  The following segment from this week's show focuses on Merck's (NYSE: MRK  ) billion-dollar type 2 diabetes drugs, Januvia and Janument. The growth of these blockbusters have helped Merck offset some of the recent losses it faced from the patent cliff, but sales have started to slow down and a study published this year in JAMA's�Internal Medicine suggests that these drugs may increase the risk of pancreatitis. What should Merck shareholders be watching going forward?

Hot Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: S&P GSCI(GD)

General Dynamics Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides business aviation; combat vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions; military and commercial shipbuilding; and communications and information technology products and services worldwide. Its Aerospace group designs, manufactures, and outfits various large and mid-cabin business-jet aircraft; provides maintenance, repair work, fixed-based operations, and aircraft management services; and performs aircraft completions for aircraft. The company?s Combat Systems group offers tracked and wheeled military vehicles, weapons systems, and munitions. Its product lines include wheeled combat and tactical vehicles; battle tanks and infantry vehicles; munitions and propellant; rockets and gun systems; and axle and drivetrain components and aftermarket parts. This group also manufactures and supplies engineered axles, suspensions, and brakes for heavy-load vehicles for military and commercial customers. The company Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  General Dynamics Corp.(GD) said it swung to a fourth-quarter profit, while revenue edged up modestly. Results topped expectations, but shares edged down 1.8% to $93.55 premarket.

• [By Rich Smith]

  The Department of Defense ended the week with a bang (if you'll pardon the expression) on Friday, awarding no fewer than 29 separate contracts worth more than $951 million in aggregate. Publicly traded companies securing contracts included:

Hot Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: AeroVironment Inc.(AVAV)

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, and supports unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and efficient energy systems for various industries and governmental agencies. Its UAS provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, including real-time tactical reconnaissance, tracking, combat assessment, and geographic data to the small tactical unit or individual war fighter. The UAS wirelessly transmit critical live video and other information generated by their payload of electro-optical or infrared sensors directly to a hand-held ground control system, enabling the operator to view and capture images during the day or at night on a hand-held ground control unit. AeroVironment also provides spare equipment, alternative payload modules, batteries, chargers, repair services, and customer support for the UAS. In addition, the company produces industrial productivity and clean transportation solutions for commercial and government customers, develops potential clean t ransportation solutions, and performs contract engineering services; offers PosiCharge electric vehicle charging systems for industrial electric material handling fleets, electric vehicle charging systems for passenger and fleet vehicles, and power cycling and test systems for developers and manufacturers of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as battery packs, electric motors, and fuel cells; and supplies power cycling and test systems to research and development organizations that focus on developing electric propulsion systems, electric generation systems, and electricity storage systems. It supplies its UAS primarily to the organizations within the United States department of defense. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Monrovia, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, unmanned aerial vehicle specialist AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

• [By Rich Smith]

  California-based AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV  ) continues its relentless march -- or the airborne equivalent of a march -- to raking in every last cent of the $65.5 million the Pentagon has awarded it to produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the U.S. Army.

• [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]

  AeroVironment Inc.'s(AVAV) fiscal third-quarter profit nearly tripled as the pilotless-drones maker reported a sharp jump in revenue and booked a gain on an investment. Adjusted profit and revenue results for the latest quarter easily exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Shares climbed 10% to $34.90 in light premarket trading.

Hot Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now: Cloud Peak Energy Inc(CLD)

Cloud Peak Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in coal mining operations in the Powder River Basin of the United States. It produces sub-bituminous steam coal with low sulfur content for electric utilities and industrial customers. The company owns and operates Antelope surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; the Cordero Rojo surface coal mine located to the south of Gillette, Wyoming; and the Spring Creek surface coal mine located in Montana. It also owns a 50% interest in the Decker surface coal mine located in Montana. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 970 million tons of proven and probable reserves. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Gillette, Wyoming.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) have fallen 3.3%, for instance, while Peabody Energy has dropped 12%, Alpha Natural Resources has plunged and Arch Coal (ACI) has plummeted. Consol Energy (CNX), which is as much a gas company as a coal miner, has gained.