Best Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014

European stocks rose, extending a third consecutive monthly advance, as mining companies and banks led gains. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also increased.

Rio Tinto Group climbed 2.9 percent after saying it will cost $3 billion less than projected to increase iron ore output capacity. Boliden AB (BOL) added 3.1 percent as Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the stock. Thomas Cook Group Plc (TCG) rose 13 percent after the travel operator posted a 49 percent increase in full-year earnings. British tobacco companies slipped following a report that after a U.K. minister announced the review of cigarette packaging.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.4 percent to 325.26 at 10:47 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor�� 500 Index futures rose 0.3 percent after the equity gauge closed at a record yesterday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7 percent with Japanese equities ending at the highest in almost six years. U.S. equity and bond markets are closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Hot Healthcare Technology Companies To Invest In 2015: Bob Evans Farms Inc.(BOBE)

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans and Mimi's Cafe brand names in the United States. It also sells retail gifts, food items, and other novelties in its Bob Evans Restaurants, and seven Bob Evans Restaurants & General Stores. As of January 27, 2012, the company owned and operated 564 Bob Evans family restaurants in 18 states; and 145 Mimi's Caf�casual restaurants in 24 states. It also produces and distributes food products under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names. The company?s food products include fresh, smoked, and fully cooked pork sausages; hickory-smoked bacon products; refrigerated and frozen convenience food items, such as mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, microwaveable sandwiches, and slow-roasted main dish entrees. In addition, it owns and operates SWH Custom Foods, a prep kitchen that prepares signature muffin mixes, dressings, sauces, and soups for third-party restaurants in Fullerton, California. The com pany was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mr. TopStep]

  As always, please make sure to use protective stops when trading futures…

  In Asia, 7 of 11 markets closed higher : Shanghai Comp. -0.92% , Hang Seng -0.42%, Nikkei +0.29%. In Europe, 8 of 12 markets are trading higher : DAX +0.15% , FTSE +0.04 % Morning headline: “S&P 500 Index Seen Higher Ahead If Housing Data ” Fair Value: S&P -8.11, NASDAQ -8.00, Dow Jones -79.96 Total volume: 6k ESU and 1.73k SPU traded Economic calendar: FOMC meeting begins, Consumer Price Index, Housing Starts, Redbook and earnings from Bob Evans Farms (NASDAQ: BOBE), Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) and La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB). E-mini S&P 5001941.50+5.00 - +0.26% Crude102.15+0.02 - +0.02% Shanghai Composite0.00N/A - N/A Hang Seng23203.59-97.08 - -0.42% Nikkei 22514975.97+42.68 - +0.29% DAX9920.32+36.34 - +0.37% FTSE 1006766.77+12.13 - +0.18% Euro1.3541

  The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

Best Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation(NTT)

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services to residential and corporate customers in Japan. It offers fixed and mobile voice related services, IP/packet communications services, system integration and network system services, and other telecommunications related services; sells telecommunications equipment; and operates telephone networks. The company provides intra-prefectural and inter-prefectural communications, international communications, mobile telephone services, and related ancillary services; and data communications services, such as strategic planning, systems planning and systems design, and information communications systems and computer networks installation. It also engages in building maintenance, real estate property rental, systems development, leasing, and research and development activities. As of March 31, 2011, the company provided telephone and ISDN services to 34,884 thousand subs cribers; broadband services to 15,059 thousand FLET?S Hikari subscribers and 2,858 thousand FLET?S ADSL subscribers; and mobile phone services to 58,010 thousand subscribers. It also offered Plala Internet connection service to 3,101 thousand subscribers and Open Computer Network service to 8,234 thousand subscribers. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation was founded in 1952 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  The strength in Japanese stocks is evident in Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT), the $60 billion telco in the Land of the Rising Sun. Shares of NTT are up close to 22% since the first trading session in January -- and now, a technical setup points to even higher ground in the month ahead.

  That's because NTT is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish price setup that's formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $27 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as NTT bounces in between those two technical levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above resistance. When that move above $27 happens, traders have their buy signal.

  At first glance, the abundance of gaps on NTT's chart may be alarming. But those gaps, called suspension gaps, are just the rest of off hours trading on the Tokyo and London exchanges. From a technical standpoint they're irrelevant, but they're common in foreign traded names that are dual-listed overseas.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Telecommunications services shares gained around 0.25 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NYSE: NTT), and SK Telecom Co (NYSE: SKM).

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened lower Thursday, as gains for the yen and losses for Wall Street conspired to drive the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) down 1.2% to 15,333.35, extending Wednesday's 0.6% loss. The Topix fell 0.7%, with the U.S. dollar (USDJPY) slipping to 102.46 yen, down from around 楼102.80 at the start of the previous session, but off its lows in late Wednesday trade. Electronics firms and other techs helped lead the loss, with Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) falling 1.4%, Nikon Corp. (JP:7731) (NINOF) off 2.4%, and Alps Electric Co. (JP:6770) 1.8% lower. The Nikkei Asian Review reported Thursday that Japan looked set to post its first trade deficit for electronics goods this year. Shares of Yahoo Japan Corp. (JP:4689) (YAHOF) lost 1.4%, even as Bloomberg reported the firm was offering its stake in market-research firm Macromill Inc. (JP:3730) to U.S. private-equity firm Bain Capital at a premium to its most recent close. Shares of Macromill were untraded. Among gainers, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (JP:9432) (NTT) rose 2.1%, following a 1.1% gain for its U.S.-listed shares.

Best Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Office Depot Inc.(ODP)

Office Depot, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies office products and services. Its North American Retail division sells an assortment of merchandise, such as general office supplies, computer supplies, business machines and related supplies, and office furniture under various labels, including Office Depot, Viking Office Products, Foray, Ativa, Break Escapes, Niceday, and Worklife through its chain of office supply stores. It also provides printing, reproduction, mailing, shipping, and other services, as well as personal computer support and network installation service. As of December 25, 2010, this division operated 1,147 office supply stores in the United States and Canada. The company?s North American Business Solutions division sells nationally branded and private brand office supplies, technology products, furniture, and services to small- to medium-sized customers through a dedicated sales force, catalogs, and Internet. Its International division sells o ffice products and services through direct mail catalogs, contract sales forces, Internet sites, and retail stores using a mix of company-owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, alliances, and other arrangements. As of December 25, 2010, it sold its office products to customers in 53 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This division operated, through wholly-owned or majority-owned entities, 97 retail stores in France, Hungary, South Korea, and Sweden; and participates under licensing and merchandise arrangements in South Korea, Thailand, India, Israel, Japan, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  As the merger between office products suppliers OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX  ) and Office Depot (NYSE: ODP  ) wends its way through the regulatory process, they've hired�global talent management consultancy Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY  ) to begin the process of finding a CEO to lead the combined companies once the deal is completed.

• [By Rich Bieglmeier]

  Office Depot Inc. (NYSE:ODP) will announce first quarter 2014 results for the fiscal period ending March 29, 2014 on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. A conference call to discuss the results will be held that day at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  We still have many key oil and energy companies reporting in the week ahead but we have now seen the sector leaders report earnings. Earnings previews have been prepared for the following stocks:

  CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ) Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS) American Water Works Company Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) QUALCOMM Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) The Wendy’s Company (NYSE: WEN)

  CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) reports earnings on Monday morning. With all of the exchange mergers of the last decade this remains one of the dominant exchanges. Estimates are $0.73 EPS and $713.3 million in revenue. Keep in mind that this exchange is now worth $25 billion. At $74.70, the consensus analyst price target is only just barely higher at almost $75.50.

Best Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Sangamo BioSciences Inc.(SGMO)

Sangamo Biosciences, Inc. engages in the research, development, and commercialization of zinc finger DNA-binding proteins (ZFPs) for gene regulation and gene modification in the United States. Its ZFPs could be engineered to make ZFP transcription factors (ZFP TFs), proteins that could be used to turn genes on or off; and ZFP nucleases (ZFNs), proteins that enable to modify DNA sequences in various ways. The company?s principal ZFP therapeutic include SB-509, a plasmid formulation of a ZFP TF activator of the vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) gene that is in a Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of severe diabetic neuropathy; and in a Phase 2 clinical trial in for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as in preclinical animal studies for spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. It is also developing SB-728-T, a ZFN-modified T-cell product, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial and two Phase 1 trials for the treatment of HI V/AIDS. In addition, the company develops SB-313xTZ, a ZFN-based therapeutic that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer. Further, it has preclinical development programs of ZFP therapeutics in the areas of Parkinson?s disease, hemophilia B, and neuropathic pain; and neuroregenerative programs in spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and stroke. Additionally, the company has research stage programs in the areas of monogenic diseases and genetic conditions that result from a defect in a single gene, including hemophilia and other hemoglobinopathies, and immunodeficiencies. It has collaboration agreements with Sigma-Aldrich Corporation; Dow AgroSciences LLC; Pfizer Inc.; Genentech, Inc.; Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc.; and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Richmond, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) shot up 20.81 percent to $23.69 announced the publication in the NEJM of the first-in-man study of genome editing using its ZFN technology.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Shares of Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) got a boost, shooting up 3.16 percent to $11.11 after dropping 5.90% on Monday. Jefferies initiated coverage on Sangamo BioSciences with a Buy rating and a $22.00 price target

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: SGMO) shot up 16.32 percent to $22.81 announced the publication in the NEJM of the first-in-man study of genome editing using its ZFN technology. Shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AGIO) got a boost, shooting up 27.72 percent to $40.41 after the company reported quarterly results. BJ's (NASDAQ: BJRI) was also up, gaining 21.04 percent to $33.48 after the company was upgraded toa Buy rating at Buckingham research.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Intercept Pharmaceutical has surged 576% this year after gaining today, besting InterMune’s (ITMN) 119% spike and Sangamo BioSciences’ (SGMO) 63% advance.

Best Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Bouygues SA (EN)

Bouygues SA is a France-based group that operates in two sectors: Telecommunications and Media, and Construction. The Construction division comprises three core subsidiaries: Bouygues Construction, specializing in building and public works activities, notably in the areas of electrical engineering, and facility maintenance; Bouygues Immobilier, a property development company, whose activities include the development of residential, corporate and commercial properties, and the execution of urban development schemes, and Colas, engaged in the construction and maintenance of transport, urban development and leisure infrastructure. The Telecommunications and Media division of the Group comprises two companies: TF1, specializing in audiovisual and cinema production, the acquisition and sale of audiovisual rights, and the publishing and distribution of compact discs, among others, and Bouygues Telecom, which offers mobile telephone and broadband Internet services. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Bouygues (EN) rallied 10 percent to 25.33 euros, the biggest gain since February. The French building, telecommunications and television company�� operating profit increased to 432 million euros from 394 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had forecast 358 million euros, according to the average of three estimates.

Best Japanese Companies To Invest In 2014: Qualys Inc (QLYS)

Qualys, Inc. (Qualys), incorporated on December 30, 1999, is a provider of clouds security and compliance solutions that enable organizations to identify security risks to their information technology (IT) infrastructures, help protect their IT systems and applications from cyber attacks and achieve compliance with internal policies and external regulations. The Company designed its QualysGuard Cloud Platform to transform the way organizations secure and protect their IT infrastructures and applications. The Company's cloud platform offers an integrated suite of solutions that automates the lifecycle of asset discovery, security assessments, and compliance management for an organization's IT infrastructure and assets, whether they reside inside the organization, on their network perimeter or in the cloud.

The Company provides its solutions through a software-as-a-service model, primarily with renewable annual subscriptions. These subscriptions require customers to pay a fee in order to access the Company's cloud solutions. The Company's QualysGuard Cloud Platform consists of a suite of IT security and compliance solutions that leverage the Company's shared and extensible core services and its scalable multi-tenant cloud infrastructure. The Company's suite of solutions provides security intelligence by automating the life cycle of IT asset discovery, security assessment and compliance management. The Company's cloud platform's infrastructure includes integrated services that deliver a automated and scalable scanning infrastructure capable of scanning IT systems and Web applications, inside and outside corporate firewalls. The Company also provides open application program interfaces (APIs), and other developer tools that allow third parties to embed its technology into their solutions and build applications on its cloud platform.

The Company's suite of solutions, which the Company refers to as the QualysGuard Cloud Suite, includes Vulnerability Management, Web Application Sca! nning, Malware Detection Service, Policy Compliance, PCI Compliance and Qualys SECURE Seal. The Company's customers can subscribe to one or more of the Company's security and compliance solutions based on their initial needs and expand their subscriptions over time to new areas within their organization or to additional QualysGuard solutions. The Company offers two editions of its QualysGuard Cloud Suite, the Enterprise edition for large and medium-sized enterprises and the Express edition for small and medium-sized businesses.

QualysGuard Vulnerability Management (QualysGuard VM), is a solution that automates network auditing and vulnerability management across an organization, including network discovery and mapping, asset management, vulnerability reporting, and remediation tracking. QualysGuard Policy Compliance (QualysGuard PC) allows customers to analyze and collect configuration and access control information from their networked devices and Web applications and automatically maps this information to internal policies and external regulations in order to document compliance.

QualysGuard PCI Compliance (QualysGuard PCI) provides organizations that store cardholder data a automated solution to verify and document compliance with PCI DSS. QualysGuard Web Application Scanning (QualysGuard WAS) uses the scalability of its cloud platform to allow customers to discover, catalog and scan a large number of Web applications. QualysGuard Malware Detection Service (QualysGuard MDS) provides organizations with the ability to scan identify and remove malware infections from their Websites. QualysGuard Web Application Firewall (QualysGuard WAF) delivers enterprise-grade Web application security without associated with appliance-based Web application firewall solutions. QualysGuard SECURE Seal helps organizations demonstrate to their online customers that they maintain a proactive security program.

Core Services include asset tagging and management, reporting and dashboards! , questio! nnaires and collaboration, remediation and workflow, big data correlation and analytics engine, and alerts and notifications. The Company�� infrastructure layer, which it refer to as its Infrastructure, includes the data, data processing capabilities, software and hardware infrastructure and infrastructure management capabilities that provide the foundation for its cloud platform and allow the Company to automatically scale its Infrastructure and Core Services to scan millions of Internet protocols (IPs).

The Company competes with Hewlett-Packard Company, Imperva, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, McAfee, Inc., Symantec Corporation, Barracuda Networks, Inc., BeyondTrust Software, Inc., Lumension Security, Inc., nCircle Network Security, Inc., NetIQ Corporation, Rapid7 LLC, Tenable Network Security, Inc. and Trustwave Holdings, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) shares shot up 10.23 percent to $21.07 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.

  Shares of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) got a boost, shooting up 15.95 percent to $4.84 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings and announced its plans to close at least 400 stores in the US.