Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now

If yesterday was a market for the amped up sounds of contemporary top-40 pop, today is a day for�Bedhead.

AP

Who’s Bedhead? Back in the 1990s, when people still played music on guitars, a genre of indie rock known as slowcore popped up, that consisted of playing music, really, really slowly. And when done well, it combined beauty and tension into an almost mystical sound. Bedhead did it well and in the aftermath of yesterday’s rally, they’re the perfect sound track for today. (Don’t believe me? Cilck here.)

Why? Because now we wait. Yesterday’s rally was driven by hopes that the Republicans and Democrats would hash out a deal that would avoid a debt-ceiling showdown–and we’re still waiting for such a deal to emerge. The two sides are still talking, however, which I suppose counts as progress but there’s still tension as the market hopes and prays that the talks don’t fall apart.

Best Consumer Stocks For 2015: Hecla Mining Co (HL)

Hecla Mining Company, incorporated on August 7, 2006, is engaged in discovering, acquiring, developing, producing, and marketing silver, gold, lead and zinc. The Company operates in two segments: the Greens Creek unit and the Lucky Friday unit. Its wholly-owned subsidiary is Hecla Alaska LLC. The Company produces zinc, lead and bulk concentrates at its Greens Creek unit and lead and zinc concentrates at its Lucky Friday unit, which it sells to custom smelters on contract, and unrefined gold and silver bullion bars (dore) at Greens Creek, which are sold directly to customers or further refined before sale to precious metals traders. The concentrates produced at its Greens Creek and Lucky Friday units contain payable silver, zinc and lead, and the concentrates produced at Greens Creek also contain payable gold. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company produced 6,394,235 ounces of silver, 55,496 ounces of gold, 21,074 tons of lead and 64,249 tons of Zinc. Effective February 26, 2013, Hecla Mining Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, acquired a 24.73% stake in Brixton Metals Corp. In June 2013, the Company announced that its acquisition of Aurizon Mines Ltd is complete.

The Greens Creek Unit

Greens Creek is located on Admiralty Island, near Juneau, Alaska. The Greens Creek unit is 100% owned. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Greens Creek contributed 100%, of its consolidated revenue.

The Lucky Friday unit

The Lucky Friday unit is located in northern Idaho. Lucky Friday is 100% owned by the company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  This is helping to boost Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL). 24/7 Wall St. recently named nine stocks that could double in 2014, and Hecla was one of those nine stocks. Hecla is trying to turnaround after a series of unfortunate events. To highlight just how bad this was, Hecla’s stock price started imploding before it became the norm for gold and silver miners to begin imploding. Yet its chart is at a critical inflection point.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Gold fell below the key $1,300 level Thursday, raising new fears about whether the yellow metal's rally to begin 2014 is now over. Yet, mining companies fared well today, with silver specialists Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL  ) and Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS  ) posting solid gains of around 2% Thursday. What explains the disconnect that sent SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD  ) down, but Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEMKT: GDX  ) up?

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Even with silver's crash we haven't heard about significant cutbacks like those its gold mining counterparts have undertaken.�Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL  ) ended up cutting its dividend because it was tied to the price of silver. Also,�just as we've seen with Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM  ) and Australia's Newcrest Mining, which suspended its dividend altogether, we haven't seen capex budgets slashed anywhere near to what's occurring at Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX  ) , though that's not necessarily of its own accord.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM)

Newcrest Mining Limited (Newcrest) is a gold, copper and silver producer that has operations and exploration projects in Australia, the Pacific region, Asia and West Africa. The Company�� segments include Cadia Valley, Telfer, Gosowong, Lihir, Hidden Valley JV, West Africa (includes Bonikro operations and exploration and evaluation activities in Cote d��voire) and Exploration and Other. Exploration and Other mainly consists of projects in the exploration, evaluation and feasibility phase and includes Namosi in Fiji, Wafi Golpu in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and Marsden and O��allaghans in Australia. Cadia Valley Operations (CVO) is a gold mining operation and is 100% owned by Newcrest. It is located approximately 25 kilometers from the city of Orange in central west New South Wales and is 250 kilometers west of Sydney. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Burgos]

  Sands China Ltd. jumped 8.9 percent toward a record in Hong Kong after the Macau casino operator controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson reported higher profit. Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM), Australia�� biggest gold producer, rose 5.7 percent as the bullion traded near a two-week high. SBI Holdings Inc. fell 2.9 percent after the Japanese brokerage said it plans to sell convertible bonds.

• [By Toshiro Hasegawa]

  Honda Motor Co. (7267), which gets 83 percent of sales from overseas, increased 1.9 percent, pacing gains among Japanese exporters. Sony Financial Holdings Inc., the financial services unit of electronics maker Sony Corp., jumped 2.8 percent in Tokyo after proposing a higher dividend. Newcrest (NCM) Mining Ltd. slipped 2.3 percent as brokers cut ratings on shares of Australia�� biggest gold producer.

• [By Jonathan Burgos]

  Raw-material producers advanced. Rio Tinto climbed 4.3 percent to A$54.32 in Sydney. Newcrest Mining Ltd. (NCM), Australia�� biggest gold producer, rose 4.8 percent to A$16.65, paring its biggest weekly loss since October 2008. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world�� largest mining company, gained 2.5 percent to A$31.40.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: The Ultimate Software Group Inc.(ULTI)

The Ultimate Software Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets unified human capital management software-as-a-service solutions to businesses in the United States and Canada. Its UltiPro software solution offers businesses with cloud-based functionality to manage the employment life cycle from recruitment to retirement. The UltiPro solution includes feature sets for talent acquisition and onboarding, human resource management and compliance, benefits management and online enrollment, payroll, performance management, salary planning and budgeting for compensation management, succession management, reporting and analytical decision-making tools, and time and attendance, as well as role-based access for executives, managers, administrators, and employees. The company offers its products and services for various industries, including manufacturing, food services, sports, technology, finance, insurance, retail, real estate, transportation, com munications, healthcare, and other services. It also provides implementation, training, maintenance, and technical support services. The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. markets its products under the UltiPro Enterprise and UltiPro Workplace brand names through its direct sales teams. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Weston, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexandra Scaggs]

  Then the bank appeared to backpedal a bit in its note yesterday, cutting back on its recommended holdings in Ultimate Software Group(ULTI) and Mastercard(MA) and adding to its recommended positions in Anadarko Petroleum Corp.(APC), an energy stock, and Philip Morris International Inc.(PM), a consumer-staples stock. Morgan Stanley strategist Adam Parker �and his�team found that times when value stocks outperform growth stocks by such a wide margin “are typically followed by periods where value outperforms.”

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Ultimate Software (NASDAQ: ULTI  ) were screaming "Ultimate!" today, gaining as much as 17% after topping estimates in its quarterly report.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Ultimate Software Group (Nasdaq: ULTI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Performance Technologies Incorporated(PTIX)

Performance Technologies, Incorporated manufactures and supplies network communications solutions to carrier, government, defense, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) markets. The company offers a suite of SEGway signaling solutions, including IP-centric STPs, gateways, edges, and network applications that provide signaling, routing, IP migration, gateway capabilities, SIP bridging, and core-to-edge distributed intelligence. It also provides IPnexus application-ready systems, which are IP-native integrated platforms and element management systems; Xpress, a portfolio of SIP-based applications and enabling infrastructure for next-generation network architectures; and universal signaling point and SP2000 products. The company markets its products through its direct sales forces, as well as through OEMs, value added resellers, distributors, and systems integrators worldwide. Performance Technologies, Incorporated was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Rochester, Ne w York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to move within range of a big breakout trade is Performance Technologies (PTIX), which is a supplier of advanced network communications solutions to carrier, government and OEM markets. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up huge by 275%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Performance Technologies, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last three months and change, with shares moving between $2.50 on the downside and $3.97 on the upside. Shares of PTIX have now started to spike higher back above its 50-day moving average of $2.92 a share with bullish upside volume flows. This spike is quickly pushing shares of PTIX within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in PTIX if it manages to break out above some key overhead resistance levels at $3.40 to $3.79 a share, and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.97 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 167,669 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PTIX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $6 to $7 a share.

  Traders can look to buy PTIX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support around $2.50 a share. One can also buy PTIX off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Ben Fox Rubin]

  Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS) agreed to buy Performance Technologies Inc.(PTIX), a supplier of network communications products, for $3.75 a share, a 26% premium of Thursday’s close, or $42 million. The companies said the deal was worth $30 million, net of Performance Technologies’ cash and excluding acquisition costs. Performance Technologies shares jumped 24% to $3.70 premarket, just under the offer price.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Tetra Tech Inc.(TTEK)

Tetra Tech Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides consulting, engineering, program management, construction management, and technical services for water, natural resources, environment, infrastructure, and energy sectors. The company operates in four segments: Engineering and Consulting Services (ECS), Technical Support Services (TSS), Engineering and Architecture Services (EAS), Remediation and Construction Management (RCM). The ECS segment offers front-end science, consulting engineering, and project management services in the areas of surface water management, groundwater, waste management, mining and geotechnical sciences, arctic engineering, industrial processes, and information technology. The TSS segment provides management consulting and strategic direction in the areas of environmental assessments/hazardous waste management, climate change, international development/stabilization, energy services, and technical government staffing services. The EAS segment offers engineering and architecture design services, including leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) and sustainability services, together with technical and program administration services for projects related to water infrastructure, buildings, and transportation and facilities. The RCM segment provides environmental remediation, infrastructure development, and alternative energy services. The company offers its services to the U.S. federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as to commercial and international clients. Tetra Tech, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  URS Corp, which competes with the likes of Fluor (FLR), Jacobs Engineering (JEC) and Tetra Tech (TTEK), said it would earn between $3.20 and $3.30 a share in 2013–the previous range had been between $4.10 and $4.25 a share–and also offered guidance for 2014 that was well below analyst forecasts. On the plus side, URS said it would buy its shares back at a faster pace than previously announced.

• [By Canadian Value]

  Position % of Fund Assets 1) First American Financial Corp. (FAF) 7.0% 2) Apple, Inc. (AAPL) 6.5% 3) Coinstar, Inc. (CSTR) 4.8% 4) EMC Corp. (EMC) 4.4% 5) Coach, Inc. (COH) 4.4% 6) Kohl's Corp. (KSS) 4.1% 7) Blucora, Inc. (BCOR) 4.0% 8) Tetra Tech, Inc. (TTEK) 3.1% 9) OM Group, Inc. (OMG) 3.0% 10) American International Group, Inc. (AIG) 2.8% TOTAL 44.1% One area that we believe still offers some value in the market is in high quality, large��ap technology stocks that may be momentarily out��f��avor as they transition from rapid growth to slower growth. In particular, we become interested when that transition is also accompanied by a change in capital allocation policies designed to return more cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. We believe that Apple and EMC are two of the absolute highest quality technology businesses in the world and both have recently announced very material, shareholder��friendly changes to how they will allocate capital.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Jasper Mining Corp (JSP)

Jasper Mining Corporation (Jasper) is an exploration-stage company engaged in the exploration for and development of base and precious metals in Canada. Its properties consist of the Vowell Creek property, the Lydy property, the McFarlane property, the Cascade property, the Faith property, the Isintok property, the Alaric property, the Proximal property, the Erie Creek property, the Irony property and Crawford property. The Vowell Creek property consists of 12,750 hectares located approximately 35 kilometers south of Golden, British Columbia. The Cascade property is located approximately 55 kilometers north of the community of Kaslo, British Columbia and is comprised of approximately 1,545 hectares (3,819 acres), on the west side of the Lardeau River. The Irony property is located north of Revelstoke, British Columbia and southwest of Mica Dam, consisting of 2,375 hectares (5,869 acres). The Company's properties include lead, zinc, gold and silver. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jessica Summers]

  India�� S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) extended this week�� drop to 3 percent, the most since five days ended March 24. Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. (JSP) plunged 7.6 percent, leading a gauge of 10 metal companies to its lowest close in more than four years. ICICI Bank Ltd. fell to an 11-month low, pacing losses among its peers. The rupee slid 1.1 percent, capping its biggest weekly drop in almost two years.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In Right Now: Vanguard Reit Etf (VNQ)

Vanguard REIT ETF (the Fund), formerly known as Vanguard REIT VIPERs, is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard REIT Index Fund. The Fund seeks to provide a high level of income and moderate long-term capital appreciation by tracking the performance of an index that measures the performance of publicly traded equity real estate investment trusts (REITs). Vanguard REIT ETF employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US REIT Index (the Index), an index of United States property trusts that covers about two-thirds of the value of the entire United States REIT market.

Vanguard REIT ETF normally invests approximately 98% of assets in stocks issued by equity REITs. The Fund invests in the stocks that make up the Index, and the remaining assets are allocated to cash investments.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Stoller]

  After a banner 2013, the overall market has had a challenging start to 2014. However, these four companies have been crushing it: Alexander Real Estate (NYSE: ARE  ) , BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR  ) , CommonWealth REIT (NYSE: CWH  ) , and Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI  ) early on in 2014 vs. the S&P 500. Their relative out-performance can also be seen when compared to the Vanguard REIT Index ETF (NYSEMKT: VNQ  ) a good yardstick to measure sector performance.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Keeping it simple
  Even though retirement planning can get complicated in a hurry, the key to remember throughout much of your career is that it's impossible to plan for every contingency you'll face. As a result, the simpler way to handle planning for retirement is to address the threats that you can control while maintaining as much flexibility as possible to handle the threats you can't control -- or might not even be aware of. A few examples include:

  Some advisors will suggest that you're giving up big potential returns if you don't pick individual stocks. But a portfolio that relies on the broad-based ETFs Vanguard Total Stock Market (NYSEMKT: VTI  ) , iShares Core Bond Market (NYSEMKT: AGG  ) , Vanguard REIT (NYSEMKT: VNQ  ) , or other similar ETFs from other fund companies will get you most of the way to the returns that you need in order to retire comfortably. These three ETFs are particularly useful because they come with low fees, but as long as the ETF you choose doesn't charge too much, there are plenty of strong options to pick from. Insurance coverage can be extremely difficult to understand, and the costs involved can be high. Sticking with basic insurance early on and later adding features as you become more familiar with the risks involved might not always be the least expensive solution to your insurance needs, as in some cases, the earlier you get coverage, the less it costs. Moreover, you won't always qualify to get insurance if some event occurs later in life that boosts your risk to the point at which insurance companies won't offer you coverage at all. But the wait-and-see strategy does have the benefit of preventing you from getting coverage that might well be obsolete or unnecessary by the time you seek to use it.

  Admittedly, these simple solutions won't always take care of every contingency, and they can leave you vulnerable to certain risks that require advanced planning techniques. But