Saturday, May 31, 2014

Nokia Looks Attractive After This Acquisition

There was a point in time when the Finnish phone maker Nokia (NOK) was the undisputed champion in the mobile handset market and had prominent presence in several other business segments. However, after the sale of its handset business to Microsoft (MSFT), Nokia has been reduced to a telecom hardware provider and global location based service provider only.

While many consider this to be a sad situation for the phone maker, Nokia is able to see through the situation and is moving forward aggressively to the opportunities that are available. Recently the company completed the acquisition of Desti, a personalized travel planner that uses artificial intelligence to provide the user exactly what information he wants. Desti originally comes from SRI International, the same company that had developed Siri, the app that now Apple (AAPL) owns so proudly.

Nokia's Latest Possession

The acquisition of Desti by Nokia and its addition to the Here mapping division comes as a well planned move from the company. Though Here accounts for only 10% of Nokia's remaining business, the company is not talking the offering lightly. Nokia believes Desti's expertise will add greatly to Here's growth and help the app gain better user acceptance.

Desti has been available for consumer use for some time now and the overall customer experience has been very pleasing. However, following this acquisition, the app will no longer be available to consumers and it has already been removed from the App Store, and Nokia plans to complete shut down the app in the coming 90 days. Post all this, the only way one will be able to use Desti's features will be through Nokia Here. The Finnish company will be working on combining both the offerings over the next few months.

Now that Nokia handsets are not a part of the company anymore, Nokia has very different plans to support its top-line. The company will be making its offering available to third-parties. But, the question is, will Nokia limit the benefits of Desti only to Microsoft devices, or will it go for other platforms also. Industry experts and analysts are of the opinion that over the span of next four years, Nokia will keep the service exclusive to Microsoft because of the mapping deal signed by the companies. After that, Nokia will surely launch Here on parallel ecosystems. This will also give some time to the app to gain popularity.

Competition

Leisure & Lifestyle is a segment that has witnessed huge growth in the past couple of years and industry experts believe the segment has unimaginable upside potential. No wonder why so many companies are thinking of getting in to it while it is still in the development stage.

It's not just Nokia that understands the growing importance of location based services that will aid travelling. Google (GOOG) too has this in mind and is working rigorously to develop Google Maps. Recently the company acquired Quest Visual, the maker of the Word Lens app that provides instant translation of words from one language to another. The Mountain View based giant will be incorporating the features in its translation offering, as well as in Google Maps. Apart from Quest Visual, Google recently also acquired Skybox Imaging, a company that builds satellites and specializes in satellite imaging and video. Analysts believe the capabilities of Skybox will be added to Google Maps to enhance the app.

Departing Thoughts

Nokia missed the smartphone train once and lost most of its market share and eventually the story ended with the sale of its handset business to Microsoft. The company surely doesn't want to go through all this ever again. Nokia has been investing a lot of time and money in R&D and is coming up with ways to enrich its remaining offerings. The company is trying to understand the pulse of the consumers and after this acquisition, it seems, Nokia is on the right path. The journey will not be easy for sure with Google and Apple also focusing on the same audience, but the Finnish company will have to find ways to make its offerings attractive enough to gain substantial consumer acceptance.

About the author:Quick PenA seasonal writer with a Management Degree in Finance and interests in automotive, technology, telecommunication and aerospace sectors.
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NOK STOCK PRICE CHART 8.13 (1y: +134%) $(function(){var seriesOptions=[],yAxisOptions=[],name='NOK',display='';Highcharts.setOptions({global:{useUTC:true}});var d=new Date();$current_day=d.getDay();if($current_day==5||$current_day==0||$current_day==6){day=4;}else{day=7;} seriesOptions[0]={id:name,animation:false,color:'#4572A7',lineWidth:1,name:name.toUpperCase()+' stock price',threshold:null,data:[[1370235600000,3.48],[1370322000000,3.54],[1370408400000,3.46],[1370494800000,3.53],[1370581200000,3.54],[1370840400000,3.58],[1370926800000,3.47],[1371013200000,3.49],[1371099600000,3.53],[1371186000000,3.62],[1371445200000,3.69],[1371531600000,3.86],[1371618000000,3.85],[1371704400000,3.83],[1371790800000,3.93],[1372050000000,3.8],[1372136400000,3.84],[1372222800000,3.91],[1372309200000,3.81],[1372395600000,3.74],[1372654800000,3.86],[1372741200000,3.83],[1372827600000,3.93],[1373000400000,4.08],[1373259600000,4.13],[1373346000000,4.22],[1373432400000,4.14],[1373518800000,4.21],[1373605200000,4.15],[1373864400000,4.12],[1373950800000,4],[1374037200000,4.04],[1374123600000,4.03],[1374210000000,4.02],[1374469200000,3.95],[1374555600000,3.98],[1374642000000,4.01],[1374728400000,4.05],[1374814800000,4.01],[1375074000000,3.97],[1375160400000,3.98],[1375246800000,3.94],[1375333200000,3.97],[1375419600000,3.98],[1375678800000,4.14],[1375765200000,4.06],[1375851600000,4.09],[1375938000000,4.14],[1376024400000,4.17],[1376283600000,4.18],[1376370000000,4.16],[1376456400000,4.18],[1376542800000,4.11],[1376629200000,4.14],[1376888400000,4.13],[1376974800000,4.06],[1377061200000,4.03],[1377147600000,4.12],[1377234000000,4.16],[1377493200000,4.17],[1377579600000,3.99],[1377666000000,3.97],[1377752400000,4],[1377838800000,3.9],[1378184400000,5.12],[1378270800000,5.33],[1378357200000,5.49],[1378443600000,5.37],[1378702800000,5.52],[1378789200000,5.66],[1378875600000,5.95],[1378962000000,6.36],[1379048400000,6.41],[1379307600000,6.24],[1379394000000,6.27],[1379480400000,6.71],[1379566800000,6.69],[1379653200000,6.58],[1379912400000,6.67],[1379998800000,6.58],[1380085200000,6.63],[1380171600000,6.64],[1380258000000,6.66],[1380517200000,6.509],[1380603600000,6.62],[1380690000000,6.63],[1380776400000,6.71],[1380862800000,6.73],[1381122000000,6.64],[1381208400000,6.6],[1381294800000,6.49],[13813! 81200000,6.58],[1381467600000,6.65],[1381726800000,6.62],[1381813200000,6.92],[1381899600000,7.03],[1381986000000,7.12],[1382072400000,7.15],[1382331600000,7.15],[1382418000000,7.35],[1382504400000,7.29],[1382590800000,7.15],[1382677200000,6.97],[1382936400000,6.75],[1383022800000,7.45],[1383109200000,7.62],[1383195600000,7.63],[1383282000000,7.62],[1383544800000,7.75],[1383631200000,7.7],[1383717600000,7.9],[1383804000000,7.54],[1383890400000,7.65],[1384149600000,7.74],[1384236000000,7.71],[1384322400000,7.94],[1384408800000,7.89],[1384495200000,8],[1384754400000,8.06],[1384840800000,7.8],[138492720

Friday, May 30, 2014

Celgene: Why There’s Upside

If Celgene (CELG) were a Beach Boy, it would be David Marks, who left the band and missed out on all the fun.

This year, Celgene has dropped 9.9%, even as other giant biotech companies like Biogen Idec (BIIB), Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) has gained 7% or more. Even the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) has managed to stay above water despite big March losses.

Part of Celgene’s weakness can be attributed to the battle over Revlimid, which is facing a patent challenge. UBS analyst Matthew Roden and team explain why they’re sticking with Celgene:

We spoke to the company and a legal expert following the Markman order this week, and continue to believe that a 2025-27 Revlimid patent duration is likely (which in our opinion is not priced in). Our Buy thesis on Celgene is unchanged, as it trades at a considerable discount to its DCF until the legal case is resolved 2014-1H15e, as well as other catalysts that we believe can drive upside to
numbers…

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Apart from a possible settlement, we believe upside can be driven by a good Otezla launch and ph3 data in ankylosing spondylitis (1H14), as well as Revlimid and Vidaza label expansion studies. Indeed we are considerably higher than consensus 2015-17.

Shares of Celgene have slipped 0.4% to $152.68 at 2:09 p.m. today, while Biogen Idec has dipped 0.3% to $319.04, Gilead Sciences has fallen 1.4% to $80.90 and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has ticked up 0.2% to $306.76. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has dropped 1.2% to $132.12.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Papa John’s Loss Is Krispy Kreme’s Gain

This month, we got the news that Anthony Thompson would be leaving his post as president and chief operating officer of Papa John's International (NASDAQ: PZZA  ) to become the new president and CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD  ) . He had been with Papa John's since 2006 and has more than 25 years of experience in the food and beverage industry. For investors, what does this mean for Papa John's and Krispy Kreme?

Source: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Why the move?
In all likelihood, Thompson is taking the job because he wants to be a CEO. At Papa John's, Founder John Schnatter does not look to be going anywhere or retiring any time soon. Matter of fact, after Thompson left the company, Schnatter added the role of president to his title. He is now founder, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of the company. He did not, however, take the role of chief operating officer. For that role, he promoted Steve Ritchie from senior vice president to chief operating officer.

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Source: Papa John's

For Krispy Kreme, Executive Chairman James Morgan will continue to work for the company full time. So investors benefit with Thompson joining the company and Morgan continuing to help oversee strategy while mentoring Thompson. This works out well because Morgan is 66 years old, while Anthony Thompson is only 47.

What's on the plate at Krispy Kreme?
Krispy Kreme remains focused on new doughnut flavors and international expansion. Krispy Kreme just finished its promotion for Krispy Kreme Key Lime Pie and Caramel Dutch Apple Pie Doughnuts. Krispy Kreme's latest promotion is for Birthday Cake Batter and Brownie Batter Doughnuts. Krispy Kreme describes the Birthday Cake Batter Doughnut as "a blend of Kreme and birthday cake batter filling in a yeast shell, topped with yellow icing and bright confetti sprinkles." The Brownie Cake Batter Doughnut consists of a "chocolate yeast shell with a rich brownie batter filling, topped with chocolate icing and mini chocolate chips."

Source: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Krispy Kreme also succeeded in opening its 600th international location on May 17. Krispy Kreme opened the location in Carolina, Puerto Rico with its local franchise partner, Caribbean Glaze. The two have been operating in Puerto Rico since 2008. Krispy Kreme can now be found in more than 20 countries in North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Source: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

What's Papa John's up to?
Papa John's posted a 9.6% gain in comparable sales for its North American operations in the first quarter. The company's Double Cheeseburger Pizza promotion and having Peyton Manning as a spokesperson contributed to this performance. Papa John's also benefited from being the official sponsor of the NFL during Manning's record-breaking season. The Double Cheeseburger promotion was particularly successful for the company in that it was at the higher price point of $12. This proved that the company can offer higher priced items, and its customers are willing to pay for a premium product.

Source: brandeating.com

Papa John's newest promotion involves Indiana Pacers forward Paul George. He is promoting Papa John's new Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza. This pizza features pineapple, onions, red peppers, and breaded white meat chicken with a sweet chili sauce instead of pizza sauce. The Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza costs $12, the same price as the Double Cheeseburger Pizza.

How the new CEO could help Krispy Kreme
One area where Papa John's excels is with online ordering. Here, Anthony Thompson was instrumental in helping make Papa John's a digital leader. Krispy Kreme can use some of his expertise since the company has lacked a digital strategy for the longest time. This month, Krispy Kreme hired VML to help map out its digital strategy.

How do shares compare?

 

Market Cap

Forward P/E

PEG Ratio

1 Year Return

Krispy Kreme

$1.23B

20.20

0.95

38.16%

Papa John's

$1.76B

20.86

1.58

32.80%

Source: Yahoo! Finance

Foolish final thoughts
I think Thompson is a talented executive, and it's great news for Krispy Kreme shareholders that he's the company's new CEO. Papa John's is still in great shape, but I wonder if Papa John himself is wearing too many hats. He needs to let go of some of the reins and start grooming a successor.

For investors, I think Krispy Kreme is the better bet right now. It's got a new CEO, and its price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio is less than 1, which signifies that the company may be undervalued based on its growth prospects. I see Krispy Kreme shares continuing to outperform the market going forward.

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Stocks Going Ex-Dividend on Thursday, May 29 (LMT, NKE, MCD, More)

Ex-dividend dates are very important to dividend investors, since you must purchase a stock prior to its ex-dividend date in order to receive its upcoming dividend payout. For more information, check out Everything Investors Need to Know About Ex-Dividend Dates.

Below we highlight 10 big-name stocks going ex-dividend on Thursday, May 29.

1. Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin (LMT) offers a dividend yield of 3.3% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $162.95 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of $1.33. The stock is up 11.56% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates LMT as “Recommended” with a DARS™ rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

2. Hillshire Brands Co.

Hillshire Brands Co. (HSH) offers a dividend yield of 1.9% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $45.19 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 17.5 cents. The stock is up 35.38% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates HSH as “Neutral” with a DARS™ rating of 3.4 stars out of 5 stars.

3. Kellogg Co.

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Kellogg Co. (K) offers a dividend yield of 2.7% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $67.98 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 46 cents. The stock is up 11.79% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates K as “Neutral” with a DARS™ rating of 3.4 stars out of 5 stars.

4. Torchmark Corp

Torchmark Corp (TMK) offers a dividend yield of 0.9% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $81.30 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 12.67 cents. The stock is up 5% year-to-date. Dividend.com currently rates TMK as “Neutral” with a DARS™ rating of 3.4 stars out of 5 stars.

5. Sotheby’s

Sotheby’s (BID) offers a dividend yield of 1% based on Tuesday’s closing price of $39.44 and the company's quarterly dividend payout of 10 cents. The stock is down 25.67% year-to-date. Dividend.com curren

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp (FSFR)

Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp., incorporated on May 22, 2013, is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The Company investment objective is to maximize the Companys portfolios total return by generating income from its debt investments while seeking to preserve its capital. The Company intends to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in senior secured loans, including first lien, unitranche and second lien debt instruments, that pay interest at rates, which are determined periodically on the basis of a floating base lending rate, made to private middle market companies whose debt is rated below investment grade, which the Company refer to collectively as senior loans. The Companys investment adviser is Fifth Street Management.

The Company may also invest in senior unsecured loans issued by private middle market companies and, to a lesser extent, subordinated loans issued by private middle market compani es and senior and subordinated loans issued by public companies. Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes will be invested in floating rate senior loans. Senior loans pay interest at rates, which are determined periodically on the basis of the London-Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus a premium. Senior loans in which the Company expects to invest are made to United States and, to a limited extent, non- United States corporations, partnerships and other business entities which operate in various industries and geographical regions.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Management investment company Fifth Street Senior Floating Rate Corp. (FSFR) raised its quarterly dividend 15% to 23 cents per share, payable April 15 to shareholders of record as of March 31.
    FSFR StockDividend Yield: 6.88%

  • source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-information-technology-companies-to-buy-right-now.html

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Few workers confident of easy retirement

Few workers in the U.S. and around the world are truly confident they're going to have a comfortable retirement, a new global survey shows.

Only 28% of U.S. workers are "very" or "extremely" confident that they'll one day fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle; a third are somewhat confident.

And 19% of workers globally have high confidence levels that they'll have a comfy retirement, with the greatest percentage of people feeling that way in China (41%) and the lowest rates in France (6%) and Poland (4%), according to the survey of 16,000 workers and retirees in 15 countries in Europe, North and South America and Asia. The survey was commissioned by the non-profit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Dutch insurance company Aegon.

"Retirement systems vary by country, yet we all have in common an aging population and a need for people to take on more personal responsibility for long-term financial security," says Transamerica Center President Catherine Collinson. "Workers around the world face the increasing need to save, plan and self-fund a greater portion of their own retirement."

She says that workers in China may be more confident about their retirement than those in other nations because the country has "a booming economy," and the survey responses were "predominantly from urban areas in China where people may be benefiting from the economic boom."

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Still, she says, 53% of workers worldwide expect future generations of retirees to be worse off than those currently in retirement. About 80% of workers in Germany, Hungary and France expect future retirees to be worse off than current retirees. "This is likely a reflection of the financial pressures on some countries' retirement systems, as well as the global financial crisis," Collinson says.

About 41% of workers globally say they'll ! rely on the government to fund their retirement to some extent, but only 21% expect the government to be their main source of income. When asked about a retirement-planning strategy, 56% of workers have some sort of plan, either written or unwritten; 40% say they have no plan, and the rest don't know.

"In the U.S., we are at the forefront of people planning and saving," Collinson says. "We have the highest rate of people — 50% — being what we call habitual savers, meaning they always make sure they save for retirement. A reason is that 401(k)s and similar plans here are so widespread."

Many people want to ease into retirement, with only 32% of people worldwide planning to immediately stop working; only 24% of people in the USA want to retire that way. Some people envision working longer and fully retiring at an older age, possibly transitioning into retirement by shifting from full-time to part-time work or taking on a role that is less demanding and more personally fulfilling, Collinson says.

"We have a collective mindset that age 65 is retirement age," she says. "That date was set a long time ago, and now, some people are living into their 80s, 90s and 100s, so relatively speaking, 65 is still young. If someone started working at age 25, retires at age 65 and lives to 105, then they'll spend as many years in retirement as they did working," she says.

Other findings:

• 45% of retired respondents worldwide say they had to retire sooner than planned because of their own ill health (34%) or loss of a job (25%). The number is higher in the U.S., with 67% saying they retired sooner than they expected. That may be because "people in the U.S. typically expect to work longer and retire at an older age than people in other countries for a variety of reasons," Collinson says.

• 61% of workers worldwide and 59% of those in the U.S. say they have no financial backup plan to provide them with an income in the event that they become unemployed or are unable to work for! a prolon! ged period before their planned retirement.

• When it comes to the economy, 28% of workers worldwide expect their country's economy to improve in the coming year, up from 19% who felt that way in 2013. Workers in Brazil have the most optimism (69%) about their economy, followed by those in India 48%) and China (35%), while only 12% of workers in Germany and France expect their country's economies to get better in the next year. About a quarter of U.S. workers hold this view.

Best Companies To Own For 2015

What gives JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) its premium valuation? According to one analyst, it's having a CEO who certifies flawed internal controls processes and otherwise obscures risk so shareholders think their investment is safer than it actually is.

That's right... according to Charles Peabody, an analyst at Portales Partners, "shareholders may just find that [JPMorgan's stock] loses its premium valuation" if Jamie Dimon leaves the company. Peabody elaborates, "If that were to occur, is there someone with Mr. Dimon's talents capable of stepping into the breach?"

Here's why I think that's a bunch of baloney.

Dimon's "talents"
Given Dimon's recent track record of ticking off regulators, misleading shareholders, and taking on excessive risk, I don't believe his particular set of "talents" hold so much appeal. Here are just a few of his most egregious recent sins:

After certifying the adequacy of JPMorgan's internal controls in May of 2012, the company had to restate its financials and report material weaknesses in its internal controls in June. Dimon obscured risk from shareholders by dismissing investor concerns about the London Whale trades by calling the threat a "tempest in a teapot" even though he was allegedly aware of the size and complexity of the bet and the losses already incurred from it. The company took on excessive risk under Dimon through the London Whale trades and chose to deal with risk limit breaches by ignoring them and by altering risk models to obscure the risk. An investigation by the U.S. Senate found that Dimon withheld profit and loss data from federal regulators. One employee of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recalled that the bank would regularly challenge findings and recommendations, and that bank executives would even yell at OCC examiners and call them "stupid."

Premium valuation
In the face of Dimon's missteps, I suspect much of JPMorgan's premium valuation has resulted from some of the achievements reported in its 2013 preliminary proxy, including:

Best Companies To Own For 2015: CYS Investments Inc (CYS)

CYS Investments, Inc. is a specialty finance company created with the objective of achieving consistent risk-adjusted investment income. The Company invests in Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) collateralized by fixed rate single-family residential mortgage loans (typically 15, 20 or 30 years), adjustable-rate mortgage loans (ARMs), which typically have coupon rates that reset monthly, or hybrid ARMs, which typically have a coupon rate that is fixed for an initial period (typically three, five, seven or 10 years) and thereafter resets at regular intervals. In addition, its investment guidelines permit investments in collateralized mortgage obligations issued by a government agency or government-sponsored entity that are collateralized by Agency RMBS (CMOs), although the Company had not invested in any CMOs as of December 31, 2011.

The Company finances its Agency RMBS investments using a diversified approach involving repurchase agreements with multiple commercial and investment banks. Agency RMBS are residential mortgage pass-through securities, the principal and interest of which are guaranteed by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) or the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Its portfolio of Agency RMBS is backed by fixed rate mortgages and hybrid ARMs that typically have a fixed coupon for three, five or seven years, and then pay an adjustable coupon that generally resets annually over a predetermined interest rate index. As of December 31, 2011, its Agency RMBS portfolio consisted of 10 Year Fixed Rate, 15 Year Fixed Rate, 20 Year Fixed Rate, 30 Year Fixed Rate and Hybrid ARMs. On September 1, 2011, the Company acquired certain assets and entered into agreements to internalize its management (the Internalization).

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Eric Volkman]

    CYS Investments (NYSE: CYS  ) is being a little more generous this quarter with its common stock payout. The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share for that class of security, to be paid on July 17 to shareholders of record as of June 25. That amount is $0.02 higher than the firm's previous common stock distribution, which was paid in April.

Best Companies To Own For 2015: Stemline Therapeutics Inc (STML)

Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. (Stemline), incorporated on August 8, 2003, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, acquiring, developing and commercializing therapeutics that target both cancer stem cells (CSCs) and tumor bulk. The Company is developing two clinical-stage product candidates, SL-401 and SL-701, for which it holds global marketing rights. The indication for SL-401, a biologic-drug conjugate, is acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The indications for SL-701, a synthetic peptide vaccine, are pediatric and adult brain cancer. It has a platform, StemScreen, for the discovery of CSC-targeted compounds, from which it has discovered or validated several of its clinical and preclinical product candidates. Stemline�� StemScreen consists of StemScreen-1 and StemScreen-2 for the identification of CSC-directed compounds.

SL-301 is a small molecule gamma-secretase inhibitor that inhibits Notch, a pathway expressed by CSCs and tumor bulk of multiple cancer types. SL-101 is a monoclonal antibody-based (mAb -based) compound that targets CD123 and has shown in vitro activity against certain hematologic cancers. SL-201 is a small molecule active against certain hematologic and solid tumor types. SL-601 is a mAb-based compound that targets a cell surface marker on bladder CSCs, which is also expressed on a variety of other solid tumor types. It has also in-licensed certain intellectual property directed to mAb-based therapeutics to validated oncology targets, including Glypican-3, Tie-1, CD133, Frizzled, Smoothened and Patched.

SL-401 - An IL-3R-Directed Compound Targeting Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Bulk

SL-401 is a clinically active biologic-drug conjugate consisting of human interleukin-3 (IL-3) genetically linked to a truncated version of diphtheria toxin. SL-401 targets the IL-3 receptor (IL-3R), which is overexpressed on both the CSCs and tumor bulk of multiple hematologic cancers, including AML. SL-401 has demonstrated preclinical in vit! ro and in vivo activity against both leukemia blasts (which includes tumor bulk) and CSCs of a range of human leukemia cell lines and primary leukemia cells from patients.

SL-701

SL-701 is a clinically active synthetic peptide vaccine that targets several epitopes on CSCs and tumor bulk of brain cancer. In two completed Phase 1/2 clinical trials, SL-701 demonstrated single agent anti-tumor activity in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed brainstem glioma (BSG) and other high-grade gliomas (HGGs) and in adult patients with refractory or recurrent GBM, and other HGGs.

StemScreen-1

StemScreen-1 is a drug discovery platform designed to identify CSC-targeted compounds based on the isolation of CSCs and evaluation of CSC gene expression profiles. CSCs are isolated from primary tumor tissue or cell lines, and then subjected to gene expression analysis using a variety of technologies, including microarray. A control tissue, such as normal bone marrow is analyzed as a comparator against the gene expression profile of the isolated CSCs. These data are then interfaced with an information base of compounds and their mechanisms of action (that is which gene products and pathways they impact). It has utilized StemScreen-1 to discover a number of its preclinical drug candidates. These include SL-201, SL-301, and SL-601. In addition, SL-401 demonstrated activity against CSCs as determined by both an in vitro colony formation and in vivo animal implantation assay, thereby validating certain StemScreen-1 anti-CSC assays.

StemScreen-2

StemScreen-2 is a high throughput drug discovery platform it is developing to discover anti-CSC compounds. StemScreen-2 utilizes a cell-based assay that can track and follow CSCs in their natural state during high throughput screening. In particular, StemScreen-2 utilizes a CSC-specific promoter linked to a reporter as a method for identifying and following CSCs in their native environment of surrounding tumor b! ulk. In t! his way, StemScreen-2 enables the identification of compound hits, in a high throughput manner, with anti-CSC activity.

The Company competes with Boston Biomedical, Inc., Eclipse Therapeutics, Inc., OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Verastem, Inc., Astellas Pharma US, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., Geron Corp., GlaxoSmithKline plc, ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd, Macrogenics Inc., Amgen, Inc., Pfizer Inc., Roche Holding AG, Sanofi U.S. LLC., Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Clavis Pharma ASA, Ambit Biosciences Corporation, Celgene Corporation, Eisai Co. Ltd., Celator Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Eisai Co., Inc., Roche Holding AG, Novartis AG and Celldex Therapeutics, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Keith Speights]

    Best-performing biotech IPO
    Stemline Therapeutics� (NASDAQ: STML  ) has only traded publicly this year, but what a year it's been. The stock's performance ranks Stemline as the best-performing biotech IPO so far in 2013. This week has been pretty good also, with shares moving up by 28%.

  • [By David Zeiler]

    3. Stemline Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: STML): This biotech develops drugs that target cancer stem cells and tumors. Stemline went public January 29 at $10 a share and rose just 11.78% on its first day. But STML has climbed steadily since, and currently trades at $37.46, up 274.6% from its IPO price.

5 Best Recreation Stocks To Buy For 2015: Anglo American PLC (AAUKY.PK)

Anglo American plc (Anglo American), incorporated on May 14, 1998, is a mining company. The Company�� portfolio include Bulk commodities which consists of iron and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal; base metals, which consists of copper, nickel and niobium; Precious metals and minerals, which include platinum and diamonds and Other Mining and Industrial. The Company operates in Africa, Brazil, Chile, North and South America, Australia, China, India, Japan, other Asia and Europe. In November 2013, Anglo American PLC announced the completion of its sale of the Amapa iron ore operation in Brazil (Amapa) to Zamin Ferrous Ltd. In January 2014, Anglo American completed the acquisition of Mineral Technology Exploration Production SA (MINTEP) and Societe Miniere d'Alumine SA.

Iron and Manganese

The Company�� Iron Ore portfolio consist a 69.7% holding in Kumba Iron Ore Limited (Kumba), a supplier of seaborne iron ore, and Iron Ore Brazil�� 100% interest in Anglo Ferrous Minas-Rio, a 49% shareholding in LLX Minas-Rio, which owns the port of Acu, and a 70% interest in the Amapa iron ore system. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Kumba operated three mines: Sishen Mine in the Northern Cape, which produced 33.7 million tons (MT) of iron ore, Thabazimbi Mine in Limpopo, with an output of 0.8 MT and Kolomela mine, also in the Northern Cape and produced 1.5 MT. During 2011, Kumba exported more than 85% of its total iron ore sales volumes of 44.4 million tons, with 69% of these exports destined for the People�� Republic of China and the remainder to Europe, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East. Its Minas-Rio iron ore project is located in the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.

The Company�� Manganese interests consist of a 40% holding in Samancor Holdings, which owns Hotazel Manganese Mines and Metalloys, both in South Africa, and a 40% holding in each of the Australian-based operations Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) and Tasmanian Electro ! Metallurgical Company (TEMCO), with BHP Billiton owning 60% and having management control. It is producer of seaborne manganese ore and is top three global producers of manganese alloy. Its operations produce a combination of ores, alloys and metal from sites in South Africa and Australia.

Metallurgical Coal

The Company�� coal operations in Australia are based on the east coast, from where Metallurgical Coal serves a range of customers throughout Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and Europe and South America. Its metallurgical coal operation in Canada, Peace River Coal, mainly serves customers in Europe, Japan and South America. Metallurgical Coal operated six mines, one wholly owned and five in which it has a controlling interest. Five of the mines are located in Queensland�� Bowen Basin: Moranbah North (metallurgical coal), Capcoal (metallurgical and thermal coal), Foxleigh (metallurgical coal), Dawson (metallurgical and thermal coal) and Callide (thermal coal). Drayton mine (thermal coal) is in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Moranbah North is an underground longwall mining operation with a mining lease covering 100 square kilometers.

Capcoal operates two longwall underground mines and an open cut mine. Together, they produce around 5.0 MT annually of hard coking coal, pulverised coal injection (PCI) and thermal coal. Capcoal also supplies methane-rich seam gas to Energy Developments Limited�� power station. Foxleigh is an open cut operation with an annual output exceeding 1.4 million tons of PCI coal. During 2012, Dawson, which is an open cut operation, produced 4.6 MT total of coking and thermal coal. During 2012, Capcoal operates two underground mines and an open cut mine. Together, they produced around 6.0 Mt of hard coking, pulverised coal injection (PCI) and thermal coals. During 2012, Foxleigh is an open cut operation which produced 1.9 Mt of high quality PCI coal.

Thermal Coal

Thermal Coal operates in South Africa a! nd and is! a joint partner in Cerrejon, Colombia. In South Africa, Thermal Coal wholly owns and operates nine mines and has a 50% interest in the Mafube colliery and Phola washing plant. During 2012, six of the mines supplied 23 million tons per annum of thermal coal to both export and local markets. New Vaal, New Denmark and Kriel collieries are domestic product operations supplying 29 million tons per annum of thermal coal to Eskom, the state-owned power utility. During 2012, Isibonelo mine produced five million tons per annum of thermal coal for Sasol Synthetic Fuels, the coal to liquids producer, under a 20 year supply contract. Thermal Coal�� South African operations route all export thermal coal through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), in which it has a 24.2% shareholding, to customers throughout the Med-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions. Within South Africa, 62% of total sales tons are made to the Eskom power utility.

Copper

The Company has interests in six copper operations in Chile. The wholly owned operations consists of the Mantos Blancos and Mantoverde mines, and it hold a 50.1% interest in Anglo American Sur (AA Sur), which includes the Los Bronces and El Soldado mines and the Chagres smelter. It has a 44% interest in the Collahuasi mine. The mines also produce associated by-products, such as molybdenum and silver. In addition, it has interests in Quellaveco and Michiquillay projects in Peru and a 50% interest in the Pebble project in Alaska.

Nickel

Nickel has three ferronickel operations: Codemin and Barro Alto in Brazil and Loma de Niquel in Venezuela. Within the

business unit�� portfolio there are also two projects, Jacare and Morro Sem Bone, both in Brazil, and exploration projects in Finland, Canada and Australia.

Platinum

The Company�� Platinum business, based in South Africa, is the producer of platinum. Platinum mines, processes and refines the entire range of platinum group metals (PGMs): platin! um, palla! dium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. Base metals such as nickel, copper and cobalt sulphate are secondary products and are contributors to earnings. Platinum�� operations exploit reserve of PGMs, known as the Bushveld Complex, which contains PGMbearing Merensky, UG2 and Platreef ores. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Platinum wholly owns 10 mining operations in production, a tailings re-treatment facility, three smelters, a base metals refinery and a precious metals refinery. Concentrating, smelting and refining of the output are undertaken at Rustenburg Platinum Mines��(RPM) metallurgical facilities. During 2012, Platinum�� 100% owned mining operations consists of the five mines at Rustenburg Section: Khomanani, Bathopele, Siphumelele, Thembelani and Khuseleka; Amandelbult Section�� two mines, Tumela and Dishaba, as well as Mogalakwena and Twickenham mines. Union Mine is 85% held with a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner, the Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela traditional community, holding the remainder. The Unki mine in Zimbabwe is wholly owned.

Diamonds

The Company�� diamond interests are represented by its 40% holding in De Beers. The other shareholders in De Beers are Central Holdings Ltd, which owns 40%, and the Government of the Republic of Botswana (GRB) with 15%. De Beers is a diamond company producing diamonds from its mines in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As of December 31, 2012, De Beers held a 50% interest in Debswana Diamond Company and in Namdeb Diamond Corporation. In addition, De Beers has a 74% holding in South African based De Beers Mines Limited. De%Beers owns 100% of De%Beers Canada. De%Beers owns 100% of The Diamond Trading Company (DTC). De Beers, through Element Six Technologies, is a supplier of industrial supermaterials. Element Six operates internationally, with 10 manufacturing sites globally and a global sales network.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Kramer-Miller]

    The Pebble Project is an enormous potential mine in Alaska containing mostly copper, and some gold and molybdenum. The project is owned by the Pebble Partnership, of which Northern Dynasty Minerals owns half, while Anglo American (AAUKY.PK) owns the other half.

Best Companies To Own For 2015: Rocket Fuel Inc (FUEL)

Rocket Fuel, Inc., incorporated on March 25, 2008, is a technology company that has developed an Artificial Intelligence and Big Data-driven predictive modeling and automated decision-making platform. Its technology is designed to address the needs of markets in which the volume and speed of information render real-time human analysis infeasible.

The Company�� Artificial Intelligence (AI), system autonomously purchases ad spots, or impressions, one at a time, on these exchanges to create portfolios of impressions designed to optimize the goals of Its advertisers, such as increased sales, heightened brand awareness and decreased cost per customer acquisition. Its solution is designed to optimize both direct-response campaigns focused on generating specific consumer purchases or responses, as well as brand campaigns geared towards lifting brand metrics.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt Jarzemsky]

    The start of the year saw a spate of similar offerings, including equity sales by advertising-technology firm Rocket Fuel Inc.(FUEL), data-analysis firm Splunk Inc.(SPLK) and human-resources software maker Workday Inc.

Best Companies To Own For 2015: Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp (TKMR)

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference (RNAi) therapeutics and providing its lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners. On March 1, 2012, it announced that the Company had secured a license from Alnylam to develop TKMALDH2, an RNAi therapeutic that utilizes Tekmira's LNP for the treatment of Alcohol Dependence (AD). Its lead oncology product candidate, TKM-PLK1, targets PLK1, a protein involved in tumor cell proliferation and a validated oncology target. On February 8, 2012, it announced that Phase I clinical trial for TKM-Ebola had been initiated. The Phase 1 TKM-Ebola clinical trial is a placebo-controlled, single-blind, single-ascending dose study with additional multiple-ascending dose cohorts in healthy human volunteers. In the field of RNAi therapeutics, the Company has licensed its LNP delivery technology to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TKMR) shares climbed 34.11% to $13.25. The volume of Tekmira Pharmaceuticals shares traded was 2187% higher than normal. Tekmira signed a development agreement with Monsanto (NYSE: MON) on delivery technology for agricultural applications.

  • [By Markus Aarnio]

    Companies working on chemically synthesized siRNAs include Merck (MRK), through its subsidiary Sirna Therapeutics, Inc., Novartis (NVS), Takeda (TKPHF.PK), Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Marina Biotech, Inc., Arrowhead and its subsidiary, Calando, Quark, Silence Therapeutics plc, Tekmira (TKMR), Sylentis and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Best Companies To Own For 2015: Sands China Ltd (SCHYF)

Sands China Ltd. (Sands China) is an investment holding company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the development and operation of integrated resorts in Macao, which contain not only gaming areas, but also meeting space, convention and exhibition halls, retail and dining areas and entertainment venues. The Company operates in five segments: The Venetian Macao, Sands Macao, The Plaza Macao, Sands Cotai Central and ferry and other operations. The Venetian Macao, the Plaza Macao and Other developments derive their revenue primarily from casino, hotel, food and beverage, mall, convention, retail and others sources. Ferry and other operations derive their revenue from the sale of ferry tickets for transportation between Hong Kong and Macau. As of December 31, 2011, its properties included 3,554 hotel rooms and suites, 74 restaurants, 1.2 million square feet of retail, 1.2 million square feet of meeting space, two permanent theaters, a 15,000-seat arena and the casino. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By MARKETWATCH]

    HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks sold off early Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided to further taper stimulus, and after a final reading of China's manufacturing PMI contracted. The Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) sank 1.5% to 21,815.04 in holiday-shortened trading. Tech stocks retreated, as Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group Ltd. (HK:992) (LNVGF) dropped 5.3%, failing to get a lift from news that it plans to acquire the Motorola handset business from Google Inc. (GOOG) for $2.91 billion as Lenovo aims for a bigger presence in the U.S. market. Software developer Kingsoft Corp. (HK:3888) (KSFTF) fell 1.9% and Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. (HK:700) (TCTZF) dropped 1.5%. Casino stocks also declined. Sands China Ltds. (HK:1928) (SCHYF) , the Hong Kong-listed unit of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) , slipped 0.2%, despite financial results that showed Sands China's net income increased 40% year-on-year to $467 million in the fourth quarter. Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (HK:6883) (MPEL) slumped 3.2%, and both Wynn Macau Ltd. (HK:1128) (WYNMF) and MGM China Holdings Ltd. (HK:2282)

Best Companies To Own For 2015: Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc (DDE)

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., incorporated in December of 2001, is a premier gaming and entertainment resorts. The Company�� operations consist of: Dover Downs Casino, a 165,000-square foot casino complex featuring table games, including craps, roulette and card games, such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, 3-card and pai gow poker, the latest in slot machine offerings, multi-player electronic table games, the Crown Royal poker room, a Race & Sports Book operation, the Dover Downs' Fire & Ice Lounge, the Festival Buffet, Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, Frankie's Italian restaurant, as well as several bars, restaurants and four retail outlets; Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, a 500 room AAA Four Diamond hotel with a full-service spa/salon, conference, banquet, ballroom and concert hall facilities, and Dover Downs Raceway, a harness racing track with pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. All of its operations are located at its entertainment complex in Dover. Its two wholly owned subsidiaries include Dover Downs, Inc. and Dover Downs Gaming Management Corp.

Dover Downs Casino

The Company's casino had approximately 2,539 slot machines as of December 31, 2011. It is open for business around the clock. During the year ended December 31, 2011, that the facility was visited by approximately 2.6 million patrons. Its slot machines range from penny machines to $100 machines in the Premium Slots area and include games found in the country's major gaming jurisdictions. The Company operates with 40 tables, including blackjack, craps and roulette tables. The Crown Royal poker room has 12 poker tables. It has its Race and Sports Book operation featuring parlay sports wagering on NFL games and pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. Dover Downs, Inc. is authorized to conduct video lottery, sports wagering and table game operations. The Company's Capital Club, a slots players club and tracking system, allows it to identify customers and t! o reward their level of play through various marketing programs.

Dover Downs Hotel

The Company's luxury hotel facility, the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, connects to the Company's casino. The facility includes 500 rooms, including 11 luxury spa suites, a multi-purpose ballroom/concert hall, a fine dining restaurant, swimming pool and a luxurious 6,000 square-foot full-service spa. It offers a range of entertainment options to its patrons, including concerts featuring prominent entertainers, live boxing, gourmet dining, spa facilities, trade shows and conferences. During 2011, hotel occupancy averaged 90%.

Dover Downs Raceway

The Company�� Dover Downs Raceway conducts live harness races from November until April and is simulcast to more than 300 tracks and other off-track betting locations across North America on each of the Company's more than 120 live race dates. The Company's harness racing track is a 5/8-mile track that is located on DVD's property and is on the inside of its one-mile motorsports superspeedway. Additional amenities include the Winners Circle Restaurant overlooking the horse racing track. Within the Company's Race & Sports Book operation is the simulcast parlor where the patrons can wager on harness and thoroughbred races received by satellite into its facility year round from numerous tracks across North America. Television monitors throughout the area provide views of all races simultaneously and the betting windows are connected to a central computer allowing bets to be received on all races from all tracks.

The Company has an agreement with the Delaware Standardbred Owner's Association, Inc. (DSOA) effective September 1, 2010 and continuing through August 31, 2014. DSOA's membership consists of owners, trainers and drivers of harness horses participating in harness race meetings at its facilities and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. Under the DSOA agreement, the Company is required to distrib! ute as pu! rses for races conducted at its facilities a percentage of its retained share of pari-mutuel revenues.

The Company competes with Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    Stocks on the move: Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) is up 8.1% at $31.80 on reports of discussions with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) that would result in the sale of Vodafone�� 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to the controlling shareholder. Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) is up 10.8% at $1.54 after Wednesday�� launch of its online casino games that will soon be available to state residents to play for real money.

Best Companies To Own For 2015: EOG Resources Inc.(EOG)

EOG Resources, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of natural gas and crude oil primarily in the United States, Canada, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of China. As of December 31, 2010, its total estimated net proved reserves were 1,950 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe), of which 386 million barrels (MMBbl) were crude oil and condensate reserves, and 152 MMBbl were natural gas liquids reserves; and 8,470 billion cubic feet (Bcf) or 1,412 MMBoe were natural gas reserves. The company held approximately 520,000 net acres in the mature oil window of the Eagle Ford Shale Play near San Antonio, Texas. EOG Resources, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Neil Macneale]

    In considering an addition to our portfolio, we looked at EOG Resources (EOG), which is a big ($52B) oil and natural gas producer with decent numbers, but nothing too exciting.

  • [By Robert Rapier]

    EOG Resources (EOG) is the largest producer in the Eagle Ford. That's been one of our big winners; it's up 56% over the past year. We still recommend it, although it is getting up around the buy target that we set for it.

Best Companies To Own For 2015: Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS)

Janus Capital Group Inc., and its subsidiaries (JCG), incorporated on January 23, 1998, provide investment management, administration, distribution and related services to financial advisors, individuals and institutional clients through mutual funds, other pooled investment vehicles, separate accounts and sub advised relationships (collectively referred to as investment products) in both domestic and international markets. JCG provides investment management competencies across a range of disciplines, including fundamental the United States and global equities (growth and value), mathematical equities, fixed income and alternatives through its subsidiaries, Janus Capital Management LLC (Janus), INTECH Investment Management LLC (INTECH) and Perkins Investment Management LLC (Perkins). JCG's investment products are distributed through three primary channels: retail intermediary, institutional and international.

The institutional channel serves the United States corporations, endowments, foundations, Taft-Hartley funds and public fund clients and focuses on distribution direct to the plan sponsor and through consultants. As of December 31, 2012, assets in the institutional channel totaled 24% of total Company assets under management. The international channel primarily serves professional retail and institutional investors outside of the United States, including central and local government pension plans, corporate pension plans, multi-managers, insurance companies and private banks. International products are offered through separate accounts, sub advisory relationships and Janus Capital Funds Plc, a mutual fund trust. As of December 31, 2012, assets in the international channel totaled 11% of total Company assets under management. JCG operates international offices in London, Paris, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, The Hague, Dubai, Zurich, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Melbourne and Taipei. The retail intermediary channel serves financial advisors, third-party intermediaries and retirement platf! orms in the United States. In addition, this channel serves existing individual investors who invest in JCG products through a mutual fund supermarket or directly with JCG. As of December 31, 2012, assets in the retail intermediary channel totaled 65% of total Company assets under management.

Janus

Janus manages primarily growth equity portfolios. As of December 31, 2012, Janus managed 63% of total Company assets under management. The Janus Overseas Fund is included in the assets managed by Janus and represented approximately 6% during the year ended December 31, 2012.

INTECH

INTECH has managed institutional portfolios. INTECH's investment process is based on a mathematical theorem that seeks to add value for clients by capitalizing on the volatility in stock price movements. As of December 31, 2012, INTECH managed 26% of total Company assets under management.

Perkins

Perkins has managed value-disciplined investment products. With its fundamental research and careful consideration for downside risk, Perkins has established itself as a value manager. Perkins offers value equity investment products across a range of the United States asset classes and global equity. As of December 31, 2012, Perkins managed 11% of total Company assets under management.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Who wants in on the action?
    All that said, plenty of mutual fund companies have seen the writing on the wall and are eager to come to market with active ETFs. Mutual fund giants Fidelity, Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN  ) , Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS  ) , and Legg Mason (NYSE: LM  ) are just some of the companies looking to follow in PIMCO's footsteps with active ETFs. Each of these companies owes a huge portion of its profits to management fees on the billions in assets that it holds, and each recognizes the need to defend its turf by reaching into the ETF space. For Legg Mason and Franklin Templeton, which already offer closed-end mutual funds that trade on exchanges, moving to ETFs is an even shorter step.

  • [By Rich Bieglmeier]

    As is it is every week, iStock found a company within the list of transactions worthy of further discussion. Today, we find some interest with Janus Capital Group, Inc. (JNS).

  • [By Matt Jarzemsky]

    “Valuations for many of these companies seem just as stretch as Internet stocks were back then,” asset management firm Janus Capital(JNS) writes in its latest monthly equities update. Some Janus funds rode high-flying technology and communications stocks to big gains during the 1990s, but saw those bets sour as the tech bubble burst.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

Top 5 Diversified Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Alkermes Inc.(ALKS)

Alkermes plc, an integrated biotechnology company, develops medicines that enhance patient outcomes. The company has a diversified portfolio of approximately 20 commercial drug products and a clinical pipeline of product candidates that address central nervous system (CNS) disorders, such as addiction, schizophrenia, and depression. It manufactures and commercializes VIVITROL for alcohol and opioid dependence; RISPERDAL CONSTA for schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder; INVEGA SUSTENNA for the treatment of schizophrenia; AMPYRA to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis; and BYDUREON for the treatment of type II diabetes. Alkermes? pipeline includes extended-release injectable and oral products for the treatment of prevalent, chronic diseases, such as central nervous system disorders, addiction, and diabetes. The company was founded in 1987 and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Going through his papers, he found a list of stocks that UBS said to buy if Obama won the election in 2012, including the likes of United Rentals (URI) , First Solar (FSLR), Alliant Techsystems (ATK), Alkermes (ALKS) and Mohawk Industries (MHK). And wouldn’t you know it, those stocks have gained 58% this year, compared to the S&P 500′s 27% gain. And just in case you’re wondering, those stocks have also trumped UBS’s Romney basket, which has gained 33%.

  • [By MONEYMORNING]

    That story suggested Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (Nasdaq: JAZZ) and Alkermes PLC (Nasdaq: ALKS) could be targets, as well.

    More drug stocks to buy now: One of the big organic and strategic growth opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry is for generic drugs in the emerging markets. Take a look at four ways to capitalize on this! trend.

  • [By Sean Williams]

    What: Shares of Alkermes (NASDAQ: ALKS  ) , a diversified biopharmaceutical company, rose as much as 16% after the company announced positive clinical results for ALKS-5461 in a mid-stage trial to treat major depressive disorder, or MDD.

  • source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-5-diversified-bank-companies-to-invest-in-right-now-2.html

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Micron Technology: A Good Long-Term Investment for Your Portfolio

Micron Technology (MU) is on a roll of late due to a rise in the prices of NAND and DRAM this year. Most of the manufacturers have decided to decrease the supply, which in turn has helped memory chip makers to deliver positive results after a disappointing period in the last year.

The biggest gainer was Micron Technology as its stock appreciated nearly 123% during this period. Also the company registered a robust earnings report as prices of NAND and DRAM helped the company to recover. Micron's latest report is indicative of the strength in prices and management's commentary tells us that the good times are far from over.

This has indeed helped Micron Technologies to post impressive profits. The company registered a profit of $43 million, or earnings of $0.04 per share compared to a loss of $320 million, or loss of $0.32 per share, in the year-ago period. Consequently, this turnaround helped Micron to post impressive revenue of $2.3 billion from $2.2 billion last year. Thus, it's evident that stronger pricing led to earnings growth and contributed to better margins.

Momentum Set to Continue

However, the good news for the investors is that this trend of strong prices is set to continue and the company is expected to yield better financial and operating results with surging demand for these products in the market. For example, a 16% jump in the average selling prices (ASP) of DRAM along with a 6% jump in volume propelled revenue from the segment 23% higher, while an 8% increase in NAND flash prices led to a 7% jump in revenue from this segment.

Similarly, Micron's gross margin also increased to 24% in the quarter from 18% in the previous quarter. While the company looks solid with these impressive numbers, there is some concern for the chip maker due to reduced speed in the PC industry that could affect its sales of DRAM chips; therefore memory makers have adjusted their supply according to Average Selling Price (ASP). Throw in the spike in demand for mobile DRAM, and it becomes pretty much clear that the demand is there but in another form.

These factors have helped the company in many ways and further it expects improvement in prices going forward. The company is projecting a mid-to-high single-digits jump in DRAM prices in the ongoing quarter while costs are expected to remain flat. This indicates that further margin improvement is on the way in the fourth quarter, and this should trickle down to the bottom line.

However, the prices for NAND are expected to remain in the mid single-digits in the quarter, but the company has lowered its costs in the previous quarter that should help the company to keep the margin intact. The NAND business is witnessing good demand due to the booming market for solid-state drives (SSD) and mobile. Thus, a slight drop in pricing should be compensated for by higher volumes and lower costs.

Micron is benefiting from the end market as it seems to be finding good traction in mobile. In the DRAM business, shipments to the non-PC business now account for almost half of the total bit shipments. Also, the company is experiencing solid demand for mobile DRAM and NAND on the back of smartphones and tablets.

A Key Acquisition

Also, Micron has acquired bankrupt Japanese memory maker Elpida. As a result, its mobile DRAM segment will see tremendous growth in the coming years. The transaction is expected to be completed in the ongoing quarters. The reason why this is important is because Elpida was one of the suppliers to Apple for the iPhone. Also, the relationship stretches back further, as Apple had ordered Elpida chips a couple of years back as well.

Now, with the acquisition completed, Micron would probably benefit from the upcoming slate of Apple products. The production of the next iPhone is reportedly underway.

While there's no doubt that buying Elpida, and consequently landing a contract with Apple, will be a huge boost for Micron, a cheaper iPhone would further expand the addressable market for these companies. What's more, the Elpida acquisition will strengthen Micron's position in the DRAM industry and give it better pricing power than before as it would be able to command a greater portion of the supply.

Other businesses

Micron is also benefiting from its networking side that has performed significantly well in the last couple of quarters. This segment contributes around 16% of the total revenue but its growth rate is impressive. Networking DRAM bit shipments grew 19% in the previous quarter and given the positive undercurrents in the networking industry, the business should get even better.

In addition, Micron's strong deployment of faster networks and data centers for the cloud have helped the company to register solid growth rates and the momentum seems to continue in the current year. The company is looking to diversify its customer base by bringing smaller customers on board and this should further contribute to revenue.

In short, everything seems to be going in favor of Micron and solid pricing along with solid demand should help it do even better in the future. But then, some might have doubts whether or not Micron is a good buy at these levels after its solid run up.

Conclusion

Well, I would say that it isn't too late to buy the stock as the company's earnings are expected to grow at supersonic rates going forward. The analysts have projected growth of 62% this year and the company looks strong to turn completely profitable next year. What's more, even the top line is expected to post a decent jump of 18% next year. Also the stock trades at a reasonable forward P/E of 18. I think that the valuation isn't too stretched yet and the stock has a lot of room to run.

Currently 0.00/512345

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes)

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Friday, May 23, 2014

Recalled Beef May Have Been Sent to 10 States

Recalled beef may have been sent to 10 states Justin Sullivan/Getty Images DETROIT -- Federal food safety officials say ground beef recalled by a Detroit business may have been sent to stores in 10 states. According to an announcement Thursday, the U.S. agriculture department's Food Safety and Inspection Service says it has reason to believe recalled beef was sent to retail outlets in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Wolverine Packing Co. announced Monday it was recalling 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli. FSIS had said 11 people were sickened. Messages seeking an updated figure were left Friday. Consumers can see a list of recalled products on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website. Here is a state-by-state list of retail outlets that the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service says may have received ground beef involved in the recall:

Best Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now

Best Supermarket Companies To Own In Right Now: Meridian Bioscience Inc.(VIVO)

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., a life science company, engages in the development, manufacture, sale, and distribution of diagnostic test kits primarily for gastrointestinal, foodborne, viral, respiratory, and parasitic infectious diseases. The company?s diagnostic products primarily consist of C. difficile for the detection of gastrointestinal diseases; Rotavirus and Adenovirus products for pediatric diarrhea detection; H. pylori for stomach ulcers; Enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection and Campylobacter jejuni used in the detection of foodborne diseases; Varicella-Zoster for viral diseases; and Cytomegalovirus for organ transplant infections. Its products also include transport media that store and preserve specimen samples from patient collection to laboratory testing. The company?s diagnostic test kits utilize immunodiagnostic and molecular technologies, which test samples of stool, blood, urine, and other body fluids or tissue for the presence of specific infectious disea s es. In addition, Meridian Bioscience, Inc. manufactures and distributes bulk antigens, antibodies, PCR/qPCR reagents, nucleotides, competent cells, and bioresearch reagents used by researchers and other diagnostic manufacturers. Further, it involved in the contract development and manufacture of proteins and other biologicals under cGMP conditions for use by biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engaged in research for new drugs and vaccines. The company sells its diagnostic test kits through direct sales force and independent distributors to reference laboratories and hospitals, principally in the United States, Canada, Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Africa, the Middle East, and other European countries. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Marc Bastow]

    Integrated life sciences company Meridian Biosciences (VIVO) raised ! its quarterly dividend 5.3% to 20 cents per share, payable on Feb. 14 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 3.
    VIVO Dividend Yield: 3.22%

  • source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/best-supermarket-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Why Best Buy Shares Are Plunging Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Best Buy (BBY) shares were sinking 5.7% to $23.91 early Thursday after the electronics retailer warned that same-store sales would be lower in its fiscal second and third quarters, as consumers pull back on purchasing electronics and also await new mobile phone product launches, namely from Apple (AAPL), which is rumored to be launching its latest iPhone model in August.

"As we look forward to the second and third quarters, we are expecting to seeongoing industry-wide sales declines in many of the consumer electronics categories in which we compete," Best Buy CFO Sharon McCollam said in this morning's earnings release. "We are also expecting ongoing softness in the mobile phone category as consumers eagerly await highly-anticipated new product launches. Consequently, absent any major product launches, we are expecting comparable sales to be negative in the low-single digits in both the second and third quarters."

Best Buy said that comparable sales in its fiscal 2015 first quarter fell 1.9% overall, compared to expectations of 0.8% decline. In its domestic segment comps declined 1.3%, offset by a 29.2% increase in comparable online sales, it said. Total revenue fell 3.3% in the May 3-ending quarter to $9.035 billion, also missing analysts' expectations.

On a GAAP basis, Best Buy reported earnings from continuing operations of $1.31 a share. Non-GAAP diluted earnings from continuing operations were 33 cents a share compared to 32 cents a share in the year-earlier quarter and consensus expectations of 30 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters. Best Buy is holding a conference call at 8 am ET to discuss the results. --Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York. Follow @LKulikowski >>Read More: Target's Big Miss: What Wall Street Thinks Staples' Restructuring Is 'Too Late,' Says Analyst Why JCP's Online Strategy Is Not That Bad

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Bull Thesis for Pharmacyclics Into ASCO '14

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Pharmacyclics (PCYC) shares are down TK% since the release of abstracts for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting last week. Investors appear concerned about Pharmacyclics' leukemia drug Imbruvica relative to the competing drug ABT-199 under development by Abbvie (ABBV). ABT-199 is an exceptionally active drug and will have a significant role in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but I find data in the just-released ASCO abstracts to be more positive for Pharmacyclics and Imbruvica than its competition.

While many have focused on Imbruvica monotherapy data with a treatment that is efficacious, safe, and easy to use for both the patient and doctor, I was more intrigued by data from the combination therapy of Imbruvica and GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Arzerra (an anti-CD20 antibody.) While the clinical trial was small, just over 70 total patients, it tested three dosing regimens of the Imbruvica-Arzerra combination with overall response rates ranging from 71% to 100%. These results are significant because they help blunt ABT-199's efficacy advantage over Imbruvica, which in turn, makes Imbruvica's safety advantage over ABT-199 more meaningful.

ABT-199 as a monotherapy is generating overall response rates around 78% in CLL, which one could argue is marginally better than Imbruvica, although at the expense of decreased tolerability. In addition, ABT-199 also has a small trial with Rituxan (also an anti-CD20 antibody) which generated an overall response rate of 78%. The depth of responses in this combination study were impressive, with 39% of patients achieving a complete response. Five of the six complete responses were minimal residual disease (MRD) negative, which is seen as potentially curative. With these ASCO data, it's easy to see why ABT-199 is deemed a threat to Imbruvica.

Best Industrial Disributor Companies To Watch For 2015

But the downside of all that great ABT-199 efficacy is a significant decrease in tolerability, with tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) being the most worrisome. Abbvie has been working on different dosing regimes to increase ABT-199 tolerability, the TLS will always be a concern. If Imbruvica is able to get close to ABT-199 efficacy and maintain its tolerability advantage, the competitive threat diminishes. That's why I see the Imbruvica-Arzerra combination therapy so promising and bullish for Pharmacyclics. Based on the abstract, we only have response rate data available. At the ASCO meeting, we should get an update on the depth of response. I'll be looking specifically for the number of patients with complete responses and whether any patients were negative for minimal residual disease.

If we get complete response rates from Imbruvica-Arzerra similar to what's being reported for ABT-199, that would be positive for Pharmacyclics.

Sobek is long Pharmacyclics and Abbvie.

>> Read more:

Merrimack Pharma and the Marginal Benefit of Pancreatic Cancer Drug MM-398

Anacor Pharma Remains Over-Valued on Development of Inferior Drugs

Stock quotes in this article: PCYC, ABBV, GSK 

Monday, May 19, 2014

Portugal ends bailout constraints; pain not over

Top 5 Defensive Stocks To Own For 2015

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal is emerging from the painful economic constraints imposed by a three-year bailout that saved the country from collapse, but EU officials are warning that tough controls must continue to create stable employment.

With the government taking control of its finances once again, Portugal on Saturday became the second eurozone country after Ireland to free itself from the austerity and oversight imposed by its European partners and the International Monetary Fund as part of the 78-billion-euro ($107 billion) bailout.

But European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas in Brussels it was essential to keep an "unwavering commitment to sound budgetary policies and growth-enhancing reforms."

The Cabinet officially took back control of the economy at a meeting in Lisbon and presented its strategy for "medium-term reforms."

"We want everyone to know that we're not going to stop," said Carlos Moedas, assistant secretary of state to the prime minister and the Portuguese official responsible for overseeing the implementation of the bailout.

He said the government was determined to maintain a "reformist impulse."

As with Greece and Ireland, Portugal's rescue came at a price of cutting spending sharply and implementing unpopular measures that stripped away cherished welfare and labor entitlements.

In the streets, many people interviewed Saturday by Jornal de Noticias television said the pain of the harsh austerity measures had not ended.

And although many felt it was good for the government to be in control of its own finances again, EC and IMF oversight officials are still due to return to review the health of Portugal's economy twice a year until 2035, when 75% of the loan will be paid back, according to President Anibal Cavaco Silva.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now

Bouncing back from midday lows, the S&P 500 Index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC  ) overcame early deficits, ending the day 13 points, or 0.9% higher, closing at 1,622. The big news tomorrow will be the Labor Department's monthly employment report, which takes a gauge of private and public sector payrolls. Investors in today's three biggest laggards, however, couldn't retain any sense of optimism, and all three ended Thursday in the dregs of the S&P.

J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM  ) was the most pronounced decliner of the day, losing 3.9% on the heels of a disappointing earnings forecast. Strangely enough, Smucker's quarter wasn't all that bad, and the company handily beat profit expectations. The red flag for investors, though, was the fact that sales declined for the first time in years; on top of that, earnings forecasts for the current fiscal year were on the low end of expectations.

Semiconductor chip designer Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR  ) slipped 3.2% Thursday, despite a lack of major company-related news on the day. This week, however, saw a material change in the prospects for Altera's stock: On Monday, the company announced a whopping 50% boost in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.10, to $0.15. With an annual dish-out of $0.60 per share, Altera's annual payout sits at 1.9%.�

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc (FCS)

Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. (Fairchild) focuses on developing, manufacturing and selling power analog, power discrete and certain non-power semiconductor solutions to a range of end market customers. The Company is a supplier of power analog products, power discrete products and energy-efficient solutions, according to iSuppli. Its products are used in a range of electronic applications, including sophisticated computers and Internet hardware; communications, including wireless phones; networking and storage equipment; industrial power supply and instrumentation equipment; consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, displays, audio/video devices and household appliances, and automotive applications.

The Company�� product groups are organized by the end markets, which include Mobile, Computing, Consumer and Communication (MCCC), Power Conversion, Industrial and Automotive (PCIA) and Standard Discrete and Standard Linear (SDT). It invested in the wafer fabrication power semiconductor technology, including low and mid voltage PowerTrench, advanced insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), as well as advanced high power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET) fabrication technologies.

Mobile, Computing, Consumer and Communication (MCCC)

The Company designs, manufactures and markets high-performance analog and mixed signal integrated circuits, low voltage power MOSFETs for mobile, consumer, computing, and communication applications. It has a portfolio of PowerTrench technology products. Its analog and mixed signal products are focused on the mobile end- markets.

Analog products monitor, interpret, and control continuously variable functions, such as light, color, sound, and energy. It forms the interface with the digital world. It provides a range of analog products that perform such tasks as voltage regulation, audio amplification, power and signal switching and system management. Analog voltage regulation circ! uits are used to provide constant voltages, as well as step up or step down voltage levels on a circuit board. These products enable improvements in power efficiency, lighting management, and improve charge times in ultraportable products. These products are used in a variety of mobile, computing, communications and consumer applications.

In addition to the power analog and interface products, it also offers signal path products. These include analog and digital switches, universal serial bus (USB) switches, video filters and high performance audio amplifiers. The analog switch functions are typically found in cellular handsets and other ultra portable applications. The video products provide a single chip solution to video filtering and amplification. Video filtering applications include set top boxes and digital television. Its solutions include surface mount devices, tiny packages, chip scale packages, and leadless carriers.

The Company also design, manufacture and market power semiconductor solutions for computing, communications, mobile, consumer and industrial applications. Power semiconductor solutions include, power discrete MOSFETs, analog integrated circuits, and fully integrated multi-chip and monolithic power solutions. Its power MOSFETs are primarily used in power delivery and power control applications. Power delivery and control applications are ubiquitous across data consumption, processing and communication applications. It produces advanced low power MOSFETs under its PowerTrench brands. The advanced power MOSFETs applications are used in smartphones, tablets, notebook personal computer, high performance gaming, home entertainment systems, servers, data communication, and routers.

The Company competes with Analog Devices, Inc., Linear Technology Corporation, Maxim Integrated Product, Inc., Micrel Inc, ON Semiconductor Corporation, ST Microelectronics N.V., Intersil Corporation, International Rectifier Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG and T! exas Inst! ruments Incorporated.

Power Conversion, Industrial and Automotive (PCIA)

Fairchild design, manufacture and market power discrete semiconductors, analog and mixed signal integrated circuits (ICs) for broad power conversion/power management, industrial, and automotive applications. Its products are building blocks that help convert a semi-regulated energy source (alternating current (AC)or direct current (DC)) to a regulated output for electronic systems (AC-DC, DC-AC, and DC-DC conversion). Its discrete devices are individual diodes or transistors that perform power switching, power conditioning and signal amplification functions in electronic circuits. The Company�� analog and mixed signal integrated circuits (IC) are used to control discrete semiconductors in applications, such as power switching, conditioning, signal amplification, power distribution and power consumption. It manufacture discrete products using vertical DMOS MOSFETs, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT), Bipolar, and ultrafast rectifier technologies. It manufacture analog and mixed signal ICs using a range of bipolar (Bi), complementary metal oxide (CMOS), BiCMOS, and bipolar/CMOS/DMOS (BCDMOS) processes up to 1,200 volts and down to 0.35um (microns) minimum geometry.

Power MOSFETs are used in applications to switch, shape or transfer energy. These products are used in a range of high-growth applications, including solar inverters, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), data centers and communications, motors, lighting, automotive, computing, displays and industrial supplies. It produce advanced power MOSFETs under its SupreMOS, SuperFET, PowerTrench, UniFET and QFET brands. IGBTs are high-voltage power discrete devices. They are used in switching applications for solar inverters, uninterruped power supply, data centers and communications, motors, industrial, power supplies, displays, television and automotive ignition systems. These applications require lower switching frequencies, highe! r power, ! and/or higher voltages than a power MOSFET can provide. It is a supplier of IGBTs. Rectifier products work with IGBTs and MOSFETs in many applications to provide power conversion and conditioning. Its product is the STEALTH rectifier, providing industry performance and efficiencies in data communications, industrial power supply, displays, television, and motor applications.

Leveraging its power MOSFET and IGBT technologies, it also design and manufacture modules for the industrial, automotive, and home appliance end markets. It design and develop a line of smart power modules (SPM) products targeted to various end applications in consumer white goods and industrial applications, which include room air conditioners, industrial power supplies, solar inverters, pumps, and industrial motors. These are multi-chip modules containing up to 28 components in a single package that includes diodes, power discrete IGBTs or MOSFETs, high voltage power management driver ICs and current and temperature sensors. Similar modules, called APM, are used in automotive applications.

The Company design and manufacture power management semiconductors for line-powered and off-line powered systems that integrate its Power MOSFETs. It sell and market off-line and isolated DC-DC ICs, MOSFET and IGBT gate driver ICs, and power factor correction ICs to the consumer, computing, display, television, lighting and industrial segments.

The Company competes with Infineon Technologies AG, ST MicroelectronicsN.V., International Rectifier Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Power Integrations, Inc., ON Semiconductor Corporation, NXP Semiconductors N.V. and Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.

Standard Linear and Standard Discrete (SDT)

Standard Diodes and Transistors products cover a range of semiconductor products, including MOSFET, junction field effect transistors (JFETs), high power bipolar, discrete small signal transistors, TVS,! Zeners, ! rectifiers, bridge rectifiers, Schottky devices and diodes. The Company design, manufacture and market analog integrated circuits for computing, consumer, communications, ultra-portable and industrial applications. These products are manufactured using bipolar, CMOS and BiCMOS technologies. Standard Linear solutions range from bipolar regulators, shunt regulators, low drop out regulators, standard op-amp/comparators, low voltage op-amps, and others. Analog voltage regulator circuits are used to provide constant voltages, as well as to step up or step down voltage levels on a circuit board. Op-amps/comparators are designed specifically to operate from a single power supply over a range of voltages. It also offer low-voltage op-amps that provide a combination of low power, rail-to-rail performance, low voltage operation, and tiny package options which are well suited for use in personal electronics equipment. Its solutions include surface mount devices, tiny packages and leadless carriers.

The Company competes with International Rectifier Corporation, Diodes Incorporated, NXP Semiconductors N.V., ST Microelectronics N.V., ON Semiconductor Corporation, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., Vishay Intertechnology, Inc, Osram Opto Semiconductors, OPTEK Technology, OMRON Corporation, Avago Technologies Ltd. and Kodenshi Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Alex Planes]

    The Atari 2600 launched at a cost of $199 (equal to about $750 today) in the fall of 1977. The console's first two years on the market almost sent it the way of the Osyssey, since Atari managed to sell less than one million units by the end of 1978�. However, Fairchild Semiconductor's (NYSE: FCS  ) decision to abandon console gaming in 1979 (it had actually beaten Atari to market with the Channel F in �1976, but sold fewer units than the 2600), coupled with the launch of a Space Invaders cartridge for the 2600 in 1980, gave Atari a clear path to huge sales. Two years later, the 2600 had reached ten million households, and console gaming had a foothold. Atari was briefly the crown jewel in Warner's entertainment empire, but this success wouldn't last.

  • [By Alex Planes]

    British radar engineer Geoffrey Dummer first made public the concept of integrated circuits on May 7, 1952. This was still years before practical transistor-based electronics would hit the consumer market, but the notion caught on with two very talented engineers: Robert Noyce, founder of Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS  ) , and Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments. Working independently, the two men would help build the entire semiconductor industry from the ground up, using Dummer's concepts as a starting point.

  • [By Alex Planes]

    In an epochal paper published in Electronics magazine on April 19, 1965 and simply titled "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits," Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS  ) director of research Gordon E. Moore wrote (emphasis mine):

  • [By Brian Pacampara]

    What: Shares of power chip specialist Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS  ) sank 10% today after its quarterly results and outlook missed Wall Street expectations.

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now: AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AUS)

AT & S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AT&S) is an Austria-based company that is principally engaged in the production of printed circuit boards. The Company is divided into three core business units: Mobile Devices; Automotive, and Industrial. The Company�� product assortment ranges from single- and double-sided printed circuit boards to multilayer printed circuit boards. They are used as electromechanical linking elements, mainly in the telecommunication sector, automobile industry and medical technology applications, as well as defense and aerospace. AT&S operates production sites in Austria, India, China and Korea. It also maintains international sales offices, based in Austria, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Belgium. As of March 31, 2011, the Company operated through its subsidiaries in India, Germany, Austria, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Triska Hamid]

    Professors at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) are also looking at dental care with braces imbedded with a chip that monitor the movement of the fixtures and will communicate with the dentist's office if any of them are separated from the teeth.

Top 10 Warren Buffett Companies To Invest In Right Now: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)

Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.

The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).

Power Transistors

The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.

Hybrids

The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.

Voltage Regulators

Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.

Field Effect Transistors

The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.

The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Geoff Gannon] strong>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 private.

    OPT-Sciences

    This

  • [By Geoff Gannon]

    Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.

    Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.

    ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

  • [By Geoff Gannon] on the amount of stock you can buy and the position size you like. For me, I try not to start buying a stock that I think will never make up 10% of my portfolio. If you don�� mind having 5% positions in your portfolio, your portfolio can obviously be twice as big as mine and you can still consider buying the same small stocks I do. In terms of specific stocks, it depends on the amount of float and the volume the stock trades in an average month. We are really getting into specifics here. And I may be boring people. But if you�� like to hear more about the minutiae of how you actually buy and sell tiny stocks like these, let me know, and I��l do an article on the subject.

    By the way, there is a hard and fast rule of thumb that it usually makes no sense to invest in a company with a market cap that is smaller than your portfolio. This is true for both fund and individual investors. Funds break it all the time. But, frankly, it is probably a waste of an analyst/fund manager�� time to even analyze such tiny positions relative to the size of the whole portfolio. Since even when we are discussing very small stocks we are still talking about millions and millions of dollars in market cap, this is hardly a concern for most individuals.

    So, for individual investors, actual inability to acquire enough shares of a company to meaningful influence their portfolio is rarely the problem. If you bid for a stock month after month ��you��l get your shares.

    The concern for individual investors is not whether buying enough shares is possible. The concern is how quickly and easily you can buy and sell. This is what we call ��iquidity.��/p>

    Instead of thinking about stocks as liquid or illiquid, you should think in terms of your portfolio and your liquidity needs. It doesn't make much sense to use what I'll call an "objective" (as in stock-oriented) approach to liquidity rather than a "subjective" (as in investor-oriented) approach to liquidity.

    <

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Applied Materials Inc.(AMAT)

Applied Materials, Inc. provides manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, flat panel display, solar photovoltaic (PV), and related industries worldwide. The company?s Silicon Systems Group segment offers a range of manufacturing equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits. This segment provides systems that perform primary processes used in chip fabrication, including atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, rapid thermal processing, chemical mechanical planarization, wet cleaning, and wafer metrology and inspection, as well as systems that etch or inspect circuit patterns on masks used in the photolithography process. Its Applied Global Services segment offers products and services designed to enhance the performance and productivity, and reduce the environmental impact of the fab operations of semiconductor, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar P V manufacturers. The company?s Display segment provides products for manufacturing thin film transistor LCDs for televisions, personal computers (PCs), tablet PCs, smartphones, and other consumer-oriented electronic applications. Its Energy and Environmental Solutions segment offers manufacturing systems for the generation and conservation of energy, as well as manufacturing solutions for wafer-based crystalline silicon applications. This segment also provides roll-to-roll vacuum Web coating systems for deposition of a range of films on flexible substrates for functional, aesthetic, or optical properties; and roll-to-roll machine for depositing ultra-thin aluminum films for flexible packaging applications. The company serves manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, flat panel LCDs, solar PV cells and modules, and other electronic devices. Applied Materials, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Luke Jacobi]

    Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) rose 9.06 percent to $17.44 after the company announced its plans to acquire Tokyo Electron in an all-share deal.

Top 5 Semiconductor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Xilinx Inc (XLNX)

Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx), incorporated on February 5, 1984, designs, develops and markets programmable platforms. These programmable platforms have a number of components, including integrated circuits (ICs) in the form of programmable logic devices (PLDs), including Extensible Processing Platforms (EPPs); software design tools to program the PLDs; targeted reference designs; printed circuit boards, and intellectual property (IP), which consists of Xilinx and various third-party verification and IP cores. In addition to its programmable platforms, Xilinx provides design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. The Company�� PLDs include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) that its customers program to perform logic functions, and EPPs. Xilinx�� products are offered to electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets, such as wired and wireless communications, industrial, scientific and medical, aerospace and defense, audio, video and broadcast, consumer, automotive and data processing. The Company sells its products globally through independent domestic and foreign distributors and through direct sales to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by a network of independent sales representative firms and by a direct sales management organization. In January 2011, the Company acquired AutoESL Design Technologies, Inc. In August 2012, the Company acquired embedded Linux solutions provider PetaLogix.

Product Families

The 7 series devices that comprise the Company�� 28-nanometer (nm) product families are fabricated on a high-K metal gate 28-nm process technology. These devices are based on an architecture, which enables design and IP portability and re-use across all families, as well as provides designers the ability to achieve the appropriate combination of I/O support, performance, feature quantities, packaging and power consumption to address a range of applications. The 7 series devices consist of! three families: Virtex-7 FPGA, Kintex-7 FPGAs and Artix-7 FPGAs. The Zynq-7000 family is the family of Xilinx EPPs. The Virtex-6 FPGA family consists of 13 devices and is the sixth generation in the Virtex series of FPGAs.

Virtex-6 FPGAs are fabricated on a high-performance, 40-nm process technology. There are three Virtex-6 families: Virtex-6 LXT FPGAs, Virtex-6 SXT FPGAs and Virtex-6 HXT FPGAs. The Spartan-6 family is the PLD industry�� 45-nm high-volume FPGA family, consisting of 11 devices in two product families: Spartan-6 LX FPGAs and Spartan-6 LXT FPGAs. The Virtex-5 FPGA family consists of 26 devices in five product families: Virtex-5 LX FPGAs for logic-intensive designs, Virtex-5 LXT FPGAs for high-performance logic with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 SXT FPGAs for high-performance DSP with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 FXT FPGAs for embedded processing with serial connectivity and Virtex-5 TXT FPGAs for high-bandwidth serial connectivity. Prior generation Virtex families include Virtex-4, Virtex-II Pro, Virtex-II, Virtex-E and the original Virtex family. Spartan family FPGAs include 90-nm Spartan-3 FPGAs, the Spartan-3E family and the Spartan-3A family. Prior generation Spartan families include Spartan-IIE, Spartan-II, Spartan XL and the original Spartan family.

Design Platforms and Services

The Company offers three types of programmable platforms. The Base Platform is the delivery vehicle for all of its new silicon offerings used to develop and run customer-specific software applications and hardware designs. The Base Platform consists of FPGA silicon; Integrated Software Environment (ISE) Design Suite design environment; integration support of optional third-party synthesis, simulation, and signal integrity tools; reference designs; development boards and IP. The Domain-Specific Platform targets one of the three primary Xilinx FPGA user profiles: the embedded processing developer; the DSP developer; or the logic/connectivity developer. The Market-S! pecific P! latform enables software or hardware developers to build and run their specific application or solution. Built for specific markets, such as automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, audio, video and broadcast, industrial, or scientific and medical, the Market-Specific Platform integrates both the Base and Domain-Specific Platforms.

During April 2012, Xilinx introduced the Vivado Design Suite. Vivado supports Xilinx 7 series FPGAs and Zynq EPPs. Xilinx and various third parties offer hundreds of no charge and fee-bearing IP core licenses covering Ethernet, memory controllers Interlaken and PCIe interface, as well as domain-specific IP in the areas of embedded, DSP and connectivity, and market-specific IP cores. The Company also offers development kits, including hardware, design tools, IP and reference designs. Xilinx offers a range of configuration products, including one-time programmable and in-system programmable storage devices to configure Xilinx FPGAs. These programmable read-only memory (PROM) products support all of the Company�� FPGA devices. Xilinx and certain third parties have developed and offer a ecosystem of IP, boards, tools, services and support through the Xilinx alliance program. Xilinx also works with these third parties to promote its programmable platforms through third-party tools, IP, software, boards and design services. Xilinx engineering services provide customers with engineering, ranging from hands-on training to full design creation and implementation.

The Company competes with Altera Corporation, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and Microsemi Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Michael Flannelly]

    Programmable logic solutions provider Xilinx, Inc. (XLNX) was upgraded by analysts at Pacific Crest early on Monday, as the company should benefit from the LTE upgrade in China.

    The analysts upgraded XLNX from “Sector Perform” to “Outperform” and see shares reaching $55. This price target suggests an 18% upside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $46.54.

    Xilinx shares were inactive during pre-market trading on Monday. The stock is up 29.78% year-to-date.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $588.28 million.

    Universal Forest Products (NASDAQ: UFPI) is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $625.77 million.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) dipped 3.03% to $46.10 after the company issued a weak current-quarter revenue outlook.

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