Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014

Yahoo! Finance recently noted once again�how the hit reality show ��uck Dynasty��along with fears about Obama�� gun control policies have rural enthusiasts flocking to Cabela�� Inc (NYSE: CAB), but how does its performance compare with that of mid cap peer�Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE: DKS) along with small caps Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ: BGFV)�and Hibbett Sports, Inc (NASDAQ: HIBB)? After all, the same trends should be lifting all boats that sell outdoor related merchandise, guns or sporting goods (Note: Bass Pro, Inc, which is much closer to being a true�peer of Cabela�� Inc as its also focused on the outdoors, is�privately held) . �

What is Cabela�� Inc?

Richard Cabela and his wife Mary, founded specialty retailer Cabela���at their kitchen table in Chappell, Nebraska, in 1961 as a small merchant offering fishing flies through advertisements in national outdoor magazines.�Today, Cabela�� is the world's largest direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise with approximately 225,000 SKUs and�44 stores across the United States and Canada. These stores range from�35,000 square feet to 247,000 square feet (including large-format destination retail stores which are 150,000 square feet or larger) that�are more than just retail outlets as they also feature exhibitions,�restaurants, archery ranges and expert instruction. It should also�be noted that last year, half of Cabela�� sales come from hunting-related merchandise and about a third was derived from the sale of firearms, ammunition and accessories according to the Yahoo! Finance article.�

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: EZchip Semiconductor Limited(EZCH)

EZchip, a fabless semiconductor company, engages in the development and marketing of Ethernet network processors for networking equipment. Its products include network processor chips, evaluation boards and network-processor based systems, and development software toolkits. The company offers network processors for use in forming the silicon core of networking equipment, such as switches and routers; and for voice, video and data integration in various applications. Its network processors are single-chip solutions, which enable its customers to design multi-port line cards, such as processing and classification engines, traffic managers, media access controllers, as well as a range of specialized hardware blocks that accelerate various functions. The company offers Evaluation systems which enable customers to test NPU-based systems; and toolkits that assist customers in creating, verifying, and implementing solutions based on its network processors. It provides a library f eaturing data plane code for a range of applications, which include Metro Ethernet protocols, Multi-Protocol Label Switching, IPv4 and IPv6 routing, Access Control Lists, GPON/EPON OLT functionality, Network Address Translation, and Server Load Balancing. The company sells its products directly, and through contract manufacturers and distributors to network equipment vendors. It markets its products in Israel, China, Hong Kong, the Far East, Canada, the United States, and Europe. The company was formerly known as LanOptics Ltd. and changed its name to EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. in July 2008. EZchip Semiconductor Ltd. was founded in 1989 and is based in Yokneam, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul McWilliams]

  Paul McWilliams: Oh, absolutely. Another company that most investors probably have never heard of is a tiny little Israeli semiconductor company named EZChip (EZCH).

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of EZchip (NASDAQ: EZCH  ) have jumped today by as much as 13% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the first quarter totaled $15.3 million, topping the Street's forecast of $15.1 million. Non-GAAP net income per share came in at $0.23, which was right on target with expectations.

• [By Lisa Levin]

  EZchip Semiconductor (NASDAQ: EZCH) shares climbed 5.80% to $23.53. The volume of EZchip Semiconductor shares traded was 635% higher than normal. EZchip Semiconductor's PEG ratio is 1.57.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for infectious diseases. The company focuses on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C; and the development of antibacterials for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Its drug candidates for the treatment of chronic HCV include ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor, which is in phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV; ACH-2684, a pangenotypic protease inhibitor, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV infection; and NS5A inhibitors for the treatment of chronic HCV infection, including ACH-2928, which is to enter a phase I clinical trial, as well as various additional NS5A inhibitors in preclinical development. Its pipeline of product candidates also includes ACH-702 and ACH-2881 for drug resistant bacterial infections; elvucitabine for HIV infection; and AC H-1095 for HCV infection. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  We took a look at Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) after two directors bought 40,000 shares for $394,800. Dennis Liotta bought 20,000 shares for $158,100 and Jason Fisherman bought 20,000 shares for $155,000. InsiderScore gave Liotta a nod, writing, ��iotta has been a smart buyer at Achillion in the past. He bought the same number of shares here, this time at a price 28% higher, which is the highest price he has paid for shares.��/p>

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) has plunged 51% to $3.53 after the FDA kept a hold on its hepatitis C drug in trials. The stock was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Hot Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2014: Voyager Oil & Gas Inc.(VOG)

Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the United States. It primarily focuses on oil shale resource prospects in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. As of May 17, 2011, the company controlled approximately 141,500 net acres in the five primary prospect areas comprising 28,000 net acres targeting the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota and Montana; 14,200 net acres targeting the Niobrara formation in Colorado and Wyoming; 800 net acres targeting a Red River prospect in Montana; 33,500 net acres in a joint venture targeting the Heath Shale formation in Musselshell, Petroleum, Garfield, and Fergus counties of Montana; and 65,000 net acres in a joint venture in the Tiger Ridge gas field in Blaine, Hill, and Chouteau counties of Montana. It supplies energy and fuel for industrial, commercial, and individual consumers. The company is based in Billings, Montana.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: InterDigital Inc.(IDCC)

Interdigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. InterDigital?s solutions are incorporated in various products comprising mobile devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, notebook computers, and wireless personal digital assistants; wireless infrastructure equipment, such as base stations; and components, dongles, and modules for wireless devices. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) is about to raise its global profile following an international patent licensing deal. The company announced that it has entered an agreement with Spain-based Teltronic Unipersonal for the latter to license a set of its 4G technologies. The terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: OmniVision Technologies Inc.(OVTI)

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor image-sensor devices. The company offers CameraChip image sensors, which are single-chip solutions that integrate various functions, such as image capture, image processing, color processing, signal conversion, and output of a processed image or video stream for use in various consumer and commercial mass-market applications; and CameraCube imaging devices that are image sensors with integrated wafer-level optics. It also provides companion chips used to connect its image sensors to various interfaces, including the universal serial bus and other industry standard interfaces; and companion digital signal processors that perform compression in standardized still photo and digital video formats. In addition, the company designs and develops software drivers for Linux, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows, as well as for embedded operating systems, such as Blackberry OS, Palm OS, Symbian, Windows CE, Windows Embedded, and Windows Mobile. Its products are used in mobile phones, notebooks, Webcams, digital still and video cameras, commercial and security and surveillance, and automotive and medical applications, as well as in entertainment devices. The company sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers, as well as indirectly through distributors worldwide. OmniVision Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Briefly in the news
  And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

  OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) investors are seeing the big picture. Shares of the image sensor maker moved higher after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Revenue soared 54%, and OmniVision's profit of $0.31 a share blew away the $0.21 analysts were targeting. Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) is no longer the leading smartphone seller in Finland. Tech tracker IDC reports that Samsung outsold Nokia in its home country this past quarter. So much for the hometown hero. Vringo (NASDAQ: VRNG  ) got another tech giant to pay up, but it won't be much. The company announced a patent-infringement settlement with Mr. Softy in which Vringo will receive $1 million and enter into a licensing deal with the world's largest software company.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: Texas Instruments Incorporated(TXN)

Texas Instruments Incorporated engages in the design and sale of semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers worldwide. The company?s Analog segment offers high-performance analog products comprising standard analog semiconductors, such as amplifiers, data converters, and interface semiconductors; high-volume analog and logic products; and power management semiconductors and line-powered systems. Its Embedded Processing segment includes DSPs that perform mathematical computations to process and enhance digital data; and microcontrollers, which are designed to control a set of specific tasks for electronic equipment. The company?s Wireless segment designs, manufactures, and sells application processors and connectivity products. Its Other segment offers smaller semiconductor products, which include DLP products that are primarily used in projectors to create high-definition images; and application-specific integrated circuits. This segment also provides handhe ld graphing and scientific calculators, as well as licenses technologies to other electronic companies. The company serves the communications, computing, industrial, consumer electronics, automotive, and education sectors. Texas Instruments Incorporated sells its products through a direct sales force, distributors, and third-party sales representatives. It has collaboration agreements with PLX Technology Inc.; Neonode, Inc.; and Ubiquisys Ltd. The company was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $3.23 billion. TI shares gained 4.04% to close at $10.30 on Friday.

• [By Benjamin Pimentel]

  Apple (AAPL) �shed 0.5% to close at $520.03 as the company�� new iPad Air hit the stores. Chip stocks also retreated, led by Intel Corp. (INTC) , Texas Instruments (TXN) , Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and SanDisk (SNDK) .

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: KongZhong Corporation(KONG)

KongZhong Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless interactive entertainment, media, and community services to mobile phone users in the People's Republic of China. It also involves in the development, distribution, and marketing of consumer wireless value-added services, including wireless application protocol, multimedia messaging services, short messaging services, interactive voice response services, and color ring back tones. In addition, it offers interactive entertainment services, such as mobile games, pictures, karaoke, electronic books, mobile phone personalization features, entertainment news, chat, and message boards; and through Kong.net offer news, community services, games, and other interactive media and entertainment services; and sells advertising space in the form of text-link, banner, and button advertisements. Further, the company develops and publishes mobile games, including downloadable mobile games and online mobile games cons isting of action, role-playing, and leisure games. As of December 31, 2009, it had a library of approximately 300 internally developed mobile games. Additionally, it develops online games; and provides consulting and technology services, as well as media and net book services. The company was formerly known as Communication Over The Air Inc. and changed its name to KongZhong Corporation in March 2004. KongZhong Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 wireless services player that looks poised for a big spike higher is KongZhong (KONG), which is a provider of WVAS and mobile games to mobile phone users and a wireless media company providing news, content, community and mobile advertising services through its wireless Internet sites in the PRC. This stock is off to a hot start in 2013, with shares up sharply by 53%.

  If you take a look at the chart for KongZhong, you'll notice that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last two months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $14.92 to its recent low of $7.78 a share. During that downtrend, shares of KONG have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of KONG into oversold territory, since its current relative strength index reading is 30.21. Shares of KONG are now starting to spike higher off its recent low of $7.78 a share and off its 200-day moving average of $7.95 a share. This spike could be signaling that the downside volatility for KONG is over in the short-term and the stock is ready to trend higher.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in KONG if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $8.50 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 of 519,857 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then KONG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $10 to its 50-day moving average at $11.33 a share.

  Traders can look to buy KONG off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support at $7.78 a share. One can also buy KONG off strength once it takes out $8.50 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [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 Kongzhong (Nasdaq: KONG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: Panera Bread Company(PNRA)

Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. Its bakery-cafes offer fresh baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products, as well as provide catering services. The company also manufactures and supplies dough and other products to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of March 29, 2011, it owned and franchised 1,467 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  And it's Yum! that's among the stores looking to reinvent their fast-food concepts into the fast-casual concept dominated by Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG  ) , which have baked in some of the best performances over the past few years.�Panera sales have grown at a 14% compounded annual growth rate over the past five years, with operating profits jumping 27% annually, while Chipotle's done even better, expanding revenues 20% over the same time period and growing earnings at a 30% clip.

• [By Steve Symington]

  And for those of you keeping track, that 5.5% growth also shows a marked improvement over the last quarter's paltry 1% comparable restaurant sales increase, and even beats the pants off of Panera Bread Company's (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) respectable 3.3% comp-sales growth in Q1.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: Rackspace Hosting Inc(RAX)

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. operates in the hosting and cloud computing industry. It provides information technology (IT) as a service, managing Web-based IT systems for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises worldwide. The company?s service suite includes dedicated hosting comprising customer management portal and other management tools that manage data center, network, hardware devices, and operating system software; and cloud computing that enables customers to provide and manage a pool of computing resources, as well as delivery of computing resources to business when they need them. It offers cloud servers, cloud files, and cloud sites, as well as cloud applications, such as email, collaboration, and file back-ups; and hybrid hosting that provides a combination of dedicated hosting and cloud computing services. The company also offers customer support services. It sells its service suite through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners, an d online ordering. The company was formerly known as Rackspace.com, Inc. and changed its name to Rackspace Hosting, Inc. in June 2008. Rackspace Hosting, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Investometrica]

  First, I compare the stock performance of Salesforce.com with other competitors. Although some competitors are not exactly in the same business, all of them have either a cloud computing or CRM component in their revenue: Citrix Systems (CTXS), Rackspace (RAX), SAP (SAP), Oracle (ORCL), Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM), Amazon (AMZN) and VMware (VMW). Salesforce.com's one year stock performance, 13.51%, is far from the top (that is, SAS, with 31.19%) gainer. On one hand, things could have been worse, as a good number of competitors show negative returns. On the other hand, we should notice that the current stock price level has not changed that much since early 2011 ($39.2 per share). This stagnation is hard to ignore.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Rackspace Hosting Inc.'s(RAX) third-quarter profit fell 40%, with growth in costs and expenses masking a rise in revenue. Shares were down 7.3% to $45.69 premarket as the company’s earnings came in below Wall Street expectations.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX  ) has seen share prices plummet 48% in just five months. Many investors glanced at the roller-coaster chart and decided to cash out, but Fool contributor Anders Bylund ran in the opposite direction.

• [By Tim Beyers]

  Real money was on the line then as it is now, which means any one of the five stocks you see below could ruin my investment strategy. None has fit that description more in recent weeks than Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX  ) . The stock recently set a new 52-week low amid concerns over intensifying competition.

Top 10 Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2014: Hot Topic Inc.(HOTT)

Hot Topic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. The company operates Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts, as well as an e-space music discovery concept, ShockHound. Its Hot Topic stores sell music/pop culture-licensed merchandise, including tee shirts, hats, posters, stickers, patches, postcards, books, novelty accessories, CDs, and DVDs; and music/pop culture-influenced merchandise comprising women?s and men?s apparel and accessories, such as woven and knit tops, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, shoes, costume jewelry, body jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, leather accessories, and gift items for young men and women primarily between the ages of 12 and 22. The company?s Torrid stores sells casual and dressy jeans and pants, fashion and novelty tops, sweaters, skirts, jackets, dresses, hosiery, shoes, intimate apparel, and fashion accessories for various lifestyles for plus-size females primarily betw een the ages of 15 and 29. As of July 30, 2011, it operated 636 Hot Topic stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada; 145 Torrid stores; and Internet stores, hottopic.com and torrid.com. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in City of Industry, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  In May True Religion (TRGL) announced a buyout offer from TowerBrook Capital for $826 million. Also in May, Rue21 decided to sell itself to Apax Partners for $2.2 billion. Before that, in March, Hot Topic (HOTT) announced that Sycamore Partners was buying out it out for $600 million.

The Philippines economy faces uncertainty

A massive typhoon has battered the Philippines. That will set back what has been a promising economy for years and make the nation's troubling unemployment and poverty rates much worse than they have been. The world's 40th nation as ranked by gross domestic product (GDP) may barely be able to keep its status as a developing nation.

The Philippine GDP expansion has been impressive. Based on the most recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment, GDP growth was 6.6% last year, a rate the agency ranks as better than most of the region. The IMF had forecast Philippine GDP expansion at 6% in 2013 and 5.5% in 2014. It is highly likely now that GDP will contract late this year and into next, and that contraction could be horrible.

The Philippines has struggled for years to improve a high unemployment rate, and more particularly an under-employment rate of 20%. In a country with 107 million residents, hundreds of thousands could be thrown out of work. At least short term, those numbers will soar, perhaps until workers are hired to repair the devastation. The national economy relies on several industries highly dependent on infrastructure that supports factory activity and transportation. These include petroleum and chemical refineries, as well as the assembly of wood products, clothing and electronics. Some 32% of workers are in agriculture, according to the CIA World Factbook, which will be devastated for years in areas most badly flooded.

One of the worst parts of the Philippine economy is its poverty rate, which the World Bank pegs at 27.9%. It is hard to imagine how that number will not get much worse, but it will. The number could rise by several percentage points as many people lose the ability to work entirely.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Invest In Right Now

In its assessment of the Philippine economy earlier this year, the IMF reported:

The benefits of faster growth! have yet to be disseminated to the broader population. Unemployment and poverty remain stubbornly elevated. The longstanding problems of poor infrastructure, limited competition, and governance issues have created a climate that is not conducive to investing in productive sectors or generating well paying jobs, inducing large overseas employment and, in turn, remittance inflows and real appreciation.

The World Bank added in March:

The country has weathered the impact of the financial crisis and global slowdown quite well in the last four years, given its strong macroeconomic fundamentals — the result of past and on-going reforms in the financial and public sectors. The country's strong growth prospects, robust external accounts, and improving fiscal condition earned it its first ever investment grade credit rating in March 2013, followed by another upgrade in May 2013. With stronger economic reforms, the Philippines can see sustained growth of above 6 percent in the medium-term. Risks to growth will primarily come from a slower global recovery, domestic reform lags caused by increased resistance to reforms, and possible asset price bubbles in the real estate sector and the stock market.

The risk of the current devastation could not have been contemplated or imagined.

With GDP contraction, the chance of the spread of those benefits is gone, and with them any hope that problems that have plagued the economy for years will improve. Instead they will worsen for years.

24/7 Wall St. is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of

USA TODAY.

The Latest Perspectives on Photo Collecting

With the arrival of phone cameras and social media sites, it seems everyone is a photographer nowadays. Investors who enjoy photography and want to add a new hard asset to their portfolios, however, might want to consider purchasing historic, collectible photos or contemporary photos taken with stand-alone cameras.

Like other fine art markets, it’s misleading to speak of a single photography market, because there are multiple sub-markets.

Denise Bethel, head of the photographs department at Sotheby’s in New York, notes that classic photos—the equivalents of blue-chip stocks—are a major category. Several of these photos, often dating from the early 20thCentury, each have sold for over $1 million at auction.

There’s also a thriving market in contemporary photography, says Bethel, and the top photos in that category can command seven figures.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now

The variety of categories gives collectors considerable range of choice.

“We do have collectors who collect across the board,” says Bethel. “So, for instance, collectors who start with Daguerreotypes and go all the way to contemporary photography.

“And, we also have collectors who specialize so there are collectors who only collect, let’s say, American modernist photography from the first half of the 20thCentury or European 19th-Century photography or contemporary photography,” she explains. “So, we’ve got people who collect every decade of photography and then we have people who are more specialized.”

In addition to numerous periods and types, photo prices cover the spectrum. Consider Sotheby’s early October auction in New York. Sales totaled over $5 million, but a large number of the lots sold for less than $10,000.

Apart from the auction houses, online galleries such as PurePhoto.com also offer collectible photos at a wide range of prices.

Careful Consideration

There’s a standard piece of advice given to collectors of fine paintings and other expensive collectibles: Unless they have very deep pockets, they can either buy art that they love and not worry about building a collection or they can focus on building a collection that will have more appeal to potential buyers.

Photo collectors can accomplish both goals, says Bethel. “You can certainly craft a very good collection by buying what you like,” she says. “You can do both simultaneously. I don’t think you have to do one or the other. I’d recommend that you do both simultaneously.”

As with any collectible, buyers need to know their market or be able to hire experts with that knowledge. Fortunately, there are ample educational resources available, including websites, books, auction catalogs, and museum and gallery displays, for example.

Bethel advises prospective collectors to spend at least a year looking before purchasing anything. The learning process can include going to museum exhibitions, photography galleries and fine art galleries that sell photography and previewing multiple auctions.

There’s also a vast wealth of photography books available today, she says. “I know that when I started back in 1980, you could buy the essential photography books you needed by buying 10 or 20 books,” she says. “Now, walk into any bookstore and the photography section is huge.”

The expert also suggests that potential buyer get on the mailing lists for catalogues put out by the different auction houses.

“Look and learn before making that first purchase. And, then, once you do start to purchase things, I recommend keeping up, keeping up with the auction market, keeping up with what’s going on in museums, keeping up with the gallery scene,” Bethel explains. “And, of course, there’s always the option of hiring an art advisor who knows the territory to help you.”

5 reasons why you shouldn't miss NHPC bonds

Top 10 Casino Companies To Buy For 2014

Indian equities have had a roller coaster ride this year, and so too have commodities. In volatile times like these, investors would be seeking out instruments that offer both safety and decent returns.

Meanwhile, the debt side of the market is flooded with an array of tax-free bond issues like Rural Electrification Corporation ( REC ), Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) and Power Finance Corporation ( PFC ).

The latest addition to this list is state-owned miniratna company National Hydroelectric Power Corporation ( NHPC ) which will hit the market with its maiden tax-free bonds issue worth Rs 1,000 crore on October 18 . The issue will close on November 11, this year. Nearly 40 percent of the issue will be held for retail investors. The issue is rated AAA by ratings agencies CARE, India Ratings and ICRA .

Apart from being tax-free, these bonds have caught the fancy of retails investors due to return they are offering (coupon rates) and ofcourse safety of capital since they are public sector companies.

So, is it time to switch to debt from equity? Moneycontrol.com spoke to personal finance experts to know if they would advise retail investors to bet their chips on NHPC tax free bonds.

It's tax-free!

Investors are always advised to diversify their long term portfolio with tax free bonds, says a report by Bangalore based personal finance consultancy firm WealthRays Group.  Interest from tax free bond does not form part of the total income, also, wealth tax is not levied on investment in bonds, it adds.

Coupon rates

The NHPC issue currently offers highest coupon rate in the market. It promises to pay 8.43 percent p.a. for 10 years, 8.79 percent for 15 years and 8.92 percent for 20 years to retail individual investors. For qualified institutions buyers, corporate and high net worth individuals, the coupon rates are 8.18 percent p.a. for 10 years, 8.54 percent for 15 years and 8.67 percent for 20 years, respectively.

Looking at the fundamental strength of the company and the interest rates offered, investors who wish to invest money at this point of time can consider their longer period options of 15 years and 20 years, says Financial Advisor Arnav Pandya. The amount of the NHPC issue for retail investors is relatively small, so those wanting to invest would do well to put their money immediately after it opens, he suggested.

Nominal default risk

NHPC is a government owned entity and hence risk of default on payment of interest and principal amount are minimal which is evident from CARE AAA rating. Bonds are listed on recognized stock exchanges (NSE/BSE), however investors are advised to hold bonds for long term and not look for listing gains as being "AAA" rated, NHPC bonds are expected to be more liquid and demand premium on listing, the WealthRays report explains.

According to company's press release, these bonds are rated "ICRA AAA" by ICRA; "IND AAA" by IRRPL and "CARE AAA" by CARE. Instruments with this rating are considered to have the highest degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations. Such instruments carry lowest credit risk.

Company profile and future plans

NHPC is the largest hydro power generating company in the country with a total aggregate generation capacity of 4,024 MW as on March 31, 2013. The total generation capacity including capacity of its subsidiary NHDC Ltd stood at 5,544 MW representing nearly 14% of aggregate hydro power capacity of India as on March 31, 2013. It plans to add over 10,000 MW of hydropower capacity by the end of XII plan (year 2017). Net sales and operating profit of the company are expected to grow at a CAGR of 4 percent and 5 percent over 2012 to 2015E respectively, the report says.

Financials

The paid-up capital of the company of 31st March 2013 stands at Rs 12,300.74 crore. Its net-worth is Rs 27,840.50 crores. Sales realisation during 2012-13 was Rs 5,369 crore as against Rs 4,415 crore during 2011-12. It reported more than 7 percent increase in net profit at Rs 719.93 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2013 versus Rs 669.81 crore a year-ago. Total income climbed to Rs 1,619.73 crore in the June quarter from Rs 1,424.45 crore in the same period a year ago.

The flip side…

Every coin has two sides, says a famous adage. Likewise, on one hand fixed income products like bonds give guaranteed returns and security, there are some features which should not be neglected either.

Such bonds are non-cumulative in nature which means the interest earned will be paid out annually and at the end of the tenure, the investor will get his principal back. So, one should follow a disciple of parking those interest amounts in other instruments and get benefit out of it, says Sumeet Vaid, CEO, Ffreedom financial planners.

"NHPC tax free bonds are likely to be most popular for those falling under the highest tax bracket. Ideally, this product best fits investors looking for regular tax-free annual income and not for those looking to earn monthly income. Retired investors can look to invest here because it would provide regular annual income which is tax free and risk free. Most importantly, investors should be ready to give up his liquidity or say it will eventually block the liquidity if invested in these bonds as the maturity is for a longer period," he elaborated.

Comcast Seeks Advice on Possible Bid for Time Warner Cable

Hot Low Price Companies To Own In Right Now

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Time Warner Cable's flirtation with potential merger suitors may include Comcast, which is seeking advice on possible regulatory hurdles if it should pursue a bid, sources told CNBC on Friday. Comcast (CMCSA) (CMCSK), the parent company of CNBC, is not in active discussions on deal terms with Time Warner Cable (TWC), these sources say, but is asking for guidance on antitrust and telecommunications-related issues. According to people familiar with the matter, TWC has made it clear that if it should sell itself, Comcast would be its preferred buyer. These people add that Comcast has been quietly mulling a merger with TWC for some time. The cable operator is on the verge of a bid from Charter Communications (CHTR), according to The Wall Street Journal, which said Charter is near an agreement with banks for the funds to make that offer. Analysts, however, say Time Warner's needs may be better suited with Comcast. "The synergies are very real, and Comcast would be a better fit," said Craig Moffett, founder and senior analyst at MoffettNathanson. He said that while the Department of Justice's anti-trust requirements may not pose an insurmountable challenge, the more stringent litmus test might come from the Federal Communications Commission.

Swiss Stocks Little Changed Amid U.S. Budget-Deal Concern

Swiss stocks were little changed, following a two-day decline, as investors assessed the likelihood that U.S. politicians will fail to approve a federal budget for the new financial year.

Swissquote Group Holding SA (SQN) surged 13 percent after agreeing to buy MIG Bank for an undisclosed price. Clariant AG lost 1.6 percent after UBS AG removed the maker of specialty chemicals from the list of its most preferred shares.

The Swiss Market Index (SMI) rose 0.1 percent to 8,055.23 at the close in Zurich. The equity benchmark has climbed 4 percent this month, extending its gain this quarter to 4.8 percent, as the Federal Reserve refrained from reducing its monthly bond purchases. The gauge has rallied 18 percent so far in 2013, the third-best performance by a European developed market. The Swiss Performance Index gained less than 0.1 percent today.

"The markets have much to pause and ponder over," Daniel Weston, a portfolio manager at Aimed Capital GmbH in Munich, wrote in an e-mail. "Taper or not to taper and the debt-ceiling debate will come to the fore soon, but for now it is a good reason to wait and take count of a strong year for stocks."

The volume of shares changing hands in SMI-listed companies today was 13 percent lower than the average of the past 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said that investors should take more seriously the risk that politicians may fail to pass a new budget. "I think that if you look at the calm out there, which I think is a bit greater than it should be, there's a sense that 2011 was a terrible experience, and nobody would do that again," he said.

Lew's Warning

Lew, who spoke at the Bloomberg Markets 50 Summit in New York yesterday, repeated that Obama won't negotiate with congressional Republicans on increasing the $16.7 trillion limit on the nation's borrowing authority and said the government will probably have less than $50 billion in cash by mid-October.

Top Canadian Stocks To Watch Right Now

In the U.S., a Commerce Department report showed that durable-goods orders, excluding the volatile transportation category, fell 0.1 percent in August. The median economist forecast had called for bookings to climb 1 percent.

A separate release showed that new house sales increased 7.9 percent to a 421,000 annualized pace last month. The median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had called for 420,000 sales of new residential properties.

Swissquote Rallies

Swissquote surged 13 percent to 33.60 Swiss francs, its biggest gain in two years. The provider of online trading and banking services said its acquisition of MIG will expand its foreign-exchange operations. Currency activities accounted for about a quarter of net revenue in the first half of the year, the company said in a statement.

Transocean Ltd (RIG), the world's largest supplier of offshore oil rigs, posted the biggest gain on the SMI, rising 1.4 percent to 41.26 francs.

Clariant slid 1.6 percent to 15.57 francs, dropping for a seventh day. UBS removed the company from its most preferred list because of the shares' recent rally. Clariant (CLN) has surged 26 percent this year, while the SPI has gained 21 percent.

Harley-Davidson's New Street Bikes: Aiming Low for Big Rewards

"For most of its 110-year history, Harley sold motorcycles as fast as it could to customers it knew well: wealthy, middle-aged American white men."
-- Bloomberg

"All you Harley aficionados who desired to be an owner of the iconic brand but couldn't afford them, well, it's time to rejoice!"
-- Zigwheels.com

"The baby Harley-Davidsons ... have displacement capacities of 500cc and 750cc respectively ... the lowest displacement figures in the Harley-Davidson portfolio."
-- MotorBeam.com

"This is another kind of Harley altogether."
-- Autoblog

Want to buy a motorcycle? Don't have a lot of cash to pay for it? Then has Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG  ) got a deal for you!

As Bloomberg points out, Harley-Davidson has historically been a big bike company. My Foolish colleague Rich Duprey writes: "[W]hen you think of a Harley, a big 1,440cc engine is what comes to mind." But to great fanfare, highway-hog Harley recently unveiled a pair of new street-bikes that could seriously change the company's image as a builder of bikes for "wealthy, middle-aged American white men."

Harley's Street 750. Not just for rich, old white guys anymore. Source: Harley-Davidson.

The new Street 750 and Street 500 bikes both depend on a new motorcycle platform that the company developed to target prospective buyers globally, and young, urban buyers in particular. Both bikes hew to the company's new Dark Custom line, and are geared to an urban -- rather than an open-road -- riding environment.

Variously described as "nimble" and "lightweight," the Street bikes feature smaller, liquid-cooled engines (749cc for the 750, 494cc for the 500) dubbed "Revolution X." They're also lower to the ground (25.4 inches) than usual for Harley-Davidson bikes, and lighter to boot (just 480 pounds). A standard Softail Classic, in contrast, would be nearly 2 inches taller, and close to 300 pounds heavier.

The Street 750. Revolution-arily small. Source: Harley-Davidson.

Even more important than their size, though, these new Harleys come with a price tag that won't strain consumers' wallets -- only $7,500 for the Street 750, and a mere $6,700 for the Street 500.

10 Best Canadian Stocks To Own Right Now

Priced to move
The low price points on these bikes are significant for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, they indicate that Harley-Davidson is moving out of its comfort zone, and gunning for volume -- both at home and abroad. As with the new ultra-cheap "Grom" bikes that Honda Motor (NYSE: HMC  ) recently began marketing, the introduction of an entry-level Harley may attract more buyers to the brand here in the U.S. -- buyers whom Harley may be able to upsell to its bigger bikes over time.

More importantly, Harley-Davidson has clearly placed a bull's-eye on the international market with these new bikes. The company took a lot of time figuring out how to target foreign markets, surveying more than 3,000 prospective buyers in 10 countries, and focusing on urban markets not just in locales such as Chicago, but also in Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Tokyo abroad.

The reason: As recently as 2003, Harley-Davidson was getting only 17% of its revenues from abroad. The company has grown that by more than half over the past decade but still only does about 29% of its business outside the United States. With the Street line to work with, Harley hopes to diversify even more internationally, growing foreign-sourced revenue to perhaps 40%.

Price for profit?
It may well succeed. At prices as low as $6,700 a pop, buying a bike from a respected brand name like Harley-Davidson should be an easy decision for foreign buyers to make. The question for prospective investors, though, may be a bit harder.

It stands to reason that Harley-Davidson can sell a lot more bikes for $6,700 apiece that it could at $17,699 or $18,349 -- the starting prices for the Fat Boy and Softail, respectively. But even sales success could pose a risk to Harley. Honda's cheaper bikes, after all, only earn that company an operating profit margin of about 8.2%.

Granted, even Harley-Davidson has a couple of models selling for below $10,000 -- the Superlow and Iron 883 sportsters, both of which cost $8,000 and change. But the new Street bikes will be selling for almost 20% below that. With Harley-Davidson now aiming to sell more and more smaller, cheaper bikes -- enough to rev up international revenues from 29% to 40% of its total -- there's a risk that profit margins will suffer.

The new Street 750 burns rubber. But will it burn Harley's profit margin, too? Source: Harley-Davidson.

Will a $6,700 price tag be cheap enough to attract enough buyers for Harley-Davidson to "make it up on volume"? Or in capturing market share at the low end, will Harley succeed only in shredding its current market-leading 19.5% profit margin and moving closer to Honda-levels of profitability?

Stay tuned.

Price is no object? Price is always an object!
You don't know it yet, but you probably spent thousands more than you should have on your vehicle. In fact, the auto industry can be such a dangerous place for consumers that our top auto experts are determined to even the playing field. That's why they created a a brand-new free report on The Car Buying Secrets You Must Know. The advice inside could save you thousands of dollars on your next car, so be sure to read this report while it lasts. Your conscience, and your wallet, will thank you. Click here now for instant access.

3 Reasons Family Offices Should Invest in Gold

Probably the most important duty of a family office is to position the portfolio to grow over the market average for the long term. That means anticipating future trends in asset classes.

With gold declining in value, there are three main reasons why family offices should invest in The Yellow Metal for long term gains: protect against future inflation, profit from economic growth in China and India, and to diversify the holdings of a portfolio, with the possibility of a healthy dividend income.

Precious metals like gold and silver have always been traditional safe haven assets for when investors lost confidence in fiat currencies due to inflation. After the first two rounds of quantitative easing, the acquiring of trillions in bonds by expanding its balance sheet, by the Federal Reserve, the exchange traded funds for gold, SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD), and silver, iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV), both soared in value. But that did not happen after Quantitative Easing III was announced by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in September 2012.

But gold should rise in the future due to quantitative easing by global central bankers, which should bring about rising prices.

Related: 3 Reasons Family Offices Should Invest in the Staffing Sector

That should result in inflation, which decreases the value of paper money and increases the value of gold. As former Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury George Shultz stated in a Wall Street Journal interview, "The Fed doesn't have an unlimited capacity because when it buys the debt what it's doing is monetizing the debt. Sooner or later that has to get out into the economy. Can't be held forever."

When that happens, inflation will set in, increasing the value of gold and silver.

The two biggest consumers of gold are also starting to buy more, too. According to the World Gold Council, China is purchasing gold at a rate that will reach a record 1,000 tons this year, a jump of 29 percent. The China Gold Association reports that gold consumption soared by 54 percent to 706.36 tons in just the first six months of 2013.

It is not just China, however: Over the last decade, there has been a 35 percent increase in gold jewelry, bars, and coins in China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. In a recent interview, Richard Pouldon, Executive Chairman of Wishbone Gold (OTC: WISHY), pointed out that the buying was shifting towards the metal itself, not securities.

Investing in gold now will put family offices in front of the burgeoning demand from the world's two most populous nations.

There is also a need for diversification in an investment portfolio that gold and silver holdings provide for a family office. It is a classic hedge against economic turmoil. Companies in the sector range from Goldcorp (NYSE: GG), the world's biggest, to Wishbone Gold, a small cap with promising holdings in Australia. If dividend income is desired by the family office, there is Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY), a favorite of financial columnist Jim Jubak, that has a 2.80 percent yield. Goldcorp has a dividend of around 2.50 percent, with Newmont Mining's (NYSE: NEM) even higher at nearly three percent.

Investing in gold and silver will prepare and diversify the holdings of a family office to profit from any market conditions in the future.

Posted-In: Long Ideas News Emerging Markets Dividends Dividends Commodities Economics Federal Reserve Markets Personal Finance Trading Ideas ETFs Best of Benzinga

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  Around the Web, We're Loving... Come Learn 6 Proven Trading Strategies at Our Holliday Trading Summit Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular General Electric to Spin-Off Retail Finance Unit in an IPO 3 Reasons Every Family Office Should Own Oil and Natural Gas Stocks 10 Stocks Below Their 50-Day Moving Average Apple Breaks Out of Six Day Trading Range Benzinga's Top #PreMarket Gainers 6 Ways to Tell if the Market is About to Crash Related Articles (AUY + GG) Dividend-Paying Gold Stocks are Very Alluring After Janet Yellen's Remarks 3 Reasons Family Offices Should Invest in Gold Gold Short Sellers Seek Direction (AU, NEM, NGD) Does Barrick Gold's Axing its CEO and Founder Signal a Market Bottom? Top 4 Mid-Cap Stocks In The Gold Industry With The Highest Dividend Yield 3 Reasons to be Bullish about Gold View the discussion thread. Partner Network #marketfy-ae-block { display: none; border: 2px solid #0a3f75; overflow: hidden; width: 300px; height: 125px; text-align: center; background-color: #45719E; position: relative; z-index: 1; } #marketfy-ae-block a { display: block; width: 300px; height: 125px; position: relative; z-index: 2; color: #ffffff; text-decoration: none; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text { color: #f9fc99; padding: 0px 0 0 0; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown-text-start { font-size: 12px; } #marketfy-ae-block-countdown { padding: 5px 0 5px 0; font-size: 26px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup { padding: 5px 47px; } #marketfy-ae-block-signup:hover { background-color: #457a1a; } #marketfy-ae-block #marketfy-ae-block-logo { display: block; padding: 3px 0 0 0; margin: 0; } #marketfy-ae-block-logo { text-indent: -9999px; } #marketfy-ae-block-free { display: block; position: absolute; top: 7px; right: -23px; width: 80px; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; opacity: 1; -webkit-transform: rotate(45deg); -moz-transform: rotate(45deg); -ms-transform: rotate(45deg); transform: rotate(45deg); font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; color: #333333; background-color: yellow; z-index: 500; text-shadow: 1px 1px #999999; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow { position: relative; width: 60px; height: 60px; z-index: 10; margin: -80px 0 13px -21px; } #marketfy-ae-block-arrow img { height: 60px; width: auto; } Marketfy's International
Traders & Investors Summit Register for this FREE Event! Hosted by Marketfy

Top Portfolio Products: Fidelity Launches Short-Duration Bond Funds

New products and changes introduced over the last week include three short-duration bond funds from Fidelity and a new global industrials fund and an online retirement center from T. Rowe Price.

In addition, Mariner Wealth announced the launch of its trust company, and Nasdaq OMX launched 14 new indexes.

Here are the latest developments of interest to advisors:

1) Fidelity Adds 3 New Bond Funds

Fidelity Investments announced Tuesday the launch of three new short-duration bond funds: Fidelity Limited Term Bond Fund (FJRLX), Fidelity Conservative Income Municipal Bond Fund (retail class, FCRDX; advisor class, FMNDX) and Fidelity Short Duration High Income Fund (FSAHX).

FJRLX is lead managed by Robert Galusza and co-managed by David Prothro. It seeks to provide a high rate of income and is credit-oriented, investing in sectors such as corporates, commercial mortgage-backed securities, asset backed securities and Government agency mortgages, which typically offer higher yields than Treasuries and Government securities. The fund normally maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity between two and five years.

FCRDX/FMNDX is managed by Doug McGinley. It invests in money-market securities and high-quality investment-grade municipal debt securities with a short duration. The fund normally maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity of one year or less.

FSAHX is managed by Matt Conti and co-managed by Michael Plage. It normally invests in higher-quality below-investment-grade bonds rated BB or B. It also intends to invest in floating-rate loans and investment-grade corporate bonds. The fund normally maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity of three years or less.

2) T. Rowe Price Adds Global Industrials Fund, Online Retirement Center

T. Rowe Price announced Tuesday the launch of its Global Industrials Fund (RPGIX), which seeks long-term capital growth by investing in foreign and U.S. companies within the industrials sector. It will be managed by Peter Bates, and its net expense ratio is estimated to be 1.05%.

RPGIX will normally invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities issued by companies in the industrials sector, at least 40% of its assets in companies outside the U.S. across a minimum of five different countries and in companies of any market capitalization, depending on where the portfolio manager sees the best opportunities. It will invest among the following industries within the sector: aerospace and defense; building products and equipment; automobiles; machinery; construction and engineering; electrical components and equipment; industrial technology; transportation; and manufacturing and industrial conglomerates.

T. Rowe Price Retirement Services also announced the launch of its Online Learning Center for participants in the employer-sponsored retirement plans for which it is recordkeeper. Currently the center offers a series of four educational videos designed to better equip retirement participants with the knowledge they need to plan for the future. Additional videos, including ones focused on financial planning tips for women and the basics of money management, are under development.

Plan sponsors can provide their participants with a link to the center on their benefits websites, or work with the firm to create a targeted campaign to promote the new resource within their organizations. In addition, the center is available on demand and gives participants the ability to learn at their own pace. Its content is optimized for smart devices and tablets, and accessible without having to log in to an account. 3) Mariner Wealth Launches Trust Company

Mariner Wealth Advisors announced Wednesday that it has launched Mariner Trust Co., created as a solution for clients who have requested a higher level of support to solve multigenerational wealth planning challenges.

Robert Swift heads the firm’s trust capabilities as senior vice president of Mariner Trust Co.

NASDAQ OMX Launches 14 New Indexes

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. announced Wednesday that it has added 14 new indexes in the NASDAQ Newfound Index family, which features rules-based, quantitatively enabled investment strategies created by Newfound Research LLC and tracks specific investment strategies through the use of ETFs. The indexes are designed to utilize ETFs to allow for specific outcomes to be achieved as an overlay on a broad market experience.

These initial indexes represent an investment strategy that includes defensive equities, target yields, risk-managed income, and a dynamic market neutral strategy. NASDAQ OMX and Newfound expect the new indexes will be available for licensing and implementation through separately managed accounts and, in some cases, ETFs.

The 14 indexes are: NASDAQ Newfound Global Defensive Equity (NQNFGEQ); NASDAQ Newfound Global Defensive Equity Total Return (NQNFGEQT); NASDAQ Newfound 1% Target Excess Yield (NQNF1YL); NASDAQ Newfound 1% Target Excess Yield Total Return (NQNF1YLT); NASDAQ Newfound 2% Target Excess Yield (NQNF2YL); NASDAQ Newfound 2% Target Excess Yield Total Return (NQNF2YLT); NASDAQ Newfound 3% Target Excess Yield (NQNF3YL); NASDAQ Newfound 3% Target Excess Yield Total Return (NQNF3YLT); NASDAQ Newfound 4% Target Excess Yield (NQNF4YL); NASDAQ Newfound 4% Target Excess Yield Total Return (NQNF4YLT); NASDAQ Newfound Risk Managed Income (NQNFINC); NASDAQ Newfound Risk Managed Income Total Return (NQNFINCT); NASDAQ Newfound US Dynamic Long/Short (NQNFLS); and NASDAQ Newfound US Dynamic Long/Short Total Return (NQNFLST).

Read the Nov. 8 Portfolio Products Roundup at ThinkAdvisor.

Post-Lehman Crash, Altegris’ Jon Sundt Defends Alternatives as Hedge Against Volatility

“Celebration” is not the word that comes to mind as market players observe the fifth-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers crash.

Rather, what now inspires investors to remember the crash is the cautionary tale it offers of the terrible things that can happen when the financial world spins out of control. Indeed, “caution” is a better word to describe why anybody should mark the date of Sept. 15, 2008, when Lehman filed for bankruptcy, according to Jon Sundt, president and chief executive of alternative investment firm Altegris.

“I think 2008 crystallized this idea that you need to be diversified,” Sundt (left) said in a recent interview with ThinkAdvisor. “The people who didn’t have diversified portfolios to this day are still suffering. It’s a stark reminder that you had better build a portfolio that can survive bad unforeseen outcomes.”

Sundt remembered that he was sitting at his desk in Altegris’ headquarters in La Jolla, Calif., the day that Lehman crashed.

“It was a bit of ‘shock and awe,” he recalled. “We had dozens of managers that we allocate to and thousands and thousands of investors. My biggest concern at the time was: Do we have any counterparty risk? We quickly determined that we had no direct exposure to Lehman. Some of our managers didn’t do so well, but those in the managed futures space did well, and so did people with hedges.”

Best Performing Stocks For 2014

Sundt’s own firm has gone through transmutations since the Lehman crash. After he founded Altegris in 2002, Genworth Financial bought his firm in 2010 for approximately $35 million, and earlier this year Genworth sold its wealth management unit, including Altegris, for $412.5 million to a partnership of two private equity firms, Genstar Capital and Aquiline Capital. Altegris currently has more than $4 billion in assets under management and employs 120 individuals.

Today, Sundt focuses much of his energy on promoting the idea of using equity and fixed income long/short strategies as core allocations. To be sure, that focus stems from Altegris’ relatively recent launches of the Altegris Fixed Income Long Short (FXDAX, FXDIX, FXDNX), on Feb. 28 this year, and the Altegris Equity Long Short Fund (ELSAX, ELSIX, ELSNX), on April 30, 2012.

Year to date, according to Morningstar, FXDIX has outperformed its benchmark, the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (which tracks the broader debt market in the same way that the S&P 500 follows stocks), with a $10,000 investment in FXDIX currently yielding $10,090 versus the Barclays index’s $9,686. The growth of $10,000 for ELSIX currently comes to $10,915, underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index’s $12,018 by a wide margin.

“This is a prudent approach,” Sundt said in defense of ELSIX’S underperformance. “You want to participate in this party, but you don’t want to drink too much. You want to participate in a way to preserve capital. A great way to do that is equity long/short. Our managers have exposure to the market for the upside but short positions in case the market corrects. If you’re 100% net long, you can get hurt.”

Similarly, Sundt noted, FXDIX offers a smoother ride for fixed income investors during an extremely volatile period for bonds. “If you have a portfolio with a lot of holdings, it may be a good idea to get into a long/short fixed-income fund, which is a corollary to long/short equities,” he said.

More thoughts from Jon Sundt on why fixed income long/short is a good idea:

---

Read 5 Years After Lehman Crash: ‘Dark Times’ Ahead at ThinkAdvisor.

Are Independent Producers Better Investments?

Spinning off refinery operations can be a great opportunity. It allows management to focus all of of their attention on finding and developing new fields, but it also exposes companies to more volatility. Smaller firms can prosper by focusing their resources on bringing a select number of plays online, but watch out for falling production from bigger firms. 

The big dog
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) spun off Philips 66, becoming the largest independent E&P. In the long run, its size may hold the company back. Its latest quarterly operating income of $14.78 per Boe is respectable for such a large firm, but it is being forced into expensive unconventional plays. The company's own rough estimates project that its base production will fall from 1.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mmboepd) to 1.0 Mmboepd by 2017.

Best Value Stocks To Watch Right Now

The majority of its growth will be found in North America. Between Alaska, Canada and the lower 48, it hopes to bring 505 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (Mboepd) online between 2012 and 2017. ConocoPhillips has jumped on the fracking train. The Eagle Ford, Permian Basin and the Bakken will provide a substantial portion of its growth over the next five years. Don't expect its Eagle Ford margins to be as high as other producers, as ConocoPhillips has some of its acreage closer to the gas-rich portion of the formation.

The smaller players
Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO  ) recently spun off its downstream assets into Marathon Petroleum. Marathon Oil's development of the Bakken and Eagle Ford are the main changes boosting its production volumes. Year-over-year, its second quarter U.S. volumes increased 38%. The Eagle Ford alone averaged 80 Mboepd and the Bakken averaged 39 Mboepd.

Looking at Marathon's margins, it produced $9.35 of operating income per Boe in the most recent quarter, placing it a step below ConocoPhillips. Marathon is hard at work boosting its shale output of crude oil and NGLs relative to natural gas, but this a gradual process and its Boe margins will continue to be under pressure. Libya is a latent liability for the company. With a large amount of political risk in the nation, do not expect things to change anytime soon. 

Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR  ) has already spun off its US retail operations into Murphy Oil USA and is exploring the possibility of spinning off its U.K. refining operations. Divesting its refineries will help direct excess cash to developing new fields. 

With 38% of its proven reserves between the Eagle Ford Shale and its Canadian Syncrude operation, Murphy has already accepted that unconventional plays are the way to grow. . 

North American natural gas is a liability due to depressed market pricing, and Murphy has 29% of its proven reserves in natural gas. On the positive side, 8% of these reserves come from Malaysia where prices are tied to oil benchmarks and command a significantly higher price. 

Looking at Murphy Oil's upstream operating income, it managed to produce $15.55 per Boe. Murphy Oil does not have Marathon's Libyan liabilities, and its recent quarterly production of 207 Mboepd makes it a small producer with a large amount of room to grow. 

Conclusion
Out of the three companies mentioned here, Murphy Oil is a solid company to watch. It is relatively small, allowing for a few major fields like the Eagle Ford to have a substantial impact on its bottom line. It is still waiting to spin-off its U.K. refinery operations, and it is likely that more concrete plans will be announced as a future catalyst.

ConocoPhillips is doing well after creating Phillips 66, but the company is a large producer at 1,552 Mboepd. It will need to keep up its capital expenditures and exploration to maintain production over the coming decade. With 44% of its earnings going to its dividend, its cash flow may become constrained. Marathon has lower margins and a lower yield than ConocoPhillips, but its presence in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and conservative use of cash flow make Marathon a more stable dividend stock. 

Record oil and natural gas production is revolutionizing the United States' energy position. Finding the right plays while historic amounts of capital expenditures are flooding the industry will pad your investment nest egg. For this reason, the Motley Fool is offering a comprehensive look at three energy companies set to soar during this transformation in the energy industry. To find out which three companies are spreading their wings, check out the special free report, "3 Stocks for the American Energy Bonanza." Don't miss out on this timely opportunity; click here to access your report -- it's absolutely free. 

Sector Pullback Makes Biotech a Buy

Despite the fact that the biotech sector has faced some setbacks recently, Jay Silverman, editor of Medical Technology Stock Letter, is confident it's only the case of a normal correction.

Steve Halpern: We're here today with biotech sector expert, Jay Silverman, editor of the Medical Technology Stock Letter. How are you doing today, Jay?

Jay Silverman: Very well. Thank you, Steve.

Steve Halpern: After an exceptionally strong performance over the past year, the biotech sector's been noticeably weak in the past weeks or months. Some pundits have been suggesting that the biotech boom may be over, but you've taken a much more measured approach and have seen this weakness as a normal correction. First, you've looked at the technical factors. What do you see there?

Jay Silverman: Well, since the shock of early October, when the market collapsed dramatically in a couple of days, stocks rebounded, but failed to reach new highs, and that has led to what I call negative momentum.

And, at the same time, there was rotations out of biotechs into other high beta technology stocks, such as the Internet and technology plays; Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), and the like, so the momentum players—which are not fundamentalists, but on the way up, are helpful participants—they are in no rush to hurry back into the bios, as the technical charts don't dictate that.

Steve Halpern: Now, you've also noted that the mega-cap biotechs have joined in the latest sell-off. Is that a reason for concern?

Jay Silverman: Yes it is, and those are what I call the mega-caps, which are the most successful in largest companies, by both sales and earnings, and even market cap, held on relatively well in October and it was just like the quality, and as long as they had done.

Well, the group sort of was in good shape, despite the fact the smaller names had imploded very recently, particularly the last few days, because big-caps have, what I call, succumbed to the industry pull-back and when you have the leadership stocks go negative that also adds to the short-term pressure on the group.

Steve Halpern: Now, adding to the negative environment here, you've also pointed to a flood of new deals. How has this impacted the overall market for biotechs?

Jay Silverman: Well, when the biotechs do well—this has been a year when the IPO window has been wide open and nothing's been stronger—then IPOs make fantastic near-term and short-term and immediate gains.

Some of the biggest leaders in that field, and there have been dozens in fields, if not more this year, such as Bluebird (BLUE) and Stemline Therapeutics (STML) and have all pulled back to significantly lower levels; even below, in Bluebird's case, the price that had actually opened up as an IPO, even though it's above its IPO price.

That is usually when the speculative nature of a group sort of starts to really disappear.

Steve Halpern: Despite the recent selloffs, investors still have strong gains for the year. You've mentioned that fear at the current time has overtaken greed. Could you expand on that?

Jay Silverman: Yes, I think, because it's been such a phenomenal year for most biotech stocks in the indices, many investors will be okay with a normal pullback in the 10%, maybe even 15%.

But, as it starts to accelerate, and I think, exceed, let's say 20%, then people start to say, "Wait a second, maybe I'm going to lose a bunch of these wonderful gains in 2013, let me lock in some of these profits now and I'll forgo the rest of the year."

Valuations have been stretched a while, so I believe that is clearly one of the drivers of the recent pullback, is that people got a little bit scared after a while and saying, "Oh no, I don't want to give back that much."

Top 10 Stocks To Own For 2014

Page 1 | Page 2 | Next Page

4 Highest Yielding Stocks Mostly Picked by Stock Market Pros

Big investors are sometimes better informed about the issues of a company. They know where to find low hanging fruits and to make profits. It could make sense for us normal investors to observe the activities from the big investors in order to get a feeling about the good and bad companies, stocks that investors love and hate.

Each month, I develop a little screen about the largest stock buys from 49 super investors. I analyze how often a stock was bought over the recent six months and ranked them in my 100 best guru buy list. All super gurus combined bought 631 stocks within the recent half year; they seem to be more bullish.

In my view, it's a good tool to look at the activities of the guru investors in the market because they have huge amounts of capital and if they invest combined, they can change the market very easy. Their attitude to stocks is also lightning the way to return, not always but sometimes because the media notices the portfolio changes of the hedge fund managers and create additional publicity.

Technology is still the place to be for the investment gurus. The top three results from the guru 100 best buy list are all tech stocks: Oracle, Apple and Microsoft.

And investors bet more on dividends: Now, 80 percent of the equities they bought pay a dividend. But most of them are low yielding stocks, with around 11 stocks yielding over 3 percent. Investment gurus still look for growth and don't seek for high cash compensation.

Here are the highest yielding results:

BP (BP) has a market capitalization of $130.11 billion. The company employs 85,700 people, generates revenue of $388.285 billion and has a net income of $11.816 billion. BP's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $39.891 billion. The EBITDA margin is 10.27 percent (the operating margin is 5.08 percent and the net profit margin 3.04 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 16.26 percent of BP's assets and the total de! bt in relation to the equity amounts to 41.21 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 10.07 percent was realized by BP. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $8.07. Last fiscal year, BP paid $1.98 in the form of dividends to shareholders. BP shares were bought by 6 guru investors.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 5.12, the P/S ratio is 0.34 and the P/B ratio is finally 1.11. The dividend yield amounts to 5.23 percent and the beta ratio has a value of 1.21.

Intel (INTC) has a market capitalization of $109.50 billion. The company employs 106,000 people, generates revenue of $53.341 billion and has a net income of $11.005 billion. Intel's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $22.160 billion. The EBITDA margin is 41.54 percent (the operating margin is 27.44 percent and the net profit margin 20.63 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 15.94 percent of Intel's assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 26.26 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 22.66 percent was realized by Intel. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.85. Last fiscal year, Intel paid $0.87 in the form of dividends to shareholders. INTC shares were bought by 4 guru investors.

Top Casino Stocks For 2014

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.88, the P/S ratio is 2.05 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.12. The dividend yield amounts to 4.09 percent and the beta ratio has a value of 1.02.

Philip Morris International (PM) has a market capitalization of $135.05 billion. The company employs 87,100 people, generates revenue of $77.393 billion and has a net income of $9.154 billion. Philip Morris International's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortizatio! n (EBITDA! ) amounts to $14.827 billion. The EBITDA margin is 19.16 percent (the operating margin is 17.89 percent and the net profit margin 11.83 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 60.63 percent of Philip Morris International's assets. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $5.16. Last fiscal year, Philip Morris International paid $3.24 in the form of dividends to shareholders. PM shares were bought by 5 guru investors.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 16.19, the P/S ratio is 1.75 and the P/B ratio is finally not calulable. The dividend yield amounts to 4.07 percent and the beta ratio has a value of 0.87.

Merck (MRK) has a market capitalization of $138.39 billion. The company employs 81,000 people, generates revenue of $47.267 billion and has a net income of $6.299 billion. Merck's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $22.343 billion. The EBITDA margin is 47.27 percent (the operating margin is 18.49 percent and the net profit margin 13.33 percent).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 19.38 percent of Merck's assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 38.79 percent. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 11.47 percent was realized by Merck. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.68. Last fiscal year, Merck paid $1.68 in the form of dividends to shareholders. MRK shares were bought by 6 guru investors.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 28.15, the P/S ratio is 2.93 and the P/B ratio is finally 2.70. The dividend yield amounts to 3.64 percent and the beta ratio has a value of 0.58.

Take a closer look at the full table of stocks with biggest guru buys over the past six months. The average P/E ratio amounts to 18.90. Exactly 80 companies pay dividend; one High-Yield is below the results. The average dividend yield amounts to 1.73 perce! nt. P/S r! atio is 2.39 and P/B ratio 4.67.
Monthly Yield Fact Book | Yields Dividend Champions | Yields Dividend Contenders | Yields Dividend Challengers | High-Yield Large Cap | +10% Yielding Stocks |

*Subscribe to my Blog via RSS Feed or E-Mail. Alternatively, you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

Judge delays approval of SAC Capital guilty plea

NEW YORK – A Manhattan federal judge Friday delayed a final decision on accepting SAC Capital Advisors' criminal guilty plea in a record-setting $1.8 billion insider trading case.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain indicated she wants to study the agreement prosecutors reached with the giant hedge fund and its attorneys. She scheduled a March 14 sentencing date.

The postponement is the latest development in a string of guilty pleas and convictions linked to the massive scam.

An attorney for SAC Capital formally entered the guilty pleas to securities fraud and wire fraud on behalf of the hedge fund and several affiliates. The pleas were part of a deal announced Monday by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Barara that also requires the hedge fund to cease trading for outside investors.

The case focused on evidence that some traders at the hedge fund illegally sought and received information about market-moving corporate finance decisions that had not been publicly announced and available to investors.

Peter Nussbaum, the hedge fund's general counsel, expressed "deep remorse" for the criminal violations.

"Subject to the Court's acceptance, today four SAC Capital companies pled guilty to serious federal crimes that undermined the integrity of our securities markets," said Bharara in a statement issued after Friday's hearing. "Financial institutions should know that they are not automatically immune from prosecution, and we will hold companies, as well as individuals, accountable wherever appropriate."

Another federal judge on Wednesday accepted a separate SAC Capital guilty plea to a related civil forfeiture action.

Meanwhile, a former research analyst pleaded guilty Friday to giving an SAC Capital trader inside information about an Internet search and advertising partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo!

Sandeep Aggarwal, 40, a former analyst for Collins Stewart in San Francisco, pleaded guilty to passing the information in 2009 to Richard Lee. The former SAC Capi! tal trader has since entered his own guilty plea to conspiracy and securities fraud related to insider trading. Lee and Aggarwal are cooperating with prosecutors.

Contributing: The Associated Press

5 Best Casino Stocks To Watch For 2014

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) completed on Monday the spin-off of its real-estate holdings into a new REIT, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (G&LP) (NASDAQ: GLPI). The spin-off was first announced a year ago. Shares in GLPI are trading at around $46.51 after opening at $45.76 this morning.

As a result of the transaction, which was tax-free to Penn National shareholders, each Penn National shareholder received 1.35 shares in G&LP plus a special cash dividend of $3.33 per share of Penn National stock.

Penn�� shares are trading down more than 77% at around $13.50 after the spin-off. But the good news is that the combined share price of Penn and G&LP is around $60 a share, about $1 a share higher than Penn closed on Friday. The better news is that the combined value of the two companies��shares could be north of $70 a share after adding in the special dividend.

The REIT is expected to spend as much as $500 million in acquisitions in 2014, according to Barron��, and some potential acquisition targets include Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) which has a market cap of around $323 million or Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) with a market cap of around $47 million.

5 Best Casino Stocks To Watch For 2014: MGM Resorts International(MGM)

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, primarily owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. The company?s resorts offer gaming, hotel, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities. It also owns and operates golf courses and a golf club. As of December 31, 2010, the company owned and operated 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi, and Michigan; and has 50% investments in 4 other casino resorts in Nevada, Illinois, and Macau. In addition, MGM Resorts International has an agreement with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which owns and operates a casino resort in Connecticut, to carry the ?MGM Grand? brand name. The company was formerly known as MGM MIRAGE and changed its name to MGM Resorts International in June 2010. MGM Resorts International was founded in 1986 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What we can take from this is that, most likely, Las Vegas Sands and Melco Crown (NASDAQ: MPEL  ) will see a large increase in revenue when they report earnings. We can also assume that MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) will show similar trends in Macau because its location is next to Wynn's. There's far more growth to be had than what Wynn is showing and Las Vegas Sands and Melco Crown likely took significant share during the first quarter.

5 Best Casino Stocks To Watch For 2014: Penn National Gaming Inc.(PENN)

Penn National Gaming, Inc. and its subsidiaries own and manage gaming and pari-mutuel properties in the United States. It operates approximately 27,000 gaming machines; 500 table games; and 2,000 hotel rooms in 23 facilities in 16 jurisdictions, including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ontario. The company was formerly known as PNRC Corp. and changed its name to Penn National Gaming, Inc. in 1994. Penn National Gaming, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

   

  Penn National Gaming (PENN) is a diversified, multi-jurisdictional owner and manager of gaming and pari-mutuel properties. This stock closed up 1.4% at $56.13 in Monday's trading session.

   

  Monday's Volume: 1.11 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 824,334
  
  Volume % Change: 73%

   

   

  From a technical perspective, PENN jumped modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $54.71 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of PENN within range of triggering a breakout trade. That trade will hit if PENN manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $57.44 to some past resistance at $58 with high volume.

   

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PENN as long as it's trending above Monday's low $55.65 or above more support at $54.71 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that this near or above 824,334 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then PENN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $59.93. Any high-volume move above $59.93 will then give PENN a chance to hit $65.

   

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the Move: BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) is down 16.4% at $6.50 after announcing that no buyout bid will be forthcoming. Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) is down 76.7% at $13.75 after spinning-off its real-estate holdings into a REIT. Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) is up 15.5% at $1.53 following the acquisition of its major operations in Wuxi.

Top 10 Casino Companies To Invest In 2014: Boyd Gaming Corporation(BYD)

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 1,042,787 square feet of casino space, containing approximately 25,973 slot machines, 655 table games, and 11,418 hotel rooms. It also owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and New Jersey. In addition, the company owns and operates a pari-mutuel jai-alai facility located in Dania Beach, Florida, as well as a travel agency in Hawaii. Further, it holds a 50% controlling interest in the limited liability company that operates Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Boyd Gaming Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  The real question is whether Zynga can hold off experienced casino operators if online gambling becomes a reality. Already, alliances are forming, with Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) and MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) having linked up with bwin.party -- the same company Zynga tapped for its real-money Zynga Poker -- to help Boyd take advantage of newly legal online gambling in New Jersey. Zynga has the obvious edge with its social savvy, but established casino companies will have huge incentives to defend their turf if Zynga starts to make a serious dent in the industry.

• [By M. Joy, Hayes]

  Industry trends
  Other businesses in the industry also have copious related-party transactions. In particular, founder-led businesses Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) �reported a large number of such transactions in their 2013 proxies, including employment of relatives, employee use of company services, and employee use of company-owned property. MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM  ) , on the other hand, didn't have to report any related-party transactions in its 2013 proxy.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Even if a federal bill does pass, there's no guarantee Zynga would win. Online poker is all about gaining a critical mass of users, and it's a uphill battle. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) have already partnered with bwin.party for a U.S. online gaming venture. Bwin.party is one of the largest real-money online poker companies in the world, and with PokerStars likely shut out of the U.S. in the near future, this would be a formidable opponent. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) has also had its eyes on online poker for some time, and with the World Series of Poker brand, it has a big draw for players. Caesars thinks so much of online poker that it's spinning off its "growth" assets, and online games are a key part of the new company.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD  ) jumped 10% today after the company got an analyst upgrade.

  So what: Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to overweight today, and gave the stock a $12 price target. The analyst cited the potential for online gaming as the driver of the stock, potentially bringing as much revenue to the industry as Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined. �

5 Best Casino Stocks To Watch For 2014: Wynn Resorts Limited(WYNN)

Wynn Resorts, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. The company owns and operates Wynn Las Vegas casino resort in Las Vegas, which includes approximately 22 food and beverage outlets comprising 5 dining restaurants; 2 nightclubs; 1 spa and salon; 1 Ferrari and Maserati automobile dealership; wedding chapels; an 18-hole golf course; meeting space; and foot retail promenade featuring boutiques. Wynn Las Vegas casino resort also features approximately 147 table games, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, 1 poker room, 1,842 slot machines, and 1 race and sports book. It also owns and operates an Encore at Wynn Las Vegas resort, a destination casino resort located adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas that features a 2,034 all-suite hotel, as well as a casino with 95 table games, 1 sky casino, 1 baccarat salon, private VIP gaming rooms, and 778 slot machines. In addition, the company operates Wyn n Macau casino resort located in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People?s Republic of China. Wynn Macau casino resort features approximately 595 hotel rooms and suites, 410 table games, 935 slot machines, 1 poker room, 1 sky casino, 6 restaurants, 1 spa and salon, lounges, meeting facilities, and retail space featuring boutiques. Further, it operates Encore at Wynn Macau resort located adjacent to Wynn Macau. Encore at Wynn Macau resort features approximately 410 luxury suites and 4 villas, as well as casino gaming space, including a sky casino consisting of 60 table games and 80 slot machines, 2 restaurants, 1 luxury spa, and retail space. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  The recovery in Las Vegas is gaining steam, and after 6.4% growth in May and 4.3% growth over the past year, the gaming companies there have some room to breathe. MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) have the most to gain, but Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS  ) will benefit as well. In the following video, gaming analyst Travis Hoium covers who will benefit the most from Las Vegas' growth and one stock to stay away from.�

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One gambling player that's starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Wynn Resorts (WYNN), a developer, owner and operator of destination casino resorts. This stock has been trending hot so far in 2013, with shares up 24%.

  If you look at the chart for Wynn Resorts, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last two months, with shares moving higher from its low of $120.96 to its intraday high of $140.82 a share. During that uptrend, shares of WYNN have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of WYNN have been consolidating for the last few weeks, moving between just below $137 to just above $140 a share. A high-volume move above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern could trigger a big breakout trade for shares of WYNN.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in WYNN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $140.82 to its 52-week high at $144.99 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 1.30 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then WYNN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $160 to $165 a share, or even $170 a share.

  Traders can look to buy WYNN off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $132.51 a share. One can also buy WYNN off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  The next step
  The top end of the market has been doing well over the past two years, and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS  ) and Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) have been the beneficiaries. Las Vegas Sands's Las Vegas�revenue was up 7% in the first quarter, while Wynn's�was up 6.6%. But MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM  ) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) haven't seen the same success in the lower end of the market.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Hertz (NYSE: HTZ  ) dips on good-not-great earnings. Candian retailer Hudson's Bay buys Saks (NYSE: SKS  ) for $2.4 billion. Wynn Resorts' (NASDAQ: WYNN  ) second-quarter profit gets hit with one-time charges. Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC  ) merges with Publicis Group to form the world's largest advertising and marketing firm. In this segment from Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Bill Barker and Andy Cross discuss four stocks making moves on Tuesday.

5 Best Casino Stocks To Watch For 2014: Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.(PNK)

Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. owns, develops, and operates casinos, and related hospitality and entertainment facilities in the United States. It operates casinos, such as L'Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles, Louisiana; River City Casino and Lumiere Place in St. Louis, Missouri; Boomtown New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana; Belterra Casino Resort in Vevay, Indiana; Boomtown Bossier City in Bossier City, Louisiana; and Boomtown Reno in Reno, Nevada. The company also operates River Downs racetrack in southeast Cincinnati, Ohio. As of May 26, 2011, it operated seven casinos and one racetrack. The company was formerly known as Hollywood Park, Inc. and changed its name to Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. in February 2000. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. was founded in 1935 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK  ) has reached an agreement in principle with the Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission that would allow the company to complete its proposed acquisition of Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA  ) , Pinnacle announced today.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of Ameristar Casinos (NASDAQ: ASCA  ) and Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK  ) fell as much as 11% today after the government brought into question the merger of the two companies.