Best Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Tuesday, as global investors look ahead to U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen's first public remarks later in the day. The Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) rose 0.7% to 21,722.66. Asia's largest oil and gas company -- PetroChina Co. Ltd (HK:857) (PTR) -- climbed 2%, after the company said it has found a large natural-gas reserve in China's southwestern Sichuan basin, with 308 cubic meters of technically recoverable gas. Cnooc Ltd. (HK:883) (CEO) , China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, jumped 3.3%, while top refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (HK:386) (SNP) also added 1.6%. Oilfield-equipment shares also benefited from the rally, as China Oilfield Services Ltd. (HK:2883) (CHOLF) gained 1.7%. Huadian Fuxin Energy Corp. Ltd. (HK:816) , the renewable-energy unit of Chinese state-owned power giant China Huadian Corp., jumped 3.2%, after the company said last week it had raised 1.18 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $152 million) through a sale of shares to institutional investors. Waste-management and energy company China Everbright International Ltd. (HK:257) (CHFFF) advanced 2.4%, and China Datang Renewable Power Co. Ltd. (HK:1798) tacked on 1.3%. On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP) inched up 0.1% at 2,087.05, with Foshan Haitian Flavouring & Food Co. (CN:603288) jumping 44% in its debut, prompting a temporary trading halt.

Best US Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Shoe Carnival Inc (SCVL)

Shoe Carnival, Inc. is a family footwear retailer. The Company offers customers an assortment of dress, casual and athletic footwear for men, women and children with emphasis on national and regional name brands. The Company�� stores averaged approximately 10,800 square feet, ranging in size from 6,000 to 26,500 square feet. As of January 28, 2012, the Company operated 327 stores located across 32 states and offered online shopping at www.shoecarnival.com. Its average store carries approximately 28,500 pairs of shoes in four general categories, such as men��, women��, children�� and athletics. In addition to footwear, its stores carry selected accessory items complementary to the sale of footwear.

The Company operates a single 410,000 square foot distribution center located in Evansville, Indiana. Women��, men�� and children�� non-athletic footwear categories are further divided into dress, casual, sport, sandals and boots. It classifies athletic shoes by functionality, such as running, basketball or fitness shoes. During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), athletic styles, including children�� sizes, have represented approximately 50% of its footwear sales.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Monday

  Earnings Releases Expected: FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX), Goldmans Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAN), Thor Industries, Inc. (NYSE, THO), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD), Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) Economic Releases Expected: Spanish manufacturing PMI, French manufacturing PMI, German manufacturing PMI, eurozone manufacturing PMI, British manufacturing PMI, US ISM manufacturing PMI, Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision.

  Tuesday

Best Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014: ADDvantage Technologies Group Inc.(AEY)

ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, distributes and services a range of electronics and hardware products for the cable television industry. The company provides new, surplus-new, and refurbished products in various brands, including Cisco, Motorola and Arris Solutions for use in connection with video, telephone and internet data signals. It offers headend products, including digital and analog satellite receivers, integrated receiver/decoders, demodulators, modulators, antennas and antenna mounts, amplifiers, equalizers, and processors for signal acquisition, processing, and manipulation for further transmission; fiber products comprising optical transmitters, fiber-optic cable, receivers, couplers, splitters, and compatible accessories for transmitting the output of cable system headend to virus locations using fiber-optic cables; and access and transport products, such as transmitters, receivers, line extenders, broadband amplifiers, direction al taps and splitters for use in permiting signals to travel from the headend to their destination in a home, apartment, hotel room, office or other terminal location. The company also provides customer premise equipment consisting of digital converter boxes and modems to receive, record, and transmit video, data, and telephony signals; and hardware equipment, such as test equipment, connector, and cable products. In addition, it offers Fujitsu Frontech North America encoders, decoders, and other media solutions products primarily for use in the broadcast industry. The company markets and sells its products to franchise and private MSOs, telephone companies, system contractors, and other resellers primarily in the United States, Canada, Central America, Mexico, and rest of South America. ADDvantage Technologies Group, Inc.was founded in 1989 and is based in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] through some changes now ��due to a new (adverse) agreement with Cisco (CSCO). But, historically, it competed on delivery alone. By having products in stock and ready to ship ��their motto is ��n hand on demand����ADDvantage could compete with original equipment manufacturers even though those manufacturers could sell the same product (in large numbers and slow delivery times) for much less.

  That's my biggest concern with whether an industry is easy to understand or not. If a competitor offers to sell its product for 5% less than you charge, how do you respond? Do you have to respond? Can you ignore price competition like that?

  Now, there are obviously industries where price competition is critical and yet the business is easy to understand. Groceries, auto insurance, etc. Even the deposit gathering aspect of some banks is very simple and easy to understand.

  The lending part��not so much.

  My concern is a durable competitive advantage. Something that I can recognize. I have to be able to understand it. In some sense, to actually imagine it. There are many companies with competitive advantages that are just too esoteric for me to understand. I�� probably recognize them if I worked in that industry day after day. You notice things when you��e close enough to see them illustrated every day in a million different anecdotes. Reading about an industry from afar is much harder to do. So the competitive advantage has to be pretty plain and simple. Or I won�� see it when I read it. But that�� competitive advantages. And I'm not sure competitive advantages are the topic of greatest interest to the folks you'll be interviewing with.

  I know that when it comes to what stocks people are most likely to make money on ��it often comes down to familiarity. Are you willing to study the company? And then are you willing to trust your judgment when the stock price moves against you ��as it almost certainly will ��at some critical

• [By Geoff Gannon] strong>Solitron Devices (SODI)

  路 OPT-Sciences (OPST)

  Micropac

  Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. He�� a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. He�� had control of Micropac for a long-time. I don�� have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess it�� been something like 25 years.

  ADDvantage

  ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the company�� April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the company�� chief technology officer. Clearly, it�� still their company.

  By the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Today�� AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

  That�� pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

  Solitron

  Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here ��and even though 70% of the company�� shares are not held by the CEO ��we��e still talking about a company where one person has a lot of control. Solitron only has three directors. Saraf is the chairman, CEO, president, CFO and treasurer. Neither of the other two directors joined the board within the last 15 years. So, we aren�� talking about a lot of tumult at the top.

  In fact, profitable net-nets seem to be especially common candidates for abandoning the responsibilities of a public company without actually getting taken priva

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  ADDvantage Technologies Group (AEY) distributes and services a line of electronics and hardware products for the cable television industry. This stock closed up 5.2% to $2.42 in Tuesday's trading session.

   

  Tuesday's Range: $2.29-$2.47
  
  52-Week Range: $2.25-$3.55
  
  Tuesday's Volume: 112,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 36,625

   

  From a technical perspective, AEY ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $2.28 with above-average volume. This sharp spike to the upside on Tuesday also pushed shares of AEY back above its 50-day moving average of $2.41. Shares of AEY are now starting to trend within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if AEY manages to take out some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.50 to $2.55 with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AEY as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $2.28 or above its 52-week low of $2.25 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 36,625 shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then AEY will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at its 200-day moving average of $2.81 or at $3.10 to $3.13.

   

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Or they could explain why they hold so much inventory as ADDvantage Technologies (AEY) does here:

  ��e market ourselves as an ��n Hand ��On Demand��distributor. We maintain a wide breadth of inventory of new and used cable television products and many times can offer our customers same day shipments. Even though we have been decreasing the amount of inventory we carry, we still carry one of the most diverse inventories of any cable television product reseller in the country, and we have access to inventory via our various supply channels. We believe our investment in on-hand inventory, our product supply channels, our network of regional repair centers and our experienced sales and customer service team create a competitive advantage for us.��/p>

Best Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Motorola Solutions Inc (MSI)

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (Motorola Solutions), incorporated March 9, 1973, provides communication infrastructure, devices, software and services. The Company provides these products and services for enterprise and government customers worldwide. The Company operates in two segments: Government and Enterprise. The Government segment includes sales of public safety communications systems, commercial two-way radio systems and devices, software and services. The Enterprise segment includes sales of rugged and enterprise-grade mobile computers and tablets, laser/imaging/RFID-based data capture products, wireless local area network (WLAN) and integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) infrastructure, software and services. In January 2014, the Company announced that it has acquired Twisted Pair Solutions, a provider of push-to-talk over broadband applications for secure, real-time communication anywhere, on any device.

Government

The Government segment designs, manufactures, sells, and provides services around voice and data communications systems, devices, security products and applications. These products and services are sold to a range of customers, including government, public safety and first responder agencies, as well as commercial customers who operate private communications networks and manage a mobile workforce.

The Company offer a portfolio of network infrastructure, devices, applications and services, based on Association for Public Safety Communications Officials 25 (APCO), terrestrial trunked radio (TETRA), and digital mobile radio (DMR) standards, as well as broadband technologies (Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and WiFi). Its products and services are sold stand alone, as well as part of an integrated system. In addition, Motorola Solutions offer critical applications in the public safety command center, including voice, computer aided dispatch and multimedia/video. The Company�� service offering includes mobility consulting, system design and installatio! n, network and device management and product support.

The Company competes with Cassidian/EADS, Harris, Hytera, Kenwood, Sepura and Tait.

Enterprise

The Enterprise segment designs, manufactures, sells and provides services around WLAN infrastructure, rugged and enterprise-grade advanced data capture and mobile computing devices, security products and applications. These are sold to a range of enterprise customers, including those in retail and hospitality, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, energy and utilities, education and healthcare. Motorola Solutions offers a portfolio of devices, infrastructure, applications and services, which include rugged and enterprise-grade mobile computers and tablets, laser/imager/RFID based data capture devices and kiosks, WLAN switches/controllers and access points, network and device management software, network and device security software, voice-based devices and software, and systems based iDEN technology.

The Company competes with Apple, Aruba, Bluebird, Cisco, Datalogic, Honeywell, Hewlett Packard, Intermec, Psion, Panasonic and Samsung.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Stocks moving in the Premarket included:

  Walgreen Co.�(NYSE: WAG) gained 0.60 percent in premarket trade after losing 2.86 percent over the past week. Walt Disney Co.�(NYSE: DIS) was up 0.56 percent in premarket trade after falling 1.12 percent on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc�(NYSE: FCX) lost 1.01 percent in premarket trade after falling 9.44 percent over the past five days. Motorola Solutions Inc�(NYSE: MSI) was down 0.85 percent in premarket trade after losing 0.53 percent on Tuesday.

  Earnings

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  In this market, with a strong financial turnaround in place - and a stable of high-quality customers that include Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI), Hitachi Ltd. (ADR) (OTC: HTHIY), and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) - Adept could easily turn into a takeover candidate, Michael said.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Notable earnings released on Wednesday included:

  Caterpillar, Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported third quarter EPS of $1.45 on revenue of $13.40 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $2.54 on revenue of $16.44 billion. Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) reported EPS of $1.80 on revenue of $22.10 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $1.35 on revenue of $20.01 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) reported third quarter EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $4.07 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $0.41 on revenue of $3.74 billion. Motorola, Inc (NYSE: MSI) reported third quarter EPS of $1.32 on revenue of $2.11 billion, compared to last year�� EPS 0f $0.84 on revenue of $2.15 billion. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) reported third quarter EPS of $0.66 on revenue of $32.20 billion, compared to last year�� EPS of $0.63 on revenue of $31.46 billion.

  Pre-Market Movers

• [By Travis Hoium]

  There is some hope in the Sapphire business this year. Sapphire is expected to be about 55% of the projected $500 million to $600 million in revenue this year. Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI  ) announced today that it has chosen GT Crystal Systems to supply sapphire screens for a new multi-plane bioptic imager. The product will require a 24" square piece of sapphire, which will come from the Salem, Massachusetts facility.�

Best Gas Utility Companies To Own For 2014: Osiris Therapeutics Inc.(OSIR)

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., a stem cell company, focuses on the development and marketing of therapeutic products to treat various medical conditions in the inflammatory, autoimmune, orthopedic, and cardiovascular areas. It operates in two business segments, Therapeutics and Biosurgery. The Therapeutics segment focuses on developing biologic stem cell drug candidates from a readily available and non-controversial source, adult bone marrow. The Biosurgery segment works to harness the ability of cells and novel constructs to promote the body's natural healing. This segment focuses on developing biologic products for use in surgical procedures. The company?s lead biologic drug candidate is Prochymal, which is in phase 2 and 3 clinical trails for various indications, including acute graft versus host disease (GvHD), Crohn's disease, acute myocardial infarction, type 1 diabetes, pulmonary disease, and gastrointestinal injury resulting from radiation exposure. Its biologic drug candidates also include Chondrogen, a preparation of adult mesenchymal stem cells that is in phase 2 clinical trials for osteoarthritis and cartilage protection. The company has collaboration agreements with Genzyme Corporation for the development and commercialization of Prochymal and Chondrogen in various countries except in the United States and Canada. It also has a partnership with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for the development of Prochymal as a treatment for the preservation of insulin production in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus. Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexander Maxwell]

  One of the companies attempting to develop a better treatment for chronic diabetic foot ulcers is Osiris Therapeutics� (NASDAQ: OSIR  ) . Earlier this month, Osiris shares more than doubled as the company announced positive data for its CDFU drug Grafix. The study results were very impressive to say the least; the study was stopped early due to the overwhelming efficacy exhibited by the treatment. A main highlight is the fact that 62% of Grafix patients had their wound closed at 12 weeks, compared to only 21% of patients using conventional methods. Clearly, the efficacy in this endpoint was overwhelming. Grafix also achieved all of the secondary endpoints for the trial, and more importantly demonstrated a relatively benign safety record.�

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Additionally, stem cell therapies have remained elusive as the industry's ultimate Holy Grail. Osiris (NASDAQ: OSIR  ) received Canadian approval for the world's first stem cell drug, Prochymal, for children battling acute graft-versus-host disease, or GvHD, last year. The approval meant more symbolically than to the bottom line, but it definitely put the potential of stem cells front and center for investors.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Osiris Therapeutics Inc.(OSIR) said Friday a proposed ruling from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services won’t immediately affect reimbursements for its Grafix stem-cell product. The regenerative medicine company said Grafix will maintain its current reimbursement status — also called transitional pass-through status — potentially through late 2015.