Best Tech Companies For 2014

Yesterday, small cap biopharmaceutical stock Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc (NASDAQ: NBIX) surged 89.69% after announcing positive results for its VMAT2 inhibitor NBI-98854 as a treatment for tardive dyskinesia, meaning investors late to the party or those already in should take a closer look at the stock along with its performance verses that of biotech ETFs like the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA: XBI).

What is Neurocrine Biosciences?

Small cap Neurocrine Biosciences is a product based biopharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of innovative pharmaceutical products to treat neurological and endocrine diseases and disorders. Specifically, Neurocrine Biosciences��product candidates address some of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, including endometriosis, stress-related disorders, pain, tardive dyskinesia, uterine fibroids, diabetes, insomnia and other neurological and endorine-related diseases and disorders.

Top 5 Gas Companies For 2015: Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc.(CBST)

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products that address unmet medical needs in the acute care environment. The company markets CUBICIN (daptomycin for injection), a once-daily, bactericidal, intravenous, antibiotic with activity against gram-positive organisms, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. Its clinical development product pipeline consists of CXA-201, which is in the phase III clinical trial for patients with complicated urinary tract infections; and in phase II clinical trial for patients with complicated abdominal infections. The company is also developing CXA-201 for the treatment of hospital acquired pneumonia. In addition, its product under development comprises CB-183,315, an oral, bactericidal lipopeptide with in vitro bactericidal activity against C. difficile, for the treatment of clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Further , the company?s pre-clinical programs include therapies to treat various bacterial infections and agents to treat acute pain. Additionally, it promotes MERREM I.V. (meropenem for injection), a carbapenem class intravenous antibiotic, in the United States under a commercial services agreement with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP; and DIFICID as the treatment for CDAD in adults under the co-promotion agreement with Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company also has collaborations with Forma Therapeutics, Inc. to discover and develop antibacterial compounds; an agreement with the Broad Institute to transform natural products discovery; a collaboration with Hydra Biosciences, Inc., to develop ion channel drugs; and a collaboration agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for the development and commercialization of Alnylam's RNAi therapeutics as a therapy for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Lexington, Mas sachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST  ) , a biopharmaceutical company devoted to developing acute care therapies, added 12% following the announcement of its second-quarter earnings results.

• [By Jake Keator]

  Shares of Cubist Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: CBST  ) exploded upward on Friday, finishing up over 9%. The company reported strong second-quarter results Thursday, beating average analyst estimates for both revenue and EPS. Total net revenues were $258.8 million, up 12.2% over Q2 2012, while non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.42. Average analyst estimates were $254.73 million for revenue and EPS of $0.38.

• [By Victor Selva]

  Forest Laboratories has a current ratio of 2.69% which is higher than the ones registered by Endo International Plc (ENDP), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CBST). For investors looking for a higher ROE, Allergan Inc. (AGN) and Actelion Ltd. (ATLN.VX) are good options.

• [By Alyssa Oursler]

  Another company with a megatrend in its corner is Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST) — the midcap stock that will replace Smithfield Foods in the S&P 400.

Best Tech Companies For 2014: Wave Systems Corp.(WAVX)

Wave Systems Corp. develops, produces, and markets products for hardware-based digital security. Its products are based on the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a hardware security chip that enables secure protection of files and other digital secrets, and performs critical security functions. The company offers EMBedded Application Security SYstem (EMBASSY) Trust Suite, a set of applications and services that are designed to bring functionality and user value to TPM enabled products. The EMBASSY Trust Suite includes the EMBASSY Security Center, Trusted Drive Manager, Document Manager, Private Information Manager, and Key Transfer Manager. It also offers middleware and tools, which include Trusted Computing Group (TCG) enabled toolkit that assists application developers in writing new applications or modifying existing ones to function on TCG-compliant platforms; and Wave TCG-Enabled Cryptographic Service Provider, which allows software developers to utilize the security of a TCG standards-based platform. In addition, the company offers EMBASSY Trust Server Applications comprising EMBASSY Key Management Server, a server application designed to provide corporate-level backup and transition of the TPM keys; EMBASSY Authentication Server that offers centralized management, provisioning, and enforcement of multifactor domain access policies; and EMBASSY Remote Administration Server, which provides centralized management and auditing of TPMs and self-encrypting drives. Further, it offers eSign Transaction Management Suite and broadband media distribution services. Wave Systems Corp. sells its products to chip original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), PC OEMs, enterprise customers, and systems integrators. The company was formerly known as Cryptologics International, Inc. and changed its name to Wave Systems Corp. in January 1993. Wave Systems Corp. was founded in 1988 and is based in Lee, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Looking for a quick trade? Don't put Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX) in your portfolio just yet, but do put WAVX on your watchlist. It's on the verge of becoming a breakout monster.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Just when you think it can't get any better for Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX), it gets better. WAVX is turning out to be one of those rare cases where the higher the stock goes, the easier it gets for it to go higher.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If there was any lingering doubt that Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:WAVX) was in the early stages of a rebound, today's 11% pop should wipe those doubts away. This little technology company has lodged itself firmly into a bullish trend today, after hammering out a turnaround effort for the past four months. Translation: WAVX has become a convincing buy.

Best Tech Companies For 2014: KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc (KBIO)

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a United States-based company, which develops protein therapeutics. The Company develops and engineers antibodies and protein therapeutics. Its monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) technology that is being used for reengineering antibodies with products being developed in the areas of infectious disease, autoimmunity, and oncology. Its suite of technologies can also be used for discovery and engineering of other proteins, industrial enzymes and small molecule drugs. It conducts three clinical development programs in leukemia, infectious diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: KBIO) shares fell 64.48% to $0.65 in pre-market trading after the company reported top-line data from phase 2 study of KB001-A.

Best Tech Companies For 2014: Trimble Navigation Limited(TRMB)

Trimble Navigation Limited provides positioning, wireless, and software technology solutions. The company?s Engineering and Construction segment offers site positioning systems, construction asset management services, software, and wireless and Internet-based site communications infrastructure solutions that improve productivity, accuracy, safety, and environmental impact in the entire construction process; and productivity solutions for the building construction sectors, as well as designs and markets handheld data collectors, productivity survey and mapping equipment, and data collection software for field use. Its Field Solutions segment provides guidance and positioning systems, automated application systems, and information management solutions to improve crop performance, profitability, and environmental quality; and handheld data collectors that gather information in the field. The company?s Mobile Solutions segment offers vehicle solutions, such as GPS receivers, business logic, sensor interfaces, and wireless modems; mobile worker solutions to automate service technician work in the field; and scheduling and dispatch solution, an enterprise software program to optimize scheduling and routing of field service technicians. Its Advanced Devices segment supplies global navigation satellite system modules (GNSS), licensing and complementary technologies, and GNSS-integrated sub-system solutions; supplies global positioning system receivers and embedded modules for aircraft navigation and timing applications; provides GPS-enabled cell phones for outdoor recreational activities; precision products that combine GNSS with inertial sensors; and ultra high frequency radio frequency identification reader modules, radio frequency identification readers, and design services. The company markets its products through dealers, distributors, and authorized representatives worldwide. Trimble Navigation Limited was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB  ) needs a new CFO.

  On Monday after close of trading, the maker of GPS products for industrial use announced that Chief Financial Officer Rajat Bahri has decided to take a job with a private equity firm, and will be leaving Trimble effective June 3.

• [By Holly LaFon]

  ��Trimble Navigation (TRMB) provides location-based solutions to its customers that enhance their productivity and profitability. The recovery in construction end markets and continued strong demand from the farm economy resulted in strong overall financial results for the company and a strong stock price. We trimmed the position as it began to exceed the upper end of the market cap range that we invest in.

• [By cody56]

  The top contributors to performance during the period were Trimble Navigation (TRMB), Sensata Technologies�(ST) and Cadence Design Systems (CDS).

  Trimble Navigation provides location-based solutions to its customers that enhance their productivity and profitability. The recovery in construction end markets and continued strong demand from the farm economy resulted in strong overall financial results for the company and a strong stock price. We trimmed the position as it began to exceed the upper end of the market cap range that we invest in. Sensata Technologies develops, manufactures and sells sensors and controls. We are attracted to the company�� large growth opportunity, which is driven by increased sensor penetration in industries such as automobiles and general industrial opportunities. We find Sensata�� business model to be attractive given the stability of its revenues, strong operating leverage and excellent management team. During the period, the company benefited from a rebound in European automobile sales and deployed capital in several small accretive acquisitions. We have been trimming the position modestly as the stock approaches our price target.

  Meridian Growth Fund performance

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Trimble Navigation Ltd. (NASDAQ: TRMB) applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location — including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. The J.P. Morgan price target is $43, and consensus target is at $39.29. Trimble closed Tuesday at $38.87.

Best Tech Companies For 2014: Sonus Networks Inc.(SONS)

Sonus Networks, Inc. provides voice and multimedia infrastructure solutions. The company offers session border control (SBC), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and access and VoIP media gateway solutions that allow the delivery of voice and multimedia sessions over IP networks. Its products include GSX9000 Open Services Switch that enables voice traffic to be transported over packet networks; GSX4000 Open Services Switch; NBS9000 Network Border Switch that permits service providers to transform their time division multiplexing networks to IP; PSX Policy & Routing Server, which translates business policies into actual call control, routing, and service selection decisions; NBS5200 Network Border Switch that provides SBC functionality; and ASX Call Feature Server that provides local area calling and regulatory features for residential and enterprise markets. The company also offers Network Analytics Suite of performance management products, including NetScore network perf ormance analysis tool, NetAssure voice quality monitoring tool, and NetEng network audit and visualization engine that are used for the collection, monitoring, reporting, and notification of performance metrics. In addition, it provides professional consulting and services to support its IP communication solutions; and program management, network deployment design, softswitch and subscriber database design, network verification and audit, custom application and adaptor development, OSS and API integration, migration and upgrade, and managed services. The company serves long-distance and local exchange carriers, Internet service providers, wireless operators, cable operators, financial institutions, retailers, state and local governments, and multinational corporations. It sells its products primarily through a direct sales force in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Sonus Networks, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Westford, Mass achusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS  ) have popped today by upwards of 17% after the company reported first-quarter earnings.

  So what: First quarter sales totaled $63.3 million, which turned into a non-GAAP net loss of $0.02 per share. Investors were expecting just $61.1 million up top and an adjusted loss of $0.03 per share, meaning the figures were a beat relative to consensus estimates. Session border controller, or SBC, revenue was up 77% to $30 million.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One networking player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Sonus Networks (SONS), which provides networked solutions for communications service providers and enterprises in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up 104%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Sonus Networks, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the past month, with shares moving between $3.25 on the downside and $3.72 on the upside. Shares of SONS have been finding support over the last month each time the stock has pulled back to its 50-day moving average. This stock is now starting to trend a bit higher and move within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways consolidating chart pattern.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SONS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $3.56 to $3.59 a share and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.72 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 2.50 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SONS will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $5 to $5.50 a share.

  Traders can look to buy SONS off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.33 to $3.25 a share, or right below more support at $3.10 a share. One could also buy SONS 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.

Best Tech Companies For 2014: Systemax Inc.(SYX)

Systemax Inc. operates as a direct marketer of brand name and private label products. The company operates in two segments, Technology Products and Industrial Products. The Technology Products segment sells computers, computer supplies, and consumer electronics in North America and Europe. This segment offers individual technology products in categories, including computers; computer parts; television and video; audio; cameras and surveillance; car and GPS; cell phones; software; video games and toys; home and office; and other products. The Industrial Products segment sells various industrial products and supplies in North America. This segment provides products in categories, such as material handling; storage and shelving; workbench and shop desks; packaging and supplying; furniture and office; foodservice and appliances; janitorial and maintenance; tools and instruments; fasteners and hardware; motors and power transmission; HVAC/R and fans; electrical and bulbs; plumb ing supplies; and safety and medical items. The company offers its products through its relationship marketers, catalog mailings, and Internet Websites. It serves individual consumers; and business customers comprising for-profit businesses, educational organizations, and government entities. Its portfolio of catalogs comprises various brand names, such as TigerDirect.com, Global Computer Supplies, TigerDirect.ca, Misco, Global Industrial, Nexel, and Inmac WStore. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 42 retail stores in North America; and 7 distribution centers in Europe. Systemax Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Port Washington, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Loyalty and marketing specialist Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS  ) grabbed a tiger by the tail with a multiyear agreement to�provide private label credit card services�to�Systemax (NYSE: SYX  ) subsidiary TigerDirect.