Pier 1 Imports Hits Estimates, But GAAP Results Lag Last Year's

Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR  ) reported earnings on April 11. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 2 (Q4), Pier 1 Imports met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly. Non-GAAP earnings per share increased significantly. GAAP earnings per share shrank significantly.

Gross margins grew, operating margins grew, net margins dropped.

Revenue details
Pier 1 Imports logged revenue of $552.0 million. The 12 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted a top line of $547.1 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 16% higher than the prior-year quarter's $476.8 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.60. The 14 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.60 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.60 for Q4 were 25% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.48 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.58 for Q4 were 44% lower than the prior-year quarter's $1.04 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 46.2%, much better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 18.2%, 140 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.2%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $393.7 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.20.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.83 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.37.

Investor sentiment

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Pier 1 Imports is outperform, with an average price target of $24.36.

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Top Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now

Top Heal Care Companies To Own In Right Now: YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)

YRC Worldwide Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various transportation services worldwide. The company?s YRC National Transportation unit offers a range of services for the transportation of industrial, commercial, and retail goods, such as apparel, appliances, automotive parts, chemicals, food, furniture, glass, machinery, metal, metal products, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, textiles, wood, and other manufactured products. It serves manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and government customers. As of December 31, 2009, it had 11704 owned tractors, 1239 leased tractors, 50083 owned trailers, and 3244 leased trailers. Its YRC Regional Transportation unit?s service portfolio includes regional delivery, which comprises next-day local area delivery and second-day services, consolidation/distribution services, protect-from-freezing and hazardous materials handling, and various specialized offerings; expedited delivery, that comprises day-definite, hour-definite, and time definite capabilities; inter-regional delivery; cross-border delivery; and operation of my.yrcregional.com and NewPenn.com, which are e-commerce Websites offering online resources to manage transportation activity. The company?s YRC Logistics units? service portfolio consists of distribution services that include flow through and pool distribution, dedicated warehousing, and value-added services; global services, which comprise international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and value-added services; and transportation services, such as truckload brokerage, domestic freight forwarding, and transportation management. Its YRC Truckload unit provides customized truckload services on regional and national level through the use of company and team-based drivers. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.

Advisor! s' Opinion:

• [By Michael Calia]

  Trucking company YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW) said Friday it had cut its large debt load by about $300 million while offering $250 million in stock, the proceeds of which will be used to retire convertible notes. About $50 million in the principal amount of other convertible notes were swapped or converted to common stock, the company said.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Tuesday’s session are Delta Air Lines Inc.(DAL), NuPathe Inc.(PATH) and YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Job creation last month was shockingly weak, but analysts couldn't really explain why –- other than to blame the weather -- which left investors unsure how to react Friday. Many analysts say the numbers are likely to be revised higher next month, and in the end, market reaction was muted. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) lost ground for a third straight day, declining nearly 8 points, but the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) added 4, and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) rose 18 points. Target (TGT) lost more than a point after saying the data breach that began on Black Friday was much worse than previously thought. The company now says as many as 70 million customers had personal information stolen. Target also lowered its fourth quarter outlook, partly because sales slumped after the data breach was first revealed. Sears (SHLD) tumbled by around 13.5 percent. It expects a big quarterly loss as sales fell during the holiday shopping season. Several smaller, specialty retailers also fell: Pacific Sunwear (PSUN) slid 16 percent, Five Below (FIVE) fell 7 percent, Shoe Carnival (SCVL) lost 5 percent, and Conn's (CONN) lost 2 percent. But Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) jumped 12 percent. It raised its earnings forecast as sales were not as bad as expected. Elsewhere, Alcoa (AA) fell about 5.5 percent. It's not quite the economic bellwether! it used ! to be, but the aluminum giant still matters, and its net came in a bit shy of expectations. YRC Worldwide (YRCW) tumbled 13 percent after workers rejected a contract offer. That has raised fears the trucking company could be forced into bankruptcy. On the upside, the weak jobs report could keep mortgage rates from rising, and that boosted housing stocks. KB Homes (KBH) rose 3 percent, William Lyons up 4 percent, and Lennar (LEN) was up 2 percent. And on Thursday we reported that shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals nearly quadrupled in price on news of a positive clinical study for its liver dr

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-heal-care-companies-to-own-in-right-now.html

Asian shares rise; Hong Kong gains on China banks

Asian stocks steadied in morning trade to move modestly higher, led by gains in Hong Kong.

A rise in heavily-weighted Chinese bank stocks buoyed Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index 0.9% higher to 22,022.10. China's major banks this week have reported solid profits for 2013, easing for now lingering doubts around the sector's financial health.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation's largest bank by assets, late Thursday said its net profit for 2013 rose 10% from a year earlier. Shares rose 1.5% Friday.

In Sydney, stocks on the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% as the Australian dollar continued its run higher. The currency last traded at US$0.9293 from US$0.9257 late in New York.

Bloomberg Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) signage is seen on one of the company's offices in Beijing, China.

"There is buying to get out of a short and buying to go long," said Marc Chandler, global head of foreign-exchange at Brown Brothers Harriman. "Shorts are getting out, and there are bottom-pickers coming in."

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.1% after falling as much as 0.7% in early trading. Corporate news took the lion's share of attention. Shares of Yahoo Japan Corp. slid 9% after the company said it would pay ¥324 billion (US$3.15 billion) to acquire wireless service provider eAccess from majority shareholder SoftBank Corp. SoftBank shares fell 2.2%.

Traders were also digesting data showing that household spending fell in Japan last month, defying expectations for a consumer spending boom ahead of Japan's sales tax increase next week. Household spending fell 2.5% in February versus the 0.1% rise economists expected.

Top High Tech Stocks To Own For 2014

Korea's Kospi index rose 0.33% to 1984.42 while Taiwan's Taiex traded flat.

A weak session on Wall Street had put a damper on initial trading Friday. The world's largest stock market has struggled for direction this week amid mixed reports on the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1% to close at 16264.23 Thursday. It had been down as many as 77.20 points, and up 31.95 points, during the session. The S&P 500 index lost 3.52 points, or 0.2%, to 1849.04.

More MarketWatch news:

Asia Markets blog: Dawn of the data in Japan

Got $16? Then invest in a blockbuster movie, says Alibaba

Bill Miller explains how to make money in a changing market

James Montier - Equity Markets Are Overvalued

Top Chemical Stocks To Own For 2014

James Montier, member of the asset allocation team at Boston-based GMO, has a hard time finding attractively valued assets these days. His advice to investors: Cash – and lots of patience.

James Montier is a full-blooded value investor. Pickings are slim these days, though, says the member of the asset allocation team at the Boston-based asset manager GMO. He sees a «hideous opportunity set» for investors, with the S&P-500 being overvalued by 50 to 70 percent.

James, are you able to find anything in today's financial markets that still has an attractive valuation? Nothing at all. When we look at the world today, what we see is a hideous opportunity set. And that's a reflection of the central bank policies around the world. They drive the returns on all assets down to zero, pushing everybody out on the risk curve. So today, nothing is cheap anymore in absolute terms. There are pockets of relative attractiveness, but nothing is cheap or even at fair value. Everything is expensive. As an investor, you have to stick with the best of a bad bunch.

Where are these pockets of relative value? There are two and a half of them. The half pocket is high quality stocks, companies that have high and stable profitability. But granted: They are nowhere near as compelling as they were even a year ago, so we are slowly selling our high quality positions. We are by the way also reducing our overall equity weight gradually as this year goes on. We have already taken about five points out, and we are at 50 percent now. By the end of the year we'll probably be at around 39 percent.

And what are the other pockets of value? European value is still somewhat okay – although there we have increasing concerns about the prospect of deflation in the Eurozone. The breakup risk of the Eurozone has been diminished, the thing seems to be holding together. But that comes with the cost of outright deflation in peripheral countries. That's a big issue for European equities, not only because deflation increases the discount rate in real terms, but it also increases their debt in real terms. They will owe more in real terms the longer this deflation goes on.

What sectors fall under European value? A mixture of asset rich sectors: Utilities, oil & gas, some telecom, some industrials. Names we like in that field are Total (FP 46.33 -1.37%), BP, Royal Dutch, Telefonica and the like. The problem with all those sectors is that they tend to be debt heavy, which is why the prospect of deflation is such a big issue.

But the European market in general is not cheap anymore? No. The time to be buying broad European equities was two years ago.

Continue reading here.

About the author:Canadian Valuehttp://valueinvestorcanada.blogspot.com/

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Good read - thanks for posting!

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Buying Back Stock May Help Rebuild the Credibility

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) is a bank and financial holding company. Through its banking and various nonbanking subsidiaries throughout the U.S. and in international markets, the company provides a range of banking and nonbanking financial services and products through five business segments: Consumer & Business Banking, Consumer Real Estate Services, Global Banking, Global Markets and Global Wealth & Investment Management, as well as All Other.

Share Repurchase

In Mar 2013, following the approval by the FED, the bank announced to buy back as much as $5 billion in stock. This way credibility will be improving. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said "Buying back common shares is the best way to continue to drive value for our shareholders". As of Dec 31, it reported Basel 1 Tier 1 common capital of $145 billion, and ratio of 11.19%. Its estimated Basel III Tier 1 common ratio stood at 9.96%. All the numbers showed that were well above the regulatory requirements On the other hand, JPMorgan (JPM) reported Basel I Tier 1 common capital of $149 billion, and ratio of 10.7% and estimated Basel III Tier 1 common ratio of 9.5%, while Wells Fargo (WFC) reported Tier 1 common equity ratio under Basel I of 10.82%and common equity Tier 1 ratio under Basel III off 9.78%.

Project New BAC

In 2011, Bank of America launched an initiative called Project New BAC. The idea was simple; eliminate unproductive spending with a goal to improve earnings. Its focus on core services and on cost cutting, expecting total cost savings to reach $8 billion per year by mid-2015. The bank has reduced expenses considerably, about $900 million of cost savings in 2012 and $6billion in 2013. Moreover, operating expenses also declined 4.0% year-over-year to $69.2 billion in 2013. CEO Brian Moynihan detailed the five main aspects targeted by Project New BAC: "capital generation, reducing our costs, managing the risk down, addressing the legacy issues, and driving business growth overall."

P/E, Earnings and ROE

In terms of valuation, the stock sells at a trailing P/E of 19.5x, trading at a discount compared to the industry. Earnings per share (EPS) increased in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. Bank of America´s fourth-quarter earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Finally, I always like to see one of the most important financial ratios applying to stockholders, the best measure of performance for a firm's management: the return on equity. Let´s compare the current ratio with the peer group in the next table:

Ticker	Company Name	ROE (%)
BAC	Bank of America	4.91
WFC	Wells Fargo	12.86
JPM	JPMorgan Chase	8.49
BKU	BankUnited, Inc.	10.83
BBT	BB&T Corp	7.38

As we can see, the firm has a lower ROE than Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Bank United, Inc. (BKU) and BB&T Corp (BBT).

Final Comment

As outlined in this article, the bank impressed investors with its performance in Q4 as well as full-year 2013. Moreover, Project New BAC is expected to take the company to even greater heights in the coming years. Finally, raising capital makes me feel bullish about this company's future profitability.

I would recommend investors to consider adding the stock for their long-term portfolios. Hedge fund gurus have also been active in the company in Q4 2013. Gurus like Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Glenn Greenberg (Trades, Portfolio), Richard Snow (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Nygren (Trades, Portfolio), Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio), George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) have also invested in it.

Disclosure: Victor Selva holds no position in any stocks mentioned.

Also check out: Bill Nygren Undervalued Stocks Bill Nygren Top Growth Companies Bill Nygren High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Bill Nygren keeps buying George Soros Undervalued Stocks George Soros Top Growth Companies George Soros High Yield stocks, and Stocks that George Soros keeps buying

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Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now

LONDON -- One of Warren Buffett's famous investing sayings is "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful" -- or, in other words, sell when others are buying and buy when they're selling.

But we might expect Foolish investors to know that, and looking at what Fools have been buying recently might well provide us with some ideas for good investments.

So, in this series of articles, we're going to look at what customers of The Motley Fool ShareDealing Service have been buying in the past week or so, and what might have made them decide to do so.

Healthy yield
At the start of last week,�SSE� (LSE: SSE  ) -- the utility company formerly known as Scottish & Southern Energy -- released its preliminary results for the year to the end of March 2013. In them, it revealed that its pre-tax profits had risen 5.6% year on year, to 拢1.4 billion, on the back of a 21% increase in U.K. household gas consumption (a result of the extended cold winter weather) and a 5% rise in electricity usage. And the increases were despite a disappointing near-1% fall in the number of SSE's energy customer accounts, now down to 9.47 million.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Westwood Holdings Group Inc(WHG)

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. manages investment assets and provides services for its clients. It operates through two subsidiaries, Westwood Management Corp. and Westwood Trust. The Westwood Management Corp. provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments and foundations, mutual funds, individuals, and clients of Westwood Trust. The Westwood Trust provides trust and custodial services to institutions and high net worth individuals, and participates in common trust funds that it sponsors. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Will Ashworth]

  Even though APAM stock has been hitting its 10-month high in recent days, its yield is still 2.6% — 50 basis points higher than BLK, WDR and WETF. If you like asset managers that handle big chunks of institutional money while still playing the retail mutual fund game, this is the smart choice.

  Westwood Holdings Group (WHG)

  I first became aware of the Dallas-based asset manager Westwood Holdings Group (WHG) when I read about its founder, Susan Byrne, in an article that appeared in Fortune magazine several years ago. Her firm has been doing great things outside the bright lights of Manhattan ever since.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Life Technologies Corporation(LIFE)

Life Technologies Corporation operates as a global life sciences company. The company?s Molecular Biology Systems division offers molecular biology-based technologies, including basic and real-time PCR, RNA interference, DNA synthesis, sample preparation, transfection, cloning and protein expression profiling, protein analysis, and thermo-cycler instrumentation technologies. Its Cell Systems division provides cell culture media and sera, stem cells and related tools, cellular imaging products, antibodies, drug discovery services, and cell therapy related products used in the study of cell function. The company?s Genetic Systems division offers capillary electrophoresis systems and reagents, and next generation sequencing systems and reagents comprising SOLiD and Ion Torrent systems, as well as reagent kits developed specifically for applied markets, such as forensics and food safety, pharmaceutical quality monitoring, and animal health markets. Life Technologies Corporat ion also provides repair and maintenance services; and custom services, such as cell line development, custom media modification, and primers and custom assays development services. Its products offer research tools for genomics studies, proteomics studies, gene splicing, cellular analysis, and other research applications required by laboratories associated with universities, medical research centers, and government and other research institutions, as well as biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and chemical companies; and serves clinical labs, medical institutions, medical researchers, and various industries through sales and service professionals, e-commerce capabilities, and onsite supply center solutions. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO  ) announced today that it will acquire genomics company Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE  ) in a $13.6 billion deal. The agreement calls for Thermo Fisher to pay $76 per diluted share, as well as assume around $2.2 billion in Life Technologies' debt.

Top 10 Mid Cap Stocks To Buy For 2014: Cbeyond Inc.(CBEY)

Cbeyond, Inc. provides managed information technology (IT) and communications services to small businesses in the United States. Its services include local and long-distance voice, broadband Internet, mobile services, broadband laptop access, voicemail, email, Web hosting, fax-to-email, data backup, file-sharing, virtual private networking, and cloud servers; and cloud applications, data center infrastructure as a service, cloud private branch exchange phone systems, metro Ethernet, multi-protocol label switching, information security, administration management, and professional services to migrate and manage customer environments. It sells its products and services through direct sales; value-added resellers, local area network consultants, and other IT and communications consultants; and managed services providers, systems integrators, and software vendors. The company was formerly known as Cbeyond Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Cbeyond, Inc. in July 2006. Cbeyond, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) soared 6.29% to $6.76 in the pre-market trading. Cbeyond shares have dropped 10.67% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 26.42% in the same period.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) shares reached a new 52-week low of $6.07. Cbeyond's PEG ratio is -1.19.

  Swisher Hygiene (NASDAQ: SWSH) shares touched a new 52-week low of $0.732. Swisher Hygiene appointed William Pierce as its new president and CEO.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ)

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) provides a range of banking and financial products and services to retail, small business, corporate and institutional clients. The Company conducts its operations in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region. It also operates in a range of other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The Company operates on a divisional structure with Australia, International and Institutional Banking (IIB), New Zealand, and Global Wealth and Private Banking. As of September 30, 2012, the Company had 1,337 branches and other points of representation worldwide, excluding automatic teller machines (ATMs). In September 2012, it sold its remaining shareholding in Visa Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Weiyi Lim]

  The funds lured a net $25.9 billion in the period, Wei Liang Chang, a foreign-exchange strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), said by phone from Singapore today, citing data from EPFR Global. Developed markets posted $24.3 billion of inflows, while emerging-nation funds drew $1.6 billion, according to Chang.

• [By Adam Haigh]

  Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) sank 3 percent after Australia�� third-largest bank by market value forecast interest margins will keep dropping. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. jumped 6.9 percent in Seoul after North Korea and South Korea agreed to reopen the Gaeseong industrial complex. Chinese stock exchange officials are investigating a spike in the Shanghai Composite Index, which soared from a loss of as much as 1 percent to a gain of 5.6 percent in two minutes. Everbright Securities Co. said it experienced a trading error.

• [By Adam Haigh]

  Komatsu Ltd. tumbled 8 percent in Tokyo after the world�� second-largest maker of construction equipment cut its full-year profit forecast by 26 percent. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. gained 1.4 percent in Hong Kong, pacing an advance among Chinese lenders, after China�� central bank added funds to the financial system for the first time in two weeks. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) climbed 1.4 percent to a record in Sydney after posting its highest profit and raising its dividend more than forecast.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Agility Public Warehousing Co KSC (AGLTY)

Agility Public Warehousing Company KSC is a Kuwait-based company engaged, along with its subsidiaries, in the provision of global integrated logistics solutions. The Company is organized into two business segments: the Logistic and Related services segment provides logistics offering to its clients, including freight forwarding, transportation, contract logistics, project logistics and fairs and events logistics, and the Infrastructure segment provides other services, which include industrial real estate airport and airplane ground handling and cleaning services, customs consulting, private equity and waste recycling. The Company operates under the brand name of Agility. The Company�� subsidiaries include Global Express Transport Co. WLL, PWC Transport Company WLL, Agility DGS Logistics Services KSCC and Gulf Catering Company for General, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fiona MacDonald]

  The Kuwait SE Price Index rose for a sixth day, climbing 0.5 percent to 6,851.17 at the close. Kuwait Real Estate Co. (KRE) climbed to the highest level in a month. Agility (AGLTY) advanced 1.7 percent after winning a $190 million UN contract in Sudan�� Darfur region. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the biggest 200 companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, fell 0.1 percent.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: PulteGroup Inc.(PHM)

PulteGroup, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in homebuilding and financial services businesses primarily in the United States. The company?s homebuilding business includes the acquisition and development of land primarily for residential purposes within the United States; and the construction of housing on such lands. It offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhouses, condominiums, and duplexes under the Pulte Homes, Del Webb, and Centex brand names. As of December 31, 2011, its homebuilding operations offered homes for sale in approximately 700 communities. The company?s financial services business consists of mortgage banking and title operations. It arranges financing through the origination of mortgage loans for its homebuyers; sells such loans and related servicing rights; and provides title insurance policies as an agent, and examination and closing services to its home buyers. The company was formerly known as Pulte Homes, Inc. an d changed its name to PulteGroup, Inc. in March 2010. PulteGroup, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Amanda Alix]

  The housing market has been steadily improving, lifting the stocks of homebuilders like Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH  ) , Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV  ) , and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM  ) to heights not seen since the mortgage crisis. Indeed, a recent Federal Reserve survey noted�that housing helped buoy the economy during the first two months of this year, along with auto sales.

Hot Diversified Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Aeropostale Inc (ARO)

Aeropostale, Inc., (Aeropostale), incorporated on September 1, 1995, is a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories, principally targeting 14 to 17 year-old young women and men through its Aeropostale stores and 4 to 12 year-old kids through its P.S. from Aeropostale stores. P.S. from Aeropostale products can be purchased in P.S. from Aeropostale stores, in certain Aeropostale stores, and online at www.ps4u.com. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 986 Aeropostale stores, consisting of 918 stores in 50 states and Puerto Rico, 68 stores in Canada, as well as 71 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in 20 states. The Company designs, sources, markets and sells all of its own merchandise. In addition, pursuant to a licensing agreement, it operated 14 Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale stores in Middle East and South East Asia. During March 2011, it announced that it had signed a second licensing agreement. The licensee to this agreement is focused to open approximately 30 stores in stores in Turkey over the next five years. In November 2012, the Company acquired online women's fashion footwear and apparel retailer GoJane.com (GoJane).

P.S. from Aeropostale offers casual clothing and accessories focusing on kids between the ages of 4 and 12. It�� P.S. from Aeropostale products are sold only at its stores and online through its e-commerce Websites, www.ps4u.com and www.aeropostale.com. The Company operates three street level stores in the New York City area. It also has a19,000 square foot Aeropostale store in the Times Square section of New York City. It offers both Aeropostale and P.S. from Aeropostale products in the Times Square store.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that looks poised to trigger a major breakout trade is Aeropostale (ARO), which operates as a mall-based retailer of casual apparel and accessories for young women and men in the U.S. This stock has been destroyed by the sellers so far in 2013, with shares off by 31%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Aeropostale, you'll notice that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last month and change, with shares plunging from its high of $15.73 to its recent 52-week low of $7.78 a share. During that downtrend, shares of ARO have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of ARO have now started to rebound sharply off that $7.78 low and are quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ARO if it manages to break out above its gap down day high of $9.55 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action 3.12 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ARO will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that started near $11.50 a share. If that gap gets filled with volume, then ARO could even hit $12 to $13 a share.

  Traders can look to buy ARO off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 52-week low of $7.78 a share. One could also buy ARO off strength once it takes out $9.55 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Andrew Marder]

  I don't buy poorly made clothes anymore. There was a time when I thought that saving a buck was worth it, but now I've moved into the "quality comes first" phase of my life. Even so, I know my limits when it comes to price, so I was taken aback when I noticed that Aeropostale's (NYSE: ARO  ) stock is currently trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 93. That means that for every dollar Aeropostale earned in income over the last four quarters, investors are being asked to pay $93.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big earnings movers: Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) is down 12.9% at $18.90 after a decent earnings reports was spoiled by a weak outlook<<LINK>>. Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: UEPS) is up 46.6% at $10.69 after beating estimates on EPS and revenues, raising its outlook for the third quarter, and posting a new 52-week high of $11.20. Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) is down 20.2% at $8.76, following a new 52-week low of $8.66, after a big earnings miss.

Comcast seeks Uber-like customer service

With its $45 billion proposal to acquire Time Warner Cable awaiting federal approval, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts vowed Tuesday to bring Uber-like quality to the company's much-maligned customer service.

Referring to the widely praised, consumer-friendly car-hire firm, Roberts acknowledged in an interview with USA TODAY that the perception of Comcast's poor customer service lingers. But he said the company is making fresh efforts to ease the headaches.

Uber "is fantastic," he said, wielding his iPhone to demonstrate a new Comcast app that lets customers schedule an appointment and troubleshoot set-top boxes remotely. "I need to (be able) to push the button and see where my truck is. We're beginning to make our service look like Uber."

That such improvements — including the app and the company's new cloud-based set-top box — will be extended to TWC relatively quickly if and when the companies merge remains a key selling point in Roberts' attempt to combine the nation's two largest cable operators. "We want to scale it and bring it to customers next year," he said. TWC customers "don't have the same speed."

The acquisition would give Comcast access to New York and Los Angeles, key media markets that the company has coveted. Combined, Comcast and TWC occupy about 40% of the Internet service market, or about 32 million customers. They would also hold about 30% of the pay-TV market.

Roberts downplayed critics' concern that the combined company would exert financial pressure on TV networks and stations, video streamers and other suppliers, or that it would extend preferential treatment to favored content.

Given the growing popularity of mobile devices and streaming, Comcast's primary interest, Roberts said, is to expand its broadband Internet business, not thwart it.

There's a growing pressure in the industry to introduce a la carte structure for pay-TV subscribers in which consumers would be able to buy only the channels they want. Roberts deflected the notion, bu! t said Comcast is working on providing more pay-TV subscription tiers. "We have been negotiating the right to create more flexibility around that," he said.

While Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse and others compete with Comcast in some markets, a large portion of the merged company's customers would have only a satellite-based Internet operator as an option. That's a prospect that concerns consumer advocates, who seek affordable pricing for a service that's becoming increasingly essential.

But Roberts stressed that the deal wouldn't limit competition, pointing out that the two companies have no overlapping service areas.

When Comcast bought a majority stake in NBC Universal in 2011, it agreed to several FCC mandates that last seven years. They include broadening Internet access to low-income households and not discriminating against third-parties that seek access to Comcast's distribution channels. Comcast says it'll extend these concessions to TWC.

The company's critics, including Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., say the cable behemoth has a history of breaching its obligations, including the NBC Universal-related concessions, a charge Roberts rejects.

The CEO reiterated his support for the principles of the open Internet (often referred to as net neutrality), under which all content providers receive equal treatment. But when asked directly if he would extend the NBC concessions when they expire in 2018, he declined to make such a commitment. He said he supports the FCC's efforts to draft new open Internet rules (the commission's previous rules were struck down by a court earlier this year).

Top 10 nations stockpiling gold

Discussions involving gold hoarders tend to generate images of the stereotypical nervous Nellie hiding out somewhere in the wilderness. Uncivilized and irrational, they count their so-called barbaric stacks of gold, which are located next to a lifetime supply of canned goods. While this portrayal may be amusing, the biggest hoarders of gold are some of the most advanced nations in the world.

Last year, global gold demand reached 3,756.1 tonnes or metric "tons" -- nearly 3.8 million kilograms, or 8.3 million pounds. That amount is valued at $170 billion, according to the World Gold Council. Demand was down from the prior year due to heavy outflows in exchange-traded funds and similar products, but bar and coin demand surged 28% year-over-year as investors still had an appetite for hard assets.

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With gold prices posting their first annual loss in more than a decade, central banks around the world purchased 368.9 tonnes of gold in 2013, above the five-year average of 282.6 tonnes. Let's take a look at the ten nations with the largest gold reserves, based on the latest international financial statistics and the WGC.

10. India

India officially holds 557.7 tonnes of gold, which represents 7.6% of its reserves. In 2009, the nation purchased 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund for $6.7 billion. It was the IMF's first such sale in almost a decade. India is the second-largest gold consumer in the world, and also a big believer in silver.

India is home to the tenth-largest economy in the world but consumes more silver than any other country. In 2013, India imported an estimated 5,400 tonnes of silver, according to Endeavour Silver. That is more than double the 1,900 tonnes imported in 2012 and higher than the recent peak of 5,049 tonnes imported in 2008. Of the world's annual silver production, India consumes ! more than 20%.

9. Netherlands

With a large economy in relation to its population, the Netherlands holds 612.5 tonnes of gold, which represents 52.6% of its reserves. In 2013, a citizens committee in the nation filed a petition demanding the central bank release information about the Netherlands gold hoard, including the storage location. It is estimated that the majority of the nation's stockpile is held abroad.

8. Japan

After two decades of low interest rates, it's not too surprising that Japan has one of the largest gold reserves in the world. The nation holds 765.2 tonnes of gold, representing only 2.4% of its reserves.

Interestingly, the Japanese yen and gold became a well-known investment pick for 2014. Kyle Bass, founder of Hayman Capital, recently said that if he could only put on one trade for the next ten years it would be to purchase gold in yen.

7. Russia

Russia holds 1,034.7 tonnes of gold, which represents 8.3% of its reserves. Russia has more than doubled its gold reserves in recent years and is likely to keep buying. In 2011, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed the United States was "like a parasite" on the global economy and said the dominance of the dollar as a world reserve currency is a threat to the financial system. In 2013, Russia's central bank added 77 tonnes of gold to its official reserves.

6. Switzerland

The land of international banking holds 1,040.1 tonnes of gold, which represents 7.8% of its reserves. Some citizens feel very strongly about gold. Last year, the Swiss People's Party collected enough signatures to force a referendum on a proposal to prevent the nation's central bank form selling any of its gold reserves and require it to hold at least 20% of its assets in the precious metal.

5. China

The world's second-largest economy holds 1,054.1 tonnes of gold, which represents only 1.1% of its reserves. However, this underestimates China's true holdings. The People's Bank of China has not formally! disclose! d any changes to its gold holdings in years, and it's widely believed that the central bank is purchasing gold to diversify its reserve holdings.

In 2009, China announced that it boosted its gold reserves by 454 tonnes via acquiring gold quietly over the previous five years. It represented an impressive 76% increase in gold reserves. Today, China is estimated by gold analysts to have around 2,000-3,000 tonnes of gold reserves. Meanwhile, consumer demand for gold in China exceeded expectations and set a new record of 1,065.8 tonnes in 2013, topping India's 974.8 tonnes.

4. France

France holds 2,435.4 tonnes of gold, which represents about 64.3% of its reserves. The nation has been relatively quiet in the gold market, but six men were arrested in Paris and surrounding areas for involvement in stealing gold bars worth about 1.6 million euros from an Air France plane. On September 19, the gold was stolen from the plane shortly before it left Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport. The plane was bound for Switzerland.

3. Italy

During the depths of the eurozone crisis, some analysts recommended that Italy use its gold stockpile to raise funds and restore confidence. However, the nation still holds 2,451.8 tonnes of gold, representing 65.9% of its reserves.

2. Germany

Much like Italy, speculation suggested that Germany might ultimately use its gold reserves to boost the European bailout fund, but this never materialized. Germany holds 3,387.1 tonnes of gold, which represents 67.1% of reserves.

At the beginning of 2013, Germany's Bundesbank confirmed reports and announced that it will repatriate a portion of its foreign gold reserves. Over the next seven years, the central bank intends to store half of Germany's gold reserves in its own vaults within the country, compared to only 31% now. The other half will remain in New York and London.

In a press release, the central bank explained said, "With this new storage plan, the Bundesbank is focusing on the two primar! y functio! ns of the gold reserves: to build trust and confidence domestically, and the ability to exchange gold for foreign currencies at gold trading centers abroad within a short space of time."

1. United States

Despite ending the gold standard in 1971, the world's largest economy holds 8,133.5 tonnes of gold, representing 71% of reserves. On August 15, 1971, President Nixon made the following statement that gold bugs will remember forever.

"In recent weeks, the speculators have been waging an all-out war on the American dollar. The strength of a nation's currency is based on the strength of that nation's economy — and the American economy is by far the strongest in the world," he said. "Accordingly, I have directed the Secretary of the Treasury to take the action necessary to defend the dollar against the speculators. I have directed Secretary Connally to suspend temporarily the convertibility of the American dollar except in amounts and conditions determined to be in the interest of monetary stability and in the best interests of the United States."

Wall St. Cheat Sheet is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Famous explorers club sues Johnnie Walker parent

Looks like the parent of Johnnie Walker may have messed with the wrong club.

To be specific: The Explorers Club.

On one hand, that's the name of an ultra-famous New York club of legendary explorers, whose members have included everyone from the first Mount Everest climber Edmund Hillary, to the first moon walker Neil Armstrong.

On the other hand, Diageo, which owns Johnnie Walker whisky, slapped the Explorers Club name on a new brand of whisky in late 2012, that's sold in duty-free shops..

Result: The Explorers Club of New York has filed a lawsuit against Diageo --- demanding that the distiller stop selling the brand or pay the exclusive club licensing fees. The club sent a cease and desist letter to the company last spring.

COCKTAIL GLASS HALF EMPTY: Alcoholic drink sales stumble

According to the New York Post, the 120-year-old New York-based club says it owns the trademark on the name. Earlier this week, the club hosted its 110th annual dinner, with celebrity guests including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

Since it was founded in 1904, the club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide. The Club's members have been responsible for an eyebrow-raising series of famous firsts: First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean, first to the surface of the moon.

Best China Stocks For 2014

And now, its first lawsuit against one of the world's biggest distilleries, whose famous brands stretch well beyond Johnnie Walker to include Crown Royal, J&B, Smirnoff and Guinness.

The Manhattan suit says the font on the Explorers Club whisky label is "confusingly similar" to the one used by the club. The club says it filed the suit after talks with the company broke down. It wants Diageo to stop selling the brand or pay for licensing fees.

Diageo didn't imm! ediately return a request for comment on Friday.

Contributing: Associated Press

Coal Stocks Slump as Walter Energy Loads Up on Debt

Coal stocks are tumbling today, as Walter Energy (WLT) sold a boatload of debt, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicted lower coal prices.

Greg Kahn / GRAIN

Shares of Walter Energy have dropped 17% to $7.54 at 1:$1 p.m. today, Peabody Energy (BTU) has fallen 1.4% to $15.52, Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) has declined 3.2% to $4.31 and Arch Coal (ACI) is off 1.2% at $43.0.

Walter Energy announced that it would sell $200 million of senior secured notes due 2019 with a coupon of 9.500% a year, and priced its private offering of $350 million aggregate principal amount of 11.0%/12.0% Senior Secured Second Lien PIK Toggle Notes due 2020. Walter has a debt-equity ratio of 369, according to Bloomberg, more than twice Peabody Energy’s 152. Walter’s announcement comes just two days after James River Coal (JRCC) missed a coupon payment on its own debt. Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed Walter Energy’s B-minus rating yesterday but said the outlook is negative.

Bloomberg has the details on Merrill Lynch’s coal forecast:

Walter Energy Inc. and other U.S. producers of metallurgical coal slumped after Bank of America Corp. said supply and demand fundamentals for the commodity will be "depressed" for the next several years…

Benchmark contract prices for metallurgical coal, which is used to make steel, are at $143 a ton in the first quarter, the lowest since 2010. Quarterly prices will be in a range of $130 to $150 a ton in the next several years, Timna Tanners, a New York-based analyst at Bank of America, said today in a note.

Shares of Walter Energy have plunged 55% so far this year, while Peabody Energy has fallen 21%, Alpha Natural Resources has declined 40% and Arch Coal has dipped 3.2%.

Hot Companies For 2014

Hot Companies For 2014: Textron Inc.(TXT)

Textron Inc. operates in the aircraft, defense, automobile, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates in five segments: Cessna, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, and Finance. The Cessna segment manufactures business jets, single engine turboprops, and single engine piston aircraft, as well as provides aftermarket services. The Bell segment manufactures and supplies military and commercial helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft, and related spare parts and services. The Textron Systems segment produces armored security vehicles, marine craft, precision weapons, airborne and ground-based surveillance systems and services, the unmanned aircraft system, training and simulation systems and countersniper devices, and intelligence and situational awareness software. The Industrial segment offers blow-molded plastic fuel systems, windshield and headlamp washer systems, engine camshafts, plastic bottles, and containers; powered equipment, electrical test and measurement i nstruments, hand and hydraulic powered tools, and electrical and fiber optic assemblies principally used in the electrical construction and maintenance, plumbing, wiring, telecommunications, and data communications industries; and golf cars, professional turf-maintenance equipment, and off-road, multipurpose utility, and specialized turf-care vehicles that are marketed to golf courses, resort communities, municipalities, sporting venues, and commercial and industrial users. The Finance segment provides finance for aircraft, helicopters, and golf and turf-care equipment. The company sells its products through a network of sales representatives, distributors, and authorized independent sales representatives, as well as directly to end users, home improvement retailers, and original equipment manufacturers. Textron Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Providence, the Rhode Island.

Advisors'! Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Only five privately held firms will participate in this two-year contract (extendable up to five years). No publicly traded firms at all were chosen to participate -- but publicly traded firms did still win a few of the day's smaller contracts, among them:

  A $76.1 million contract modification awarded to the Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, a joint venture between Textron  (NYSE: TXT  ) and Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) , which instructs the JPO to delivery one single additional CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft to the U.S. Air Force by December 2016. A $39.4 million fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract for Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) to provide "prime vendor food and beverage support" to the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Job Corps in Florida through April 16, 2019. A $32.3 million option exercise for NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS  ) subsidiary Shore Terminals LLC to provide "petroleum storage services" to the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps through Nov. 30, 2016. A $7.7 million undefinitized contract modification compensating Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) for "non-recurring sustainment activities" performed on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom, related to the latter's purchase of F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets. This contract has a completion date of June 201
• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 1,844.86, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 16,373.34. The Dow was dragged down by International Business Machines (IBM) and Caterpillar (CAT), while the S&P 500 got a lift from Textron (TXT), Best Buy (BBY) and Norfolk Southern (NSC).

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Textron (NYSE: TXT) got a boost, shooting up 7.51 percent to $38.81 after the company reported a 13% rise in its fourth-quarter income.

  Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) was also up, gaining 6.55 percent to $15.86 after the company lif! ted its f! irst-quarter forecast.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-companies-for-2014.html

Will the Next WWE Battle Be a Fight Among Would-be Buyers?

Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesWorld Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon

To spark a bidding contest for World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE), all Vince McMahon needs to do is wave a "for sale" sign. McMahon, 68, controls the voting power of the $2.3 billion company that's been entertaining spectators with staged fights for decades. The stock is at a record after WWE launched its own subscription streaming network and became the subject of takeover speculation. Should McMahon ever decide he's ready to sell, companies from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) to Madison Square Garden Co. (MSG) may line up with offers, Albert Fried & Co. and National Alliance Capital Markets said. "What is McMahon's succession plan and who will he pass the keys of the kingdom to?" Robert Routh, an analyst at National Alliance, said in a phone interview. "WWE would be very attractive to many different types of buyers. What they've built can't be recreated. But without McMahon's blessing, it doesn't matter how much somebody is willing to pay for the company." The franchise that thrust Hulk Hogan and The Rock into stardom owns the television shows "Raw" and "Smackdown," which have a dedicated following and command high cable-TV ratings, Vertical Group said. The company, which is hosting its annual WrestleMania event in three weeks, will post its best revenue and profit growth in more than a decade next year, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Stock Surge The stock has climbed 35 percent this month, in part because of takeover speculation, to close at $30.94 last week. WWE isn't in merger talks, Chief Financial Officer George Barrios said in an interview March 6. A representative for the Stamford, Connecticut-based company, declined to comment last week beyond Barrios' earlier statement. WWE's programs, which air on Comcast's USA and SyFy cable networks, may find a new home by the end of April, Barrios said. He said the company is in discussions on future domestic TV distribution with "multiple parties." It has held distribution talks with companies such as AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX), though a renewal with Comcast's NBCUniversal is also possible, people with knowledge of the situation said. McMahon controls WWE through Class B shares that have added voting rights. His daughter Stephanie McMahon Levesque is the company's chief brand officer, and her husband, pro-wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque, is executive vice president for talent and live events. McMahon's wife Linda McMahon helped found the company and has since mounted failed bids to win a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut. Their son Shane McMahon is chairman of publicly traded You On Demand Holdings Inc., which streams movies in China. 'Strong Numbers' Men account for two-thirds of WWE's audience, which consistently tops 4 million viewers on Monday nights on USA, according to Nielsen data compiled by Horizon Media Inc. In the week ended March 9, WWE's "Raw" was the third most-watched cable show, trailing only "The Walking Dead" and "Duck Dynasty," the data show. "These are pretty strong numbers for cable," Brad Adgate, director of research at Horizon Media, said in a phone interview. For advertisers, "it's a great target for young males." WWE's library of characters, story lines and hours of footage can't be easily replicated, which is why it could lure buyers, said Routh of National Alliance. To persuade McMahon to sell his wrestling empire, any deal would probably have to be structured similar to Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and Pixar's relationship, in which the computer-animation studio operates independently even though it's owned by Disney, he said. Disney acquired Pixar in 2006. Partnership Opportunity "That type of situation would probably be the most likely one as far as the McMahons being able to be comfortable" with selling the company, Kim Opiatowski, a New York-based event-driven analyst at Vertical Group, said in a phone interview. "It's a question of a loss of control of the company. It'd be tough to take it out of the family's hands unless they felt there was something so compelling or such a good strategic partnership opportunity." Comcast is a "natural acquirer" for WWE because it already airs the wrestling shows and Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts isn't afraid to manage more than one type of media asset, said Richard Tullo, New York-based director of research at Albert Fried. Comcast owns cable and broadcast TV networks, the Xfinity cable service, the Universal Pictures movie studio and theme parks. A representative for Comcast said the $132 billion company doesn't comment on speculation. Toys, Games In addition to WWE's TV shows, any buyer would have to manage its wrestler-themed products such as video games and toys as well as its more than 300 annual live events. Sports and live events are Madison Square Garden's specialty, which makes it a logical suitor, Tullo said in a phone interview. MSG owns the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Rangers hockey team, as well as the Manhattan arena they play in. The company is looking to sell its Fuse music TV channel, which people with knowledge of the situation said has so far drawn bids from both Jennifer Lopez and her former beau Sean "Diddy" Combs. "MSG can manage WWE because they know the ropes," Tullo said. "MSG owns sports teams, they own arenas, they have the WWE in their venues. It would just need a couple of chips to fall into place first, such as selling Fuse." Live Nation Closely held Anschutz Entertainment Group, the owner of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (LYV), the world's largest concert promoter, also have the ability to operate WWE's assets, Tullo said. Representatives for MSG, Live Nation and Anschutz declined to comment on the companies' interest in acquiring WWE. Disney, with its expertise in managing and marketing characters across platforms from the big screen to consumer products, is another possible suitor, Routh of National Alliance said. The backing of Disney, a $140 billion entertainment conglomerate, would increase WWE's value, he said. "You can't look at what WWE is worth today," Routh said. "It's about what it's worth in the hands of Disney, with all of their muscle behind it." A representative for Burbank, California-based Disney didn't return messages seeking comment. Disney's cash and equivalents of $4.4 billion is almost double the size of WWE's market value, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Comcast's cash stockpile is even larger at $5.3 billion, the data show. "If you were Disney or Comcast looking at the numbers and what you could do with WWE, you could probably justify paying a decent price and it's still petty cash to you," Routh said. "The question is, what's the asking price, if there even is one. Only Vince McMahon knows." To contact the reporter on this story: Tara Lachapelle in New York at tlachapelle@bloomberg.net

Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now

Top Biotech Stocks To Own Right Now: Ophthotech Corp (OPHT)

Ophthotech Corporation, incorporated on January 05, 2007, is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye. The Company's advanced product candidate is Fovista, which the Company is developing for use in combination with anti-VEGF drugs that represent the current standard of care for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). Wet AMD is a serious disease of the central portion of the retina, known as the macula, which is responsible for detailed central vision and color perception. It is characterized by abnormal new blood vessel formation and growth, referred to as neovascularization, which results in blood vessel leakage, retinal distortion and scar formation. If untreated, the progressive retinal damage results in rapid, irreversible and severe vision loss. Wet AMD is the cause of blindness in patients over the age of 55 in the United States and the European Union.

The anti-V EGF market for the treatment of wet AMD consists predominantly of two drugs that are approved for marketing and primarily prescribed for the treatment of wet AMD, Lucentis and Eylea, and off-label use of the cancer therapy Avastin. The use of anti-VEGF drugs has significantly improved visual outcomes for patients with wet AMD who have been treated with these drugs as compared to untreated patients.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap biotech Acceleron Pharma Inc (NASDAQ: XLRN) rose 9.76% plus shares are up 183.6% for retail investors since its September IPO, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of other biotech IPOs like BIND Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: BIND), Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ: OPHT) and Foundation Medicine Inc (NASDAQ: FMI) which also debuted at the same time.

• [By! John Udovich]

  The biotech sector has been pretty exciting this year with small cap biotech stocks Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) having recently produced noteworthy news for investors while Acceleron Pharma, Inc (NASDAQ: XLRN), Ophthotech (NASDAQ: OPHT) and BIND Therapeutics (NASDAQ: BIND) have just set term sheets for their upcoming IPOs. Just consider all of the following recent news:

• [By John Udovich]

  If you have not been watching the biotech sector lately, you should start paying attention as the sector along with small cap biotech stocks like Cell Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CTIC), BIND Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: BIND) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) continue to produce a steady stream of good news for investors thanks to positive industry trends. Moreover, Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ: OPHT), Foundation Medicine Inc (NASDAQ: FMI), Evoke Pharma and Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: FATE) are this week's biotech IPOs that will no doubt be watched closely by Wall Street and industry observers in general. With that in mind, consider the following biotech news or recent articles about the industry and the small cap players in it:

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-biotech-stocks-to-own-right-now.html

Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now

Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Analog Devices Inc (ADI)

Analog Devices, Inc. (Analog Devices), incorporated on January 18, 1965, is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of a range of analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits (ICs). The Company produces a range of products, including data converters, amplifiers and linear products, radio frequency (RF) ICs, power management products, sensors based on micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and other sensors, and processing products, including DSP and other processors, which are designed to meet the needs of a base of customers. The Company's products are embedded inside many different types of electronic equipment, including industrial process control systems; instrumentation and measurement systems; wireless infrastructure equipment, and aerospace and defense electronics. The Company designs , manufactures and markets a range of ICs, which incorporate analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing technologies. The Company 's product portfolio includes both general-purpose products used by a range of customers and applications, as well as application-specific products. On March 30, 2012, the Company acquired Multigig, Inc.

Analog Products

The Company's product portfolio includes several thousand analog ICs. The Company's analog IC customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers who build electronic subsystems for integration into larger systems. The Company is a supplier of data converter products. Data converters translate real-world analog signals into digital data and also translate digital data into analog signals. The Company is also a supplier of amplifiers. Amplifiers are used to condition analog signals. The Company provides precision, instrumentation, intermediate frequency/radio frequency (RF), broadband, and other amplifiers. The ! Company also offers a range of precision voltage references, which are used in a range of applications. The Company's analog product line also includes a range port! folio of RF ICs covering the RF signal chain, from RF function blocks, such as phase locked loops, frequency synthesizers, mixers, modulators, demodulators, and power detectors, to broadband and short-range single chip transceiver solutions.

The Company's RF ICs support the requirements of cellular infrastructure and a range of applications in the Company's target markets. Also within the Company's analog technology portfolio are products, which are based on MEMS technology. This technology enables the Company to build small sensors, which incorporate an electromechanical structure and the supporting analog circuitry for conditioning signals obtained from the sensing element. The Company's MEMS product portfolio includes accelerometers used to sense acceleration, gyroscopes used to sense rotation, inertial measurement units used to sense multiple degrees of freedom combining multiple sensing types along multiple axis, and MEMS microphones used to sense audio. T he Company's current revenue from MEMS products is derived from the automotive end market. In addition to the Company's MEMS products, its other analog product category includes isolators. The Company's isolators have been designed for applications, such as universal serial bus isolation in patient monitors, where it allows hospitals and physicians to adopt the advances in computer technology to supervise patient health and wirelessly transmit medical records. In smart metering applications, the Company's isolators provide electrostatic discharge performance. In satellites, where any malfunction can be catastrophic, the Company's isolators help protect the power system while enabling designers to achieve small form factors. Power management & reference products make up the balance of the Company's analog sales. Those products, which include functions such as power c! onversion! , driver monitoring, sequencing and energy management, are developed to complement analog signal chain components across core market segments from micro power, en! ergy-sens! itive battery applications to power systems in infrastructure and industrial applications.

Digital Signal Processing Products

Digital Signal Processing products (DSPs) complete the Company's product portfolio. DSPs are optimized for numeric calculations, which are essential for instantaneous, or real-time, processing of digital data generated, from analog to digital signal conversion. The Company's DSPs are designed to be fully programmable and to execute specialized software programs, or algorithms, associated with processing digitized real-time, real-world data. Programmable DSPs are designed to provide the flexibility to modify the device's function using software. The Company's DSP IC customers write their own algorithms using software development tools provided by the Company and third-party suppliers. The Company's DSPs are designed in families of products, which share common architectures and therefore can execute the same software across a r ange of products. The Company's customers use the Company's products to solve a range of signal processing challenges across its core market and segment focus areas within the industrial, automotive, consumer and communications end markets. As an integrated part of the Company's customers' signal chain, there are other Analog Devices products connected to its processors, including converters, audio and video codecs and power management solutions.

The Company competes with Broadcom Corporation, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., Cirrus Logic, Inc., Microchip Technology, Inc., Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, ST Microelectronics, Intersil Corporation, Silicon Laboratories, Inc., Knowles Electronics, Texas Instruments, Inc. and Linear Technology Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyle! r Laundon! ]

  Analog Devices (ADI) is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the motion-sensing space, with a market cap of $15.87 billion. STM Electronics (STM) is a slightly smaller manufacturer; its market cap is $7.6 billion.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Analog Devices Inc.'s(ADI) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 13% as stronger margins and asset-sale gains and other items offset the chip maker’s lower revenue.

• [By Ben Eisen and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  Analog Devices Inc. (ADI)  sank nearly 3%. The semiconductor firm reported late Tuesday fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 62 cents a share and sales of $678 million, with sales missing analyst expectations.

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Hewlett-Packard Co. gained 7.1 percent in early U.S. trading after the maker of personal computers posted revenue and profit that topped analysts' estimates. Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) slipped 3.4 percent late in New York yesterday after predicting first-quarter profit that missed analysts' projections.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-high-tech-stocks-to-own-right-now-2.html

Hot India Stocks To Buy Right Now

Hot India Stocks To Buy Right Now: Stewart Information Services Corporation(STC)

Stewart Information Services Corporation provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries. It operates in two segments, Title Insurance-Related Services and Real Estate Information. The Title Insurance-Related Services segment offers services that include searching for and examining documents, such as deeds, mortgages, wills, divorce decrees, court judgments, liens, paving assessments, and tax records, as well as provides titles insurance for residential and commercial properties, undeveloped acreage, farms, ranches, and water rights. This segment serves attorneys, builders, developers, home buyers and home sellers, lenders, and real estate brokers. The Real Estate Information segment offers products and services, which primarily include lender services, title technology, foreign and domestic government services, mapping, title information, Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax-deferred property e xchanges, pre-employment services, and online filing and transaction management. Its customers include mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, mortgage investors, government entities, commercial and residential real estate agents, land developers, builders, title insurance agencies, and others interested in obtaining property information, as well as accountants, attorneys, investors, and employers. The company has operations primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, central Europe, Mexico, central America, and Australia. Stewart Information Services Corporation was founded in 1893 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Fink]

  My housing pick is Houston-based Stewart Information Services (STC), a 120-year-old real estate business founded in 1893, that is still owned and manage! d by the founding family.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Tower Group has dropped 12% to $3.88 today at 11:39 a.m., while Stewart Information Services (STC) has dipped 0.1% to $31.16, the Navigators Group (NAVG) has fallen 1.4% to $54.78 and HCI Group (HCI) has gained 1% to $38.16.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/hot-india-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

Column: UAW failed to make case in Tennessee

What could be scarier than a blighted Detroit?

The monster that ate Detroit, of course. And that would be the UAW.

These were the messages blaring from billboards in Chattanooga, Tenn., in the weeks before the UAW lost its bid to represent workers at the Volkswagen auto assembly plant there, by a vote of 712-636 as tallied on Friday.

The lesson here is that the UAW, and American labor unions in general, are doomed unless they can make a more compelling case for the value proposition of union membership. Show how workers' lives will improve, how unions will help communities grow jobs — or become extinct.

The absence of that compelling case, as with any campaign decided at a ballot box, left a message vacuum filled by negative dispatches from powerful UAW foes.

STORY: Analysis: UAW faced tough sell with happy VW workers
STORY: VW's Tennessee workers reject union

Top Biotech Stocks For 2015

Were those billboard ads about Detroit, with photos of the old Packard plant ruins, ludicrously simplistic and misleading?

Of course.

Were the anti-UAW slams from Tennessee's top Republican officeholders, Sen. Bob Corker and Gov. Bill Haslam, pure political fear-mongering, given that VW management was neutral and welcomed the idea of a works council, including the union?

Obviously.

None of that matters now, though, because the UAW failed to convince a majority of Chattanooga VW workers that their lives would be better with UAW than without it.

Could the UAW deliver better wages and benefits to VW workers, in return for the dues members would have to pay?

Clearly the union didn't make that case — didn't even try, really. VW line workers already make a base wage as good as new hires at Detroit Three plants.

What about workers having a voice in how the plant operates?

VW workers say they often get inquiries from plant management about their job satis! faction and ideas for improvements — and that management acts on them. A happy bunch, apparently.

Absent festering complaints or grievances among the rank-and-file, many workers were on the fence about the vote — and therefore, vulnerable to negative headlines about the bankruptcy of Detroit, the bailout of Chrysler and General Motors and arguments by opponents about UAW complicity in Detroit's decline.

UAW President Bob King, in an interview Sunday, said the union would review its legal options this week regarding a possible National Labor Relations Board complaint about outside interference. The union says the public anti-UAW statements by Corker and Haslam could be illegal intimidation under labor law.

Corker said the UAW was in a "death spiral" and suggested last week that Volkswagen would move future work to other plants instead of Chattanooga if the union prevailed. King said Sunday he thought Corker's comments violated "the spirit of the NLRB," but he wasn't sure Corker had crossed a legal line since he didn't speak on behalf VW.

STORY: Tenn. VW workers could make history with vote for UAW
STORY: VW, UAW cooperate before election begins

Last year, UAW membership was about 382,000, or about 25% of its 1979 peak. Across all industries, union membership has dropped from about 20% three decades ago to 11.3%.

Halting or reversing that slide will be difficult, because just as with highly effective negative political ads, a negative labor reputation for discord or militance is hard to shake.

Indeed, the UAW has been dogged by image issues ever since VW was deciding in 2008 where to locate its new U.S. plant.

When King became UAW president in 2010, he said the union had changed after the near-death travails of Detroit's automakers.

"This is a UAW that understands the importance of global competitiveness," he told the Detroit Free Press editorial board then. "It is a UAW that went through this horrendous period of contraction in the industr! y because! both labor and management had it wrong. Now I think we have it right, and we have good companies to work with."

At a speech in mid-2011, he told a Michigan business audience, "I believe that we must reject all types of extremism and all types of polarization."

Obviously, the political leadership of Tennessee hasn't bought King's mantra of the UAW as partner rather than adversary, even if VW was willing to give it a try.

Don't expect the UAW's road to get any easier in other locales, either. If Corker and Haslam seem like anti-union hardliners, heaven help anyone who tries to organize workers at BMW in South Carolina while Nikki Haley is governor.

"I love that we are one of the least-unionized states in the country. It is an economic development tool unlike any other," Haley said in her 2012 state of the state speech.

"Unions thrive in the dark," she added. "Secrecy is their greatest ally ... and we'll make the unions understand full well that they are not needed, not wanted, and not welcome in the state of South Carolina."

Call it what you will — a bad rap spread by smear tactics, or just a bad rep, self-inflicted — but either way, the UAW and other labor unions are stuck with a serious perception problem.

In a globalized world where communities are desperate to attract and grow jobs, organized labor will survive only by articulating a clear, positive plan to help make that happen — and then deliver.