Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now

Marijuana may have become legalized for medical use in 20 states and legal for recreational use in two states, but what has not been legalized is how these companies conduct their business. Due to federal banking laws, these are effectively cash businesses which have a very hard time using banks and other regulated financial institutions. New Treasury guidelines may soon open the way to bring legal marijuana businesses into banking.

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued guidance on Friday. This memorandum is being called the “Cole Memo,” after James M. Cole – Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice.

Now there is a framework for financial institutions to slowly begin providing financial services to legal marijuana-related businesses. What is called the FinCEN guidance aims to clarify how financial institutions can provide services to marijuana related businesses consistent with their Bank Secrecy Act obligations.

5 Best Up And Coming Stocks For 2015: Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc (DJRT)

Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, Inc., incorporated on November 24, 1998, offers entertainment based oval driving schools and events. The Company owns several National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) type racecars. These classes are conducted at various racetracks throughout the country. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 15 racecars, and had purchased six additional racecars for its Las Vegas hub. These racecars are classified as stock cars and are equipped for oval or round tracks only.

The Company offers five types of ride or drive programs for individuals and corporations. The Qualifier is a three lap ride with a professional driver, which lasts about five minutes, depending on the length of the track. The Season Opener is a half day training class culminating in the student driving 10 laps. The Rookie Adventure and Happy Hour are also half day driving classes with the students driving 20 or 30 laps, respectively. The Advanced Stock Car Adventure is a full day 60 lap class. The main purpose of each event is the thrill of actually driving the race car. It owns a Miller Semi Tractor Trailer to haul the cars from track to track. The Company also offers a range of add-on sale items, including compact disks (CDs) from its adventure cam located in the car, clothing, souvenirs and photography.

The Company competes with Richard Petty Driving Experience.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Alliance Creative Group Inc (OTCMKTS: ACGX), Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc (OTCMKTS: DJRT), Inscor Inc (OTCMKTS: IOGA) and Solar Thin Films Inc (OTCMKTS: SLTZ) have all been getting some attention lately in various investment newsletters and it should come as no surprise that two out of four of these stocks have been the subject of paid promotions ��which tend to benefit traders. However, two out of four of these stocks also have pretty good financials for being small cap OTC stocks and that might make them attractive to investors with a long term time horizon. So which of these stocks might make traders some profits in the short term and investors some profits over the longer term? Here is a closer look to help you decide:

Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Biglari Holdings Inc (BH)

Biglari Holdings Inc. is a holding company engaged in a range of diverse business activities. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, is engaged in investment management and the franchising/operating of restaurants. The Company's wholly owned subsidiaries include Steak n Shake Operations, Inc. (Steak n Shake), Western Sizzlin Corporation (Western) and Biglari Capital Corp. (Biglari Capital). Biglari Holdings, as a capital allocating vehicle, is also in the business of owning other businesses in whole and in part. In February 2014, Biglari Holdings Inc and Alpha Media Group announced that the wholly owned subsidiary of Biglari Holdings has acquired MAXIM.

On April 30, 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of Biglari Capital Corp. (Biglari Capital). On March 30, 2010, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Grill Acquisition Corporation, completed the acquisition of Western.

Steak n Shake

The Company is engaged in the ownership, operation, and franchising of Steak n Shake restaurants. Steak n Shake is a American brand serving burgers and milk shakes. Steak n Shake offers its patrons full-service dining with counter and dining room seating, as well as drive-thru and carry-out service. During the fiscal year ended September 29, 2010 (fiscal 2010), counter and dining room sales represented approximately 60% of the sales mix, while sales for off-premises dining represent approximately 40% of the sales mix.

Western Sizzlin

The Company is engaged in the franchising of restaurants. Western Sizzlin offers full service dining of signature steak dishes, as well as other classic American menu items. Western Sizzlin also operates other concepts, Great American Steak & Buffet, and Wood Grill Buffet consisting of hot and cold food buffet style dining.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Cracker Barrel have gained 0.9% to $113.29 and�Biglari Holdings (BH), Sandar Biglari’s holding company, has fallen 0.4% to $516.96, on a day when DineEquity has advanced 1% to $85.03, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) has risen 0.5% to $76.64 and Denny’s (DENN) is up 0.7% at $7.45.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  The stellar report has the stock trading at its record highs, even in the face of some serious allegations from activist investor and QSR wizard Sardar Biglari of Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH  ) . Does Biglari's argument still hold water in the face of the vastly improved Cracker Barrel?

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Buffett-inspired Biglari Holdings (NYSE: BH  ) is not nearly as followed as its model business, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B  ) , but investors in the latter would be wise to keep an eye on the moves of this restaurant-focused holdings company.

Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Drew Industries Inc (DW)

Drew Industries Incorporated, incorporated on March 20, 1984, is a supplier of components for recreational vehicle (RVs) and manufactured housing. The Company operates in two segments: the RV products segment (RV Segment), and the manufactured housing products segment (MH Segment). The Company�� operations are conducted through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lippert Components, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Lippert) and Kinro, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Kinro), each of which has operations in both the RV Segment and the MH Segment. During the year ended December 31, 2012, the RV Segment accounted for 87% of net sales and the MH segment accounted for 13% of net sales. On February 21, 2012, the Company acquired the business and certain assets of the United States RV entry door operation of Euramax International, Inc. In February 2014, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Lippert Components, Inc has acquired Innovative Design Solutions, Inc. (IDS).

RV Segment

The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries manufactures and markets a variety of products used in the production of RVs, including steel chassis for towable RVs, axles and suspension solutions for towable RVs, slide-out mechanisms and solutions, thermoformed bath, kitchen and other products, manual, electric and hydraulic stabilizer and lifting systems, aluminum windows and screens, chassis components, furniture and mattresses, entry, baggage, patio and ramp doors, entry steps, awnings, and other accessories. The Company also supplies certain of these products to the RV aftermarket, and to adjacent industries, including manufacturers of truck caps, buses and trailers used to haul boats, livestock, equipment and other cargo. Operations of the Company's RV Segment consist primarily of fabricating, welding, painting and assembling components into finished products. The Company's RV Segment operations are conducted at 23 manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States, located in proximity to the cus! tomers they serve. Of these facilities, six also conduct operations in the Company's MH Segment. It markets extruded aluminum parts to manufacturers in other industries. The Company's RV Segment products are sold primarily to manufacturers of RVs such as Thor Industries Forest River (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and to distributors of aftermarket products.

MH Segment

The Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries manufactures and markets a variety of products used in the production of manufactured homes and to modular housing and mobile office units, including vinyl and aluminum windows and screens, steel chassis, steel chassis parts, axles, thermoformed bath and kitchen products, steel and fiberglass entry doors, and aluminum and vinyl patio doors. The Company also supplies windows, doors, and thermoformed bath products as replacement parts to the manufactured housing aftermarket, and to adjacent industries. MH Segment customers manufacture both manufactured homes and modular homes, and certain of the products manufactured by the Company are suitable for both types of homes. Operations of the Company's MH Segment consist primarily of fabricating, welding, thermoforming, painting and assembling components into finished products. The Company's MH Segment operations are conducted at 13 manufacturing and warehouse facilities throughout the United States, located in proximity to the customers they serve. Of these facilities, six also conduct operations in the Company's RV Segment. The Company's manufactured housing products are sold primarily to producers of manufactured homes such as Clayton Homes, Cavco Industries, Inc., Champion Home Builders, Inc., Skyline Corporation, and other OEMs, and to distributors of aftermarket products.

The Company competes with Kober Corporation and Dexter Axle Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  Shares of Winnebago have gained 4.4% to $28.47 today at 3pm. Thor Industries (THO), which also makes recreational vehicles, has ticked up 0.1% to $57.56, Drew Industries (DW) has risen 0.3% to $48.74, Arctic Cat (ACAT) has advanced 1% to $59.87 and Polaris Industries (PII) has fallen 0.3% to $132.08.

• [By John Udovich]

  The CEO of recreation vehicle (RV) stock Winnebago Industries, Inc (NYSE: WGO) recently appeared on CNBC to say that the economy is improving for RV makers, meaning its time to take a closer look at the stock plus take a look at the performance of other small cap RV stocks like Drew Industries, Inc (NYSE: DW), Skyline Corporation (NYSEMKT: SKY) and Thor Industries, Inc (NYSE: THO).

Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Manchester United PLC (MANU)

Manchester United plc, formerly Manchester United Ltd., incorporated on April 30, 2012, is engaged in the operations of professional sports team. It provides manchester united a platform to generate revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and matchday. The Company had three principal sectors: Commercial, Broadcasting and Matchday.

Commercial

Within the Commercial revenue sector, the Company had three revenue streams which include sponsorship revenue; retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing revenue; and new media and mobile revenue. Retail, Merchandising, Apparel and Product Licensing, it markets and sells sports apparel, training and leisure wear and other clothing featuring the Manchester United brand on a global basis. In addition, it also sells other licensed products, from coffee mugs to bed spreads, featuring the Manchester United brand and trademarks. These products are distributed through Manchester United branded retail centers and e-commerce platforms, as well as its partners' wholesale distribution channels.

The Company retails, merchandizes, apparel & product licensing business is managed by Nike, who pays it a minimum guaranteed amount and a share of the business' cumulative profits. It has formed mobile telecom partnerships in 44 countries. In addition, it markets content directly to its followers through its Website, www.manutd.com, and associated mobile properties.

Broadcasting

The Company generates revenue from distribution and broadcasting of live football content. Broadcasting revenue is derived from the global television rights relating to the Premier League, Champions League and other competitions. In addition, its global television channel, MUTV, delivers Manchester United programming to 54 countries around the world. Broadcasting includes all revenue covering domestic and international television and radio rights. Broadc! asting revenue including, in some cases, prize money received by it in respect of the various competitions.

Matchday

The Company generates revenue during the matchday from the Old Trafford, a sports venue.

Other Matchday revenue includes matchday catering, event parking, program sales as well as membership and travel, Manchester United Museum revenue and a share of the ticket revenue from away matches in domestic cup competitions. Matchday revenue also includes revenue from other events hosted at Old Trafford, including other sporting events (including football matches as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the annual Rugby Super League Grand Final), music concerts and entertainment events.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Manchester United (NYSE: MANU  ) footballers will soon be wearing Aon's (NYSE: AON  ) name on their jerseys, after the two companies completed a long-term expansion to their sponsorship deal. Starting from July 1, the club's training facility is to be renamed the Aon Training Complex, and its distinctive jerseys will carry the Aon logo.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Manchester United (NYSE: MANU  ) will have to make its way forward with a new manager. Sir Alex Ferguson announced that he will retire at the end of the current season, vacating his position after the celebrated English football (soccer) club's match with West Bromwich Albion on May 19.

Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Digital Cinema Destinations Corp (DCIN)

Digital Cinema Destinations Corp., incorporated on July 29, 2010, operates eight theatres and 73 screens located in Westfield, New Jersey (Rialto), Cranford, New Jersey (Cranford), Bloomfield, Connecticut (the Bloomfield 8) and five theatres located in central Pennsylvania (Cinema Centers). During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company operates eight theatres, two in New Jersey, with a total of 11 screens, one in Connecticut, with a total of 8 screens and five in central Pennsylvania, with a total of 54 screens. In March 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of a seven screen theater in Churchville, MD from Flagship Cinemas.

The Rialto is a six-screen theatre located in downtown Westfield, New Jersey, which has a population of approximately 30,000 people. The Bloomfield 8 is an eight-screen theatre located at the Wintonbury Mall in the town of Bloomfield, Connecticut, which is a New England town of over 20,000 people that is home to many sites that are on the National Register of Historic Places and is approximately 5.5 miles from downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Cinema Centers consists of a chain of five theatres with 54 screens located throughout central Pennsylvania. All of the Cinema Centers theatres are in free zones. The 11-screen Cinema Center of Bloomsburg theatre is located in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Bloomsburg, a college town of approximately 13,000 people, is located midway between Wilkes Barre and Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The 12-screen Cinema Center of Camp Hill theatre is located in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, just outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is the state capital of Pennsylvania with a population of approximately 50,000 people.

The 10-screen Cinema Center at Fairgrounds Square Mall is located in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Company�� Cinema Centers, had one digital projector, RealD 3D enabled. The 12-screen Cinema Center at Selinsgrove is located in Selinsgove, Pennsylvania. Selinsgrove is ! a historic town located on the Susquehanna River with a population of approximately 27,000 people located within five miles of the theatre. The nine-screen Cinema Center of Williamsport is located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The Company competes with Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment Inc., Clearview and Cinemark USA, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Erin McCarthy]

  Carmike Cinemas Inc.(CKEC), the nation’s fourth-largest movie theater chain, said Thursday it is acquiring Digital Cinema Destinations Corp.(DCIN), a smaller rival that does business as Digiplex.

Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Vitamin Blue Inc (VTMB)

Vitamin Blue, Inc. (Vitamin Blue), incorporated on May 25, 1999, is engaged in designing, manufacturing and distributing surf wear board shorts, t-shirts and fleece jackets) and surfing accessories (surf boards bags, roof rack pad and surf backpacks). The Company focuses on four types of retail outlets: surfboard manufacturers, surf shops, specialty stores and department stores. Vitamin Blue distributes the majority of its products through surfboard manufacturers and surf shops. The primary focus of Vitamin Blue is surf wear and surfing accessories. The Company�� primary distribution focuses on retail outlets in North America (the United States, Canada and Mexico). Vitamin Blue manufactures most of its surfing accessories and all of its surfwear in-house.

Surfboard Manufacturers

The Company�� surfboard manufactures retail outlet generally consists of single shops, where surfboards are designed, manufactured and marketed. It is the source for surfing accessories. This distribution channel focuses on the core surf market. The Company has relationships with manufacturers, such as Hap Jacobs, Bing Surfboards, Bark Boards and Ron House Shapes, Dewey Weber, Stewart Surfboards. Vitamin Blue surfing accessories are sold through this channel.

Surf Shops

The Company�� surf shops are generally single to multiple shops located in or near beach cities, focused on the central surf market. It tends to be privately owned. Surf shops also focus on the core surf market and provide an authentic retail source for complete lines of surfwear and surfing accessory products. The Company has relationships with manufacturers, such as Freeline Design (Santa Cruz, California), The Frog House (Newport Beach, California), Infinity Surfboards (Dana Point, California), Legends Surf (Carlsbad, California), Hi-Tech Surf Sports (Maui, Hawaii), Second Wind Sail and Surf (Maui, Hawaii), Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport (Maui, Hawaii) Kennedy Surfboards (Woodland Hills, California),! Malibu Surf Shack, (Malibu, California), E.T. Surf (Hermosa Beach, California), Spyder (Hermosa Beach, California), Costa Azul (Laguna Beach, California), Icons of Surf (San Clemente, California), Encinitas Surfboards (Encinitas, California), Nor Easter Surf Shop (Scituate, Massachusetts), Air & Speed Surf Shop (Montauk, New York), Xtreme Surf & Sport (East Northport, New York) and Marsh�� Surf Shop (Atlantic Beach, North Carolina). The complete line of Vitamin Blue products (surfwear and surfing accessories) is distributed through this channel.

Specialty Stores

The Company�� specialty stores type of retail outlet generally consists of single, regional and nationwide stores, and tends to be located in or near beach or resort communities, shopping centers, and shopping malls. Specialty stores distributing surf products primarily include tourist/vacation shops, sporting good stores (including Sports Chalet, Inc. - SPCHB), and regional and national retail stores (including Pacific Sunwear of California-PSUN and Zumiez, Inc.-ZUMZ). Vitamin Blue intends to use this type of retail outlet to distribute its surfwear.

Department Stores

The Company�� department stores type of retail outlet generally has stores located nationwide. It is located in shopping malls, such as Bloomingdale��, Macy��, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom. Vitamin Blue intends to use this type of retail outlet to distribute its surfwear.

Vitamin Blue�� surfing accessories include surfboard travel bags, which offer surfboard protection and can be used daily or for long distance surf trips; surf gear travel bags, which are duffle bags used to carry surfing essentials on surf trips; surf backpacks, which are specially, designed wet bag backpacks for wetsuit storage, and roof-rack pads, which is used on existing car roof racks for surfboard protection and security on daily surf outings.

The Company competes with Quicksilver, Inc., Billabong Intl, Hurley and! Volcom I! nc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap marijuana stocks Smart Ventures Inc (OTCMKTS: SMVR) and Vitamin Blue Inc (OTCMKTS: VTMB) jumped 40.28% and 38.6%, respectively, while hemp stock Astika Holdings Inc (OTCBB: ASKH) fell 13.75% on Friday. Moreover, only one of these small cap stocks seems to have been the subject of a few paid promotions or investor relations types of activities. So will all three of these marijuana or hemp stocks keep producing highs or lows for investors and traders alike? Here is a quick reality check:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Green Endeavors Inc (OTCMKTS: GRNE), Global Links Corporation (OTCMKTS: GLCO) and Vitamin Blue Inc (OTCBB: VTMB) were all making noticeable moves at the end of last week. On Friday, Green Endeavors Inc rose 8.11% and Global Links Corporation rose 13.96% while Vitamin Blue Inc fell 10%. Of course, small cap OTC stocks making large single digit or double digit moves in either direction aren�� all that unusual. Moreover, all of these small caps have been the subject of paid promotions. With that in mind, here is a closer look at all three to help you decide on an investing or trading strategy:

Best Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: Dover Motorsports Inc (DVD)

Dover Motorsports, Inc. is a marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owned and operated Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware and Nashville Superspeedway near Nashville, Tennessee. During the year ended 2011, the Company�� facilities promoted 10 events under the auspices of the sanctioning body, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). During 2011, the Company promoted 2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, 4 NASCAR Nationwide Series events, 3 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events, and 1 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event.. On January 31, 2011, the Company sold its Memphis Motorsports Park facility.

Dover International Speedway

The Company has promoted NASCAR-sanctioned racing events at Dover International Speedway. As of December 31, 2011, it promoted six NASCAR-sanctioned events at the facility annually. Two races are in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series professional stock car racing circuit, two races are in the NASCAR Nationwide Series racing circuit, one race is in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing circuit and one race is in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East racing circuit. Each of the NASCAR Nationwide Series events and the Camping World Truck Series event at Dover International Speedway are conducted on the days before a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event. Dover International Speedway is one of only seven speedways in North America that presents two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events and two NASCAR Nationwide Series events each year. Additionally, it is one of only five tracks to host three NASCAR events at one facility on the same weekend.

Dover International Speedway, known as the Monster Mile, is a high-banked, one-mile, concrete superspeedway with permanent seating capacity of approximately 132,000. The superspeedway facility also features the Monster Bridge. The climate controlled bridge spans across the width of the superspeedway at a height of 29 feet ! and houses 50-luxury seats, a refreshment bar and other amenities.

Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville Superspeedway (Nashville) is a motorsports complex approximately 35 miles from downtown Nashville in Wilson County, Tennessee. The 1.33-mile concrete superspeedway has 25,000 permanent grandstand seats with an infrastructure in place to expand to 150,000 seats as demand requires. Additionally, construction included lights at the superspeedway to allow for nighttime racing and the foundation work for a dirt track, short track and drag strip. Nashville Superspeedway promoted two NASCAR Nationwide Series events and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event, during 2011. The facility also hosted other regional and national touring events, as well as track rentals.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Dover Motorsports, Inc. (NYSE:DVD) Board of Directors today declared an annual cash dividend on both classes of common stock of $.04 per share. The dividend will be payable on December 10, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 10, 2012. Due to the seasonal nature of our business, we will evaluate dividends annually.

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Small-cap stock trading is not for the faint of heart.

>>5 Stocks Set to Soar on Bullish Earnings

Trading in the small-cap universe requires one to be very flexible and able to stomach large volatility moves. Small-cap stocks tend to have lower share prices, and when a stock trades at around $1 a share, it doesn't have to move much to cause large swings from a percentage-point basis. That being said, when you find a compelling opportunity in the small-cap world, you can generate fat gains when a swing goes in your favor.

One small-cap stock that's piqued my interest here is Body Central (BODY), which operates as a specialty retailer of young women's apparel and accessories in the South, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the U.S. This is an extremely small-cap stock, with a market cap of just $19.6 million and an enterprise value of $11.7 million. This stock has been absolutely annihilated by the bears so far in 2014, with shares down sharply by 69%.

Top 10 Valued Stocks To Watch For 2015: Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (FINW)

Firstin Wireless Technology, Inc., formerly Passionate Pet, Inc., incorporated on September 30, 2010, is a mobile service provider. The Company is a software-based mobile service provider that enables enterprises and business users to make affordable and business-quality international long distance and roaming calls over its hybrid mobile VoIP (HY-mVoIPTM) technology. Its service does not replace a user�� existing wireless service, it augments it with global communication capabilities. The Company's application is free to download, and is available on Apple iPhone, Blackberry and Android smartphones.

The Company provides international long distance and roaming services to enterprises and business travelers over smartphones. Business users need to download the Firstin application onto their smartphones to allow them to place and receive international long distance and roaming calls from anywhere in the world for a fixed monthly fee and unlimited usage. The Company intends to revolutionize business mobile communications by spearheading the enterprise mobile VoIP revolution allowing for anywhere, anytime, business-quality and low-cost voice and data communications over smartphones.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Bonamour Inc (OTCBB: BONI), Firstin Wireless Technology Inc (OTCMKTS: FINW) and Microchannel Technologies Corp (OTCBB: MCTC) have been attracting attention from variosu investment newsletters lately with at least two of these stocks being the subject of paid promotions. Of course, there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relation types of activities as its up to investors and traders alike to do their due diligence. So how hot are these small cap stocks? Here is a quick reality check that might cool your appetite:

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014: Vitacost.com Inc (VITC)

Vitacost.com, Inc. (Vitacost), incorporated in May 20, 1994, is an online retailer of health and wellness products, including dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids and metabolites, as well as cosmetics, natural personal care products, pet products, sports nutrition and health foods. The Company sells these products directly to consumers primarily through its Website, www.vitacost.com. It offers its customers the selection of healthy living products. It offers its customers a selection of approximately 40,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), from over 2,000 third-party brands, such as New Chapter, Nature�� Way, Twinlab, Source Naturals, Jarrow Formulas, Jason, Desert Essence, Atkins, Bob�� Red Mill, BSN, Optimum Nutrition, USP Labs and MuscleTech in addition to its own brands: Vitacost, Cosmeceutical Sciences Institute (CSI), Best of All, and Smart Basics. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had approximately 2.1 million customers.

The Company offers products in a range of potency levels and dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, vegi-capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids and powders. It offers products that encompass four main categories: Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs and Supplements; Sports Nutrition; Beauty; and Natural and Organic Food.

Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs and Supplements (VMHS)

VMHS products are taken to maintain or improve health and address specific health conditions. In its dietary supplements category, the Company offers its offer its Vitacost branded products as well as third-party brands such as Nature�� Way, Twinlab, Jarrow, Carlson and Rainbow Light. Vitamin and mineral products include multi-vitamins, lettered vitamins, such as Vitamin A, C, D, E and B-complex, along with minerals such as calcium, magnesium, chromium and zinc.

Herbal products include whole herbs, standardized extracts, herb combination formulas and teas. Supplements include essential fatty acids, probiotics, anti-o! xidants, phytonutrients and condition-specific formulas.

Sports Nutrition

Sports nutrition products are used in conjunction with cardiovascular conditioning, weight training and sports activities. Major categories in sports nutrition include protein and weight gain powders, meal replacements, nutrition bars, sport drinks and pre and post-workout supplements. The Company offers bodybuilding and sports products from third parties, such as Optimum Nutrition, CytoSport and BSN as well as our Vitacost branded sports nutrition products.

Beauty

Natural care products consist of a variety of natural products for skin, body, hair and oral health. The Company offers hundreds of natural personal-care products from companies, such as JASON, and Kiss My Face, as well as its CSI-branded products. These products appeal to allergen-conscious and environmentally-conscious consumers seeking products that are made without harsh chemicals and additives.

Natural and Organic Food

Natural and organic food products consist of organic and specialty products such as organic peanut butter, gluten free foods and low mercury tuna and salmon. The Company offers third-party brands, such as Kashi, Eden Foods and Amy�� Organic, as well as its Best of All natural food products.

Under its Vitacost brand, the Company offers over 900 products including multivitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, anti-oxidants and others. Under its CSI brand, it markets and sells health and beauty products such as facial cleanser, facial and body moisturizing creams and lotions, and other beauty and skincare products. Under its Best of All brand, it markets and sells organic food products such as banana chips, trail mix, almonds, cashews and more. Under its Smart Basics brand, it markets and sells organic fruit juices and extracts and related dietary supplements. Under its Walker Diet brand, it markets and sells low carb powders used to assist in weight loss and ! managemen! t.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [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 Vitacost.com (Nasdaq: VITC  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more Vitacost.com (Nasdaq: VITC  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Vitacost.com's competitive position could be.

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014: West Marine Inc (WMAR)

West Marine, Inc., incorporated in September 1993, is a specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise for the boat and for the boater. It operates in three segments: Stores, Port Supply and Direct-to-Customer. The Company sells to both retail and wholesale customers in its Stores segment. In addition, the Company has three franchised stores in Turkey. The Company�� Port Supply segment is its wholesale segment. The Company�� Direct-to-Customer, which includes e-commerce, catalog and call center transactions. During the year ended December 31, 2011, Stores segment generated approximately 90% of its net revenues. During 2011, products shipped to Port Supply customers directly from its warehouses represented approximately 4% of its net revenues.

During 2011, its Direct Sales segment offered customers around the world more than 75,000 products and accounted for the remaining 6% of its net revenues. Private label products, which the Company sells under the West Marine, Black Tip, Third Reef, Pure Oceans, Lifesling, SeaVolt and Seafit brand names, usually are manufactured in Asia, the United States and Europe.

Stores Segment

During 2011, the Company opened six stores while closing 14 stores. In December 2011, it opened its Fort Lauderdale Boating Superstore, a 50,000 square foot flagship. Its flagship stores ranging in size from 21,000 to 50,000 square feet, offering an array of merchandise typically about 16,000 items, as well as displays designed to help customers make informed product selections. It also operates large format stores, standard-sized stores and smaller Express stores. Its large format stores range from 13,000 to 19,000 square feet and carry about 11,000 items. The standard-sized stores typically range from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and carry over 6,000 items. Express stores typically range from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet and carry over 4,000 items, mainly hardware and other supplies needed! for day-to-day boat maintenance and repairs.

Port Supply Segment

Port Supply customers include businesses involved in boat sales, boat building, boat commissioning and repair, yacht chartering, marina operations and other boating-related activities. In addition, Port Supply sells to government and industrial customers who use its products for boating and non-boating purposes. Port Supply, the Company�� wholesale segment, serves wholesale customers seeking convenience and a larger assortment of products than those carried by typical distributors.

Direct-to-Customer Segment

The Company�� e-commerce Website provides its customers with access to a selection of approximately 75,000 products, product advisor tips and technical information, over 450 product videos and customer-submitted product reviews. This segment also provides customers with access to knowledgeable technical advisors who can assist its customers in understanding the various uses and applications of the products it sell. It operates a virtual call center from which its associates assist its customers by taking calls from their homes or from its support center in Watsonville, California. Its virtual call center supports sales generated through its e-commerce Website, catalogs and stores and provides customer service offerings.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Interactive Buyside]

  West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR) is an undervalued retailer.  The company is going through a change in focus from a bricks and mortar boat product retailer to a fully integrated retail and wholesale business through bricks and clicks, targeting the boating and water enthusiast customer.   Recent results have been affected by a severe rainy and cool spring which hurt boat usage and delayed the start of the season.  The company has accelerated cash investments to build larger more productive stores and expand its ecommerce abilities, consequently affecting free cash flow short term.  The stock lacks sponsorship as there is only one research report written on the company by a small boutique firm.  The stock trades at only book value despite the company being the leading industry player with a solid balance sheet and significant net cash position. 

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014: Natural Grocers By Vitamin Cottage Inc (NGVC)

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc., incorporated on April 9, 2012, is a specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements. The Company operates within the natural products retail industry. The Company offers products and brands, including a selection of natural and organic food, dietary supplements, body care products, pet care products and books.

The Company offers its customers an average of approximately 18,000 store-keeping units (SKUs) of natural and organic products per store, including an average of approximately 7,000 SKU of dietary supplements. As of June 30, 2012, the Company operated 55 stores in 11 states, including Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as a bulk food repackaging facility and distribution center in Colorado. The size of its stores varies from 5,000 selling square feet to 14,500 selling square feet, and a new store averages 9,500 selling square feet.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Mamos]

  The Fresh Market Inc. (Nasdaq: TFM), Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. (NYSE: NGVC), and privately held Trader Joe's are others crowding into the field.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NYSE: NGVC) and mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) are taking aim at natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM), but do either of these stocks have what it takes to take on the the king of organic retailing? Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin way back in 1978 by a�twenty-five year old college dropout and a twenty-one year old�at a time when there were only a handful of natural or organic�supermarkets in the country. Today, Whole Foods Market�has 364 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom���which are sometimes referred to as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck��given how much it costs to shop there.

• [By John Udovich]

  Large cap natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market, Inc (NASDAQ: WFM), otherwise known as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck,��is not the only player in the natural or organics supermarket space for consumers and investors alike as mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) and small caps Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: FWM) and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE: NGVC) are also players in the space. It should be mentioned that Whole Foods Market is down 15.7% since the start of the year and has a downward trending technical chart, but�shares are�still up 13% over the past year, up 426.3% over the past five years and up 3,108.6% since January 1992.

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014: Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd (SAXJF)

Sa Sa International Holdings Limited is an investment holding company. The Company�� subsidiaries are principally engaged in the retailing and wholesaling of cosmetic products. Its business covers Hong Kong and Macau, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Company operates in two segments: retail segment, engaged in the operation of cosmetics specialty stores, which offer a variety of products from over 600 beauty brands, covering a wide of products from skin care, fragrance, make-up, body care and hair care to health foods, and brand management segment, engaged in the management of over 100 beauty brands. It also offers round-the-clock online shopping services along with product and corporate information through its e-commerce platform, sasa.com. The Company�� subsidiaries include Alibaster Management Limited, Base Sun Investment Limited, Cyber Colors Limited, Docile Company Limited and Elegance Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks swung between small gains and losses early Thursday after hitting a seven-month high in the previous session, with the Hang Seng Index (HK:HSI) down less than 0.1%. Most mainland Chinese property developers outperformed the markets, with Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. (HK:2777) (GZUHF) rallying 3.4%, after the company reported a 44% month-on-month jump in sales for June. Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. (HK:0813) (SIOPF) climbed 2.6%, and China Resources Land Ltd. (HK:1109) (CRBJF) rose 1.7%. However, several retailers were weak, as Want Want China Holdings Ltd. (HK:0151) (WWNTF) , the country's top food and beverage maker, declined 2%. Hong Kong-based cosmetics brand Sa Sa International Holdings (HK:0178) (SAXJF) fell 1.6%, with a decline in Chinese June non-manufacturing data helping weigh on some retailers. Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index (CN:SHCOMP) retreated 0.4%, pulling back from its highest close in two weeks.

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014: WH Smith PLC (SMWH)

WH Smith PLC is a United Kingdom-based retail company. The Company has two businesses divisions: Travel and High Street. The Company's Travel division sells a range of newspapers, magazines, books and impulse products for people on the move and a broader convenience range in hospitals and workplaces. The Company's High Street sells a wide range of stationery, books, newspapers, magazines and impulse products, as well as a small range of entertainment products.The Company�� subsidiaries include WH Smith PLC, WH Smith Retail Holdings Limited, WH Smith High Street Holdings Limited, WH Smith Travel Holdings Limited, WH Smith High Street Limited, WH Smith Travel Limited and WH Smith Hospitals Holdings Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Hays Plc (HAS) climbed 2.2 percent after the recruitment company said quarterly fees increased in its European markets. WH Smith Plc (SMWH) jumped the most in six months after raising its final dividend and saying it plans to repurchase an additional 50 million pounds ($80 million) of shares. Melrose Industries Plc (MRO) added 1.8 percent after KKR & Co. said it will pay about $1 billion for two of its U.S. industrial-products companies.

Top 10 Specialty Retail Companies For 2014: Vitamin Shoppe Inc (VSI)

Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., incorporated on September 27, 2002, is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of vitamins, minerals, herbs, specialty supplements, sports nutrition and other health and wellness products. During the fiscal year ended December 29, 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company marketed over 400 different brands, as well as its own brands, which include Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech and True Athlete. The Company sells its products through two segments: retail and direct. In the Company's retail segment, the Company had a total of 286 new stores during the fiscal 2012. As of January 26, 2013, the Company operated 579 stores in 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Ontario, Canada, primarily located in high-traffic regional retail centers. In the Company's direct segment, the Company sells its products directly to consumers through the Internet, primarily at www.vitaminshoppe.com. On February 14, 2013, Vitamin Shoppe Mariner, Inc. acquired Super Supplements, Inc.

Retail

The Company's retail segment includes its retail store format. Its retail stores are is located in diverse geographic and demographic markets, ranging from urban locations in New York City, to suburban locations in Plantation, Florida and Manhattan Beach, California. As of January 26, 2013, the Company leased the property for all of its 579 stores. The Company's primary warehouse and distribution center and corporate headquarters are consolidated into a leased, 230,000 square-foot facility.

Products

The Company offers a selection of vitamins, minerals, herbs, homeopathic remedies, specialty supplements, such as fish oil, probiotics, glucosamine and Co Q10, sports nutrition, weight management, as well as natural bath and beauty, pet supplements and options for a healthy home. The Company's offers includes approximately 17,500 stock keeping units (SKUs) from over 400 brands. The Company offers products to its assortment in its Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, True Athlete and O! ptimal Pet brands, which include products, such as Ultimate Man, Ultimate Women, Whey Tech Pro 24 and Natural Whey Protein. The Company also offers an assortment from national brands, such as Optimum Nutrition, USP Labs, Garden of Life, Cytosport, Nature's Way, Solaray and Solgar. This assortment is designed to provide the Company's customers with a selection of available product in order to help them achieve their health and wellness goals.

The vitamin and mineral product category includes multi-vitamins, which many consider to be a foundation of a healthy regimen, lettered vitamins, such as Vitamin A, C, D, E, and B-complex, along with trace minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, chromium and zinc. Certain herbs can be taken to help support specific body systems, including ginkgo to support brain activity and milk thistle to help support liver function, as well as other less common herbs, such as holy basil for stress support and blood sugar control and black cohosh for menopause support. Herbal products include whole herbs, standardized extracts, herb combination formulas and teas.

Categories of specialty supplements include omega fatty acids, probiotics and condition specific formulas. Certain specialty supplements, such as organic greens, psyllium fiber and soy proteins, are taken for added support during various life stages. Folic acid is specifically useful during pregnancy. Super antioxidants, such as coenzyme Q-10, grapeseed extract and pycnogenol, are taken to address specific conditions. High ORAC (oxygen radical absorptive capacity) fruit concentrates like gogi, mangosteen, pomegranate and blueberry are taken to prevent oxygen radical damage. Other specialty supplement formulas are focused to support specific organs, biosystems and body functions. The Company offers approximately 3,000 SKUs in sports nutrition.

The Company's other category include natural beauty and personal care, diet and weight management supplements, natural pet food, and low carb foo! ds. Natur! al beauty and personal care products offer an alternative to traditional products that often contain synthetic and/or other ingredients that the Company's customers find objectionable. The Company offers approximately 3,000 SKUs for its other category. The Company's natural pet products include nutritionally balanced foods and snacks along with condition specific supplements such as glucosamine for joint health. Its variety of diet and weight management products range from low calorie bars, drinks and meal replacements to energy tablets, capsules and liquids.

The Company competes with Vitamin World, GNC, Whole Foods, Costco, Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, Amazon.com, Puritan's Pride, Vitacost.com, Bodybuilding.com, Doctors Trust, Swanson and iHerb.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Sales growth this last quarter was up only about 6%, but net income per share was up 21%. They pay a $0.60 dividend which gives them a dividend yield of 1.4%. Their cash flow yield is 4.6%, so they could easily raise their dividend. They are by far the leader in a very fragmented industry. I believe both [Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE: VSI  ) ] and GNC will do well and I think they may make a fair pairing in a portfolio. Stability versus growth.
  
  They do have $1.1 billion in debt. But they generate about $200 million in cash flow a year and they have $174 million in cash, so that shouldn't be a problem. Their cash flow is very high, so in my opinion, is reason enough to believe they will beat the S&P 500 over the next ten years.

Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014

Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) said on Wednesday that its operating profit for the January-March quarter surged�to 313.9 billion yen, or $3.17 billion, as solid sales and the devaluation of the Japanese yen drove a strong gain.

Toyota's profit came in well ahead of Wall Street estimates, which called for a gain of 263.8 billion yen, and was more than double the company's year-ago result.

It's an impressive showing for the Japanese auto giant, which is poised to make hay from its government's recent currency moves ��and which saw its profits trail rival Volkswagen's (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY  ) last year, even though Toyota sold more cars.

Strong full-year numbers driven by success at home
Toyota's fiscal year ends on March 31, so the company also reported its full-year operating profits on Wednesday. Those were also strong: 1.32 trillion-with-a-t yen, or about $13.3 billion. While that lags VW's 2012 operating profit of $15 billion, it's well above the 2012 pre-tax profit of $7.9 billion that was posted by Toyota's other huge global rival, General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) , earlier this year. Toyota's net profit for the full year ended March 31 was 962.16 billion yen, or $9.7 billion.

Hot Solar Companies To Own For 2015: Edp Energias de Portugal SA (EDPFY.PK)

EDP Energias de Portugal SA (EDP), incorporated in 1976, is a Portugal-based company engaged in the electric energy and gas sectors. The Company develops its activities in the business areas of generation, supply and distribution of electricity and supply and distribution of gas. The Company operates through six business units: Electricity Generation, Renewable Energies, Electricity Distribution, Electricity Supply, Gas and Brazil Operations. EDP is also present in electricity generation, supply and distribution in Brazil, Spain and the United States. In April 2008, the Company acquired EDP Renovaveis through Nuevas Energias de Occidente (NEO). In February 2008, Horizon Wind Energy, LLC, EDP�� 100%-owned subsidiary for United States wind operations, acquired from Hydra Energy, LLC, a portfolio of six early stage projects in an aggregate of 1,050 megawatts of wind capacity, located in the States of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, the United States.

Electricity Generation

In Spain, EDP operates through HC Energia. Cogeneration consists of simultaneous production of power and steam using thermal technology, such as in the form of natural gas turbines. Cogenerators are usually attached to an industrial customer or services, to which they supply the electricity and steam they need. Energy generation includes a centralised energy management platform responsible for actively managing the price and volume risks for the EDP Company�� portfolio in the Iberian Peninsula.

Renewable Energies

The Company�� electricity from renewable energies is generated by its subsidiary NEO, and in the United States of America by its subsidiary Horizon Wind Energy. In July 2007, EDP acquired 100% interest in Horizon, a developer, owner and operator of wind power generation in the United States, from the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. In September 2007, Horizon owned 941 gross megawatt of operating wind projects and has 615 megawatt of projects under construction, for expected operational ! capacity of 1.556 gross megawatts (1.324 net megawatts).

Electricity Distribution

EDP develops the regulated electricity distribution activity in mainland Portugal and in Spain in the Asturias region and to a lower extent in Madrid, Valencia and Alicante. Electricity distribution activity is a regulated activity that consists in bringing the electricity, through the distribution network, from the transport network substations to the final consumption points. Within the scope of this activity, EDP builds, operates and maintains the distribution network and other installments aimed at electricity distribution, granting service quality and direct and customized assistance.

EDP Distribuicao Energia, S.A. is EDP�� company operating in the regulated distribution and supply businesses in Portugal. EDP�� distribution activity is regulated by energy service regulator (ERSE), which defines the tariffs, parameters and prices for electricity and other services in Portugal, controlling and assuring the levels of quality and service demanded by the Direccao Geral de Geologia e Energia (DGGE). EDP Distribuicao is holder of an open-ended binding license for the business of distribution of medium- and high-voltage electricity in mainland Portugal. It is also the concessionaire for almost all the low-voltage distribution network, in accordance with concession contracts with the municipalities. HC Energia operates in the regulated electricity distribution and supply business, with its natural market being the region of Asturias. HC Energia�� network covers the Asturias, Valencia, Madrid and Alicante regions.

Electricity Supply

EDP's electricity supply offers the services, such as maintenance and assistance services, services aimed at electricity quality, specialized technical services and energy efficiency services. EDP operates in Portugal through EDP Comercial, while in Spain, its electricity supply service is obtained from HC Energia or Naturgas, ! which off! ers its customers an integrated portfolio of gas and electricity products.

Gas

EDP has a presence in the gas sector in the Iberian Peninsula, through Naturgas in Spain, and through EDP Gas in Portugal. Naturgas market is the Basque Country, and Asturias, and it operates in the Spanish gas sector by providing services, such as transport, distribution and supply of gas; supply of gas in the liberalized market, and sourcing and trading.

Brazil Operations

EDP is present in Brazil through Energias do Brasil, a 62.4%-owned subsidiary. Energias do Brasil operates in the electricity generation, distribution and supply businesses.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Hunkar]

  Current Dividend Yield: 6.43%
  Sector: Telecom
  Country: Australia

  Company: Edp Energias De Portugal SA (EDPFY.PK)

  Current Dividend Yield: 4.68%
  Sector: Electric Utilities
  Country: Portugal

Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: Capstone Turbine Corporation(CPST)

Capstone Turbine Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and services turbine generator sets and related parts for use in stationary distributed power generation applications. Its stationary distributed power generation applications include cogeneration combined heat and power (CHP), integrated (CHP), resource recovery, and secure power, as well as combined cooling, heat, and power; and its products are used as battery charging generators for hybrid electric vehicle applications. The company primarily offers microturbine units, subassemblies, and components. It also provides various accessories, including rotary gas compressors with digital controls, heat recovery modules for CHP applications, dual mode controllers that allow automatic transition between grid connect and stand-alone modes, batteries with digital controls for stand-alone/dual-mode operations, power servers for multipacked installations, and protocol converters for Internet access, as well as frames, ex haust ducting, and installation hardware. Further, it remanufactures microturbine engines; and provides after-market parts and services, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, and factory and on-site training services. The company?s microturbines can be fueled by various sources, including natural gas, propane, sour gas, landfill or digester gas, kerosene, diesel, and biodiesel. It primarily sells its products directly to end users, as well as through distributors in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Russian Federation, and South America. Capstone Turbine Corporation was founded in 1988 and is based in Chatsworth, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]

  Over the past couple weeks Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) shares have launched into orbit on the news that the company had secured several orders for its microturbines. But 40% in a month? On the surface, it seems a bit silly that a company could gain that much on a couple news stories about sales. For a company like Capstone, which has struggled with sales, this kind of news is exactly what shareholders were looking for.

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  But to focus simply on renewables for distributed power would do some other parts of the industry a disservice, because companies such as Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) are proving that localized generation of natural gas can be just as efficient as a big centralized utility plant. This one-two punch of renewable power as the primary energy source with localized natural gas generation as a backup for when solar or wind can't generate power could be a big threat to the utilities sector.

Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: Digi International Inc.(DGII)

Digi International Inc. engages in the provision of machine to machine networking products and solutions to connect, monitor, and control of local or remote physical assets by electronic means. It offers a range of embedded products, including modules, single board computers, chips, satellite communication devices, and software and development tools; and non embedded products comprising cellular products, serial servers, console servers, universal serial bus connected products, serial cards, and wireless communication adaptors. The company also provides wireless product design and development services to provide wireless networking products. In addition, it offers iDigi, a cloud-based Internet platform to connect enterprise applications to remote electronic devices. The company sells its products through a network of distributors, systems integrators, and value added resellers for a range of businesses and institutions, as well as to original equipment manufacturers primar ily in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It has strategic alliances with VMware, Ember, Freescale, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Itron, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Bell Mobility, and Rogers. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap machine-to-machine (M2M) stock Elecsys Corp (NASDAQ: ESYS) jumped 8.99% yesterday and is up 254% over the past year, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock and its performance verses other small cap M2M stocks like Digi International Inc (NASDAQ: DGII), Numerex Corp (NASDAQ: NMRX) and Sierra Wireless, Inc (NASDAQ: SWIR). First of all though, I should mention that machine-to-machine (M2M) broadly refers to technologies that allow both wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same type and this can be through any type of technology ranging from instruments to networks to applications that create connections between devices.

• [By John Kell]

  Digi International Inc.'s(DGII) fiscal first quarter earnings fell, as high costs masked a slight rise in revenue. The wireless-product provider’s results were well-below the company’s previous guidance. Shares slumped 9.9% to $10.89 premarket.

Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: Webster Financial Corp (WBS)

Webster Financial Corporation (Webster), incorporated on September 10, 1986, is a bank holding company and financial holding company. Webster�� principal asset as of December 31, 2012, was Webster Bank, National Association (Webster Bank). Webster, through Webster Bank and various subsidiaries, delivers financial services to individuals, families and businesses primarily throughout southern New England and into Westchester County, New York. Webster provides business and consumer banking, mortgage lending, financial planning, trust and investment services through 167 banking offices, 293 automated teller machines (ATMs), telephone banking, mobile banking and its Internet Website www.websterbank.com. Webster also offers equipment financing, commercial real estate lending and asset-based lending across the Northeast. Webster Bank offers health savings accounts on a nationwide basis, through its HSA Bank division and its Internet Website www.hsabank.com. Webster�� operations are managed along four business segments: Commercial Banking, Retail Banking, Consumer Finance and Other. Other includes Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Private Banking (including Webster Financial Advisors (WFA)).

Commercial Banking

The Commercial Banking segment includes middle market, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment finance, and Government and not-for-profit banking. Webster�� Commercial Banking group provides lending, deposit and cash management services to middle market companies in its franchise territory. Additionally, it serves as a primary referral source to Wealth Management and Retail Banking.

Retail Banking

Retail Banking serves consumers and small businesses primarily throughout southern New England and into Westchester County, New York, with a distribution network of 167 banking offices and 293 owned ATMs, and a full range of Internet and mobile banking services. Retail Banking includes Webster�� branch network, Consumer deposits, Busin! ess and Professional Banking (BPB), Webster Investment Services (WIS) and the Customer Care Center.

Consumer Finance

Consumer Finance offers lending solutions for consumers primarily in southern New England and Westchester County, New York. Products include: residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, unsecured personal loans as well as credit card options.

Other

Other includes HSA Bank (HSA) and Private Banking. HSA Bank is a bank custodian of health savings accounts. These accounts are provided for high deductible health plans offered by employers or directly to consumers. Private Banking provides local full relationship banking that serves high net worth clients, not-for-profit organizations and business clients for asset management, trust, loan and deposit products and financial planning services.

Subsidiaries of Webster Financial Corporation

Webster�� direct subsidiaries as of December 31, 2012 included Webster Bank, Fleming, Perry & Cox, Inc., and Webster Licensing, LLC. Webster also owns all of the outstanding common stock of Webster Statutory Trust, an unconsolidated financial vehicle that has issued or may in the future issue trust preferred securities. On July 18, 2012, the Company completed the redemption at par of all the outstanding principal amount of Webster Capital Trust IV fixed to floating-rate trust preferred securities. Webster Bank's direct subsidiaries include Webster Mortgage Investment Corporation, Webster Business Credit Corporation (WBCC) and Webster Capital Finance, Inc. (WCF). Webster Bank is the primary source of retail activity within the consolidated Company. Webster Bank is the primary source of retail activity within the consolidated group. Webster Bank provides banking services through 167 banking offices, 293 owned ATMs, telephone banking, mobile banking and its Internet websites. Residential mortgage origination activity is conducted through Webster Bank. Webster Mortgage! Investme! nt Corporation is a passive investment subsidiary whose primary function is to provide servicing on passive investments, such as residential real estate and commercial mortgage real estate loans transferred from Webster Bank. Various commercial lending products are provided through Webster Bank and its subsidiaries to clients within the region from Westchester County, NY to Boston, MA. WBCC provides asset-based lending services. WCF provides equipment financing for end users of equipment. Additionally, Webster Bank has various other subsidiaries that are not significant to the consolidated Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Business and consumer banking concern�Webster Financial� (NYSE: WBS  ) �announced yesterday that its board of directors has approved increasing its quarterly dividend by 50%, from�$0.10 per share to�$0.15 per share.�The new, higher payment�will be made on May 20 to stockholders of record as of May 6.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.49 per share on revenue of $149.73 million.

  Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.97 per share on revenue of $20.97 billion.

Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (SSNLF)

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. mainly engaged in the production of consumer electronic products. It operates in two divisions: DMC division, which is divided into consumer electronics (CE) and information technology & mobile communications (IM) businesses, as well as DS division, which is divided into semiconductor and liquid crystal display (LCD) businesses. Its CE business engages in the production of color televisions (CTVs), monitors, air conditioners, refrigerators and others. Its IM business engages in the production of printers, computers, handhold phones (HHPs) such as feature phones, smart phones and others, and network systems, among others. Its semiconductor business engages in the production of semiconductors, such as memories, system large scale integrated circuits (LSIs) and others. Its LCD business engages in the production of thin film transistor (TFT) LCDs and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kofi Bofah]

  The Apple A7 64-bit system-on-a-chip (SoC) line is based upon ARM (ARMH) architecture. Apple has designed its 1.3 GHz dual-core Cyclone CPU around the ARMv8-A instruction set. In terms of battery power, the A7 can run the iPhone 5S for 10 hours worth of 3G talk-time, and for 250 hours during stand-by mode. The Apple A7 chip is produced through a 28 nm manufacturing process at Samsung (SSNLF). The A7 gate pitch, or distance between each transistor, is now 114 nm, in comparison to the 123 nm mark of the A6 chip. Apple executives claim that the A7 is twice is fast as its A6 predecessor.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Amazon (AMZN), according to persistent rumors, is putting the finishing touches on a set-top box that will allows users to stream video content from a chosen device or devices to their TVs. If it's true, the company is coming fairly late to a stuffed segment. But grabbing market share -- and even making a buck on the device -- might not be its top motivation for wading into this fray. A Razor-and-Blades Strategy For the past few years -- ever since it launched its first Kindle -- Amazon has been willing to sacrifice making a profit on its tablets in order to push its digital content, a growing library of TV shows, feature films, video games and other material. It sells the current Kindle HD iterations at cost (starting at $139 for the standard HD, and going to $229 for the 7-inch-display HDX version and $379 for the 8.9-inch HDX). Since Kindles are packed with software that guides users to the retailer's offerings -- most compatibly, those TV shows and movies, which users can rent or buy, but also the company's online catalog of physical goods -- the business strategy is a variation on the classic razor-and-blades model. In other words, the company sells the razor (the Kindle) relatively cheaply, in the hopes of producing a long-tail revenue stream with the blades (the digital content). Amazon doesn't break out detailed numbers for revenue derived from Kindle user activity, so it's hard to gauge how effective the strategy has been. But the company is selling a lot of digital media. According to research conducted by investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) last year, Amazon stood to take in around $3.8 billion worth of digital media sales in 2013. The bank predicts that this will surge to a projected $5.7 billion this year. The latter figure is around 6 percent of total anticipated net sales for the entirety of 2014. Tablet Sales are Tumbling Putting a damper on that happy growth story is development of the overall ta

• [By Ashraf Eassa]

  It is well known throughout the industry that Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF  ) , the world's second-most profitable smartphone vendor, designs its own system-on-chip products for use in its devices. Despite this, Samsung very often uses designs from other vendors depending on the requirements of a phone. In particular, Samsung uses Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM  ) chips in many of its flagship devices, largely due to the fact that when it comes to cellular connectivity (and efficient, highly integrated smartphone apps processors) Qualcomm is king. However, while this certainly speaks volumes to the skill of Qualcomm's chip teams, there is a risk that I've alluded to in prior articles: Samsung's own in-house chip team(s).

Best Japanese Stocks To Watch For 2014: MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd.(MTSL)

Mer Telemanagement Solutions Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and supports a line of telecommunication expense management (TEM), and customer care and billing solutions for business organizations and other enterprises worldwide. Its TEM solutions assist enterprises and organizations in the allocation of costs, budget control, fraud detection, processing of payments, and spending forecasting. The company also offers converged billing solutions, including applications for charging and invoicing customers, interconnect billing, and partner revenue management through pre-pay and post-pay schemes for wireless providers, voice over Internet protocol, Internet protocol television, and content service providers. Its products provide telecommunication and information technology managers with tools to reduce communication costs, recover charges payable by third parties, and to detect and prevent abuse and misuse of telephone networks comprising fault telecommunication usage. The company markets its products through its direct sales force, distributors, and business telephone switching systems manufacturers and vendors. Mer Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Raanana, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  MER Telemanagement Solutions (NASDAQ: MTSL) dropped 14.62% to $2.09 after the company terminated MVNE solution provider agreement with SBC Communications.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you're a small cap enthusiast looking for some budding ideas, you may not need to look any further than China GengSheng Minerals, Inc. (NYSEMKT:CHGS), Bio Matrix Scientific Group Inc. (OTCMKTS:BMSN), and MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:MTSL). All three have either pushed themselves to the brink of a breakout, if they haven't started one already. Here's a closer technical look at MTSL, BMSN, and CHGS, and what it's going to take to get them going if they're not going already.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Trading can be a quirky game sometimes. Most of the time, news - or at least loudly voiced opinions - tend to result from or be the cause of a fast-moving stock. Every now and then though, as in the case with MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:MTSL), a stock can build up steam with little to no news linked to that move. That doesn't make that stock a poor pick, however. Indeed, MTSL looks like it's turning into a homerun, and that alone is worth a look.... and maybe even worth a shot.

AMD's ARM: A Smart Move?

Advanced Micro Devices  (NYSE: AMD  ) has for long lagged Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) in the high-performance computing space. Its limited grab over the retail and enterprise chip segment has hampered its revenue growth over the recent years.

AMD may have an ace up its sleeve, however. The chipmaker intends to aggressively capture the server market with its ARM (NASDAQ: ARMH  ) -based Opteron offerings. In my opinion, this product direction has the potential to propel AMD's growth going forward.

Breaking conventions
It's worth noting that AMD and Intel have historically used similar x86 and x64 instruction sets in their respective 32 and 64-bit chips. Intel's repeated use of relatively advanced fabrication processes and chip architectures made sure that its offerings were much faster than their AMD-based counterparts, though. For this reason, AMD has struggled to catch up with Intel in recent years.

Gartner: 2013 server stats

	Market share	Revenue share
Intel	92%	75%
AMD	7%	5%
IBM, Oracle etc.	1%	20%

In this race to dominate the high-performance chip segment, Intel ignored the low-voltage smartphone and tablet segment -- perhaps for too long. This allowed power-efficient ARM-based offerings to gain mass popularity, even though they were much slower – and offered less hardware-level features – than Intel's full-fledged laptop chips. Impetus on power efficiency led to ARM's rise.

Aiming to also capture the prospective market base of power-efficient servers, ARM has begun designing 64-bit enterprise-scale server chips. AMD has licensed some of these designs to challenge Intel Xeon's hegemony in the server segment, albeit with its expected power efficiency. 

Potential market
Regarding prospective clients, web-based companies that develop their own code – like Google and Amazon – may be willing to switch to the ARM architecture. Software and hosting companies like Microsoft and Rackspace would likely want to retain their current server architecture, however.

The current market for ARM-powered servers therefore appears to be very small. Gartner expects ARM-based servers chips to represent a 5% revenue share by 2017. That doesn't mean ARM has no future in the server segment, though. 

Hot Asian Stocks To Watch Right Now

ARM-based offerings aren't designed to compete with their high-performance x86-based counterparts in the first place. Having a niche target market should in theory allow ARM-based server manufacturers to prosper without competing directly with established high-performance Intel, IBM, and Oracle server chips.

It's also worth noting that AMD's upcoming SkyBridge framework – supporting both x86 and ARM chips – is an innovative step forward in the field of ambidextrous computing. To an extent, this will eliminate the need for Android virtualization on x86 platforms – something that developers often rely on – and expand AMD's total addressable market.

These chips will most likely be priced substantially lower than Intel's Xeon as well, allowing them to compensate for their moderate performance. This discounted pricing may be another contributing factor in the pick up of ARM-based server demand.

Why it matters
ARM's server business may not involve high margins, but it should contribute in giving a much-needed boost to AMD's top line. In fact, AMD management expects to capture a 25% volume-based server market share by 2019. How this figure will translate into a profit-based market share, however, will depend mostly upon AMD's execution, benchmarks, and product roadmap.

More from The Motley Fool: Warren Buffett Tells You How to Turn $40 into $10 Million

Dollar Tree Gobbles Up Family Dollar for $8.5 Billion

#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{display:none}.cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703,#postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-305703{width:570px;height:411px;display:block} NEW YORK -- The fight for penny pinchers is intensifying. Dollar Tree (DLTR) said Monday it is buying rival discounter Family Dollar (FDO) for $8.5 billion, significantly broadening its reach as it looks to fend off Walmart, which has been stepping up its courtship of lower-income customers The deal makes Dollar Tree the biggest player in the dollar store segment, with its more than 13,000 combined locations eclipsing current leader Dollar General (DG), which has about 11,300. Dollar stores grew during the recession as people across income groups searched for cheaper options. To attract a broader array of customers, they also expanded their offerings to include more groceries and brand-name products, instead of just the party favors and other knickknacks people often associated with them. More recently, however, sales at dollar stores have been suffering because the lower-income customers who go to them are facing persistent job instability and slow wage growth in the aftermath of the recession. Walmart Stores (WMT) and Kroger (KR) also have been opening smaller store formats to directly compete with dollar stores. During its current fiscal year, Walmart plans to open 270 to 300 smaller outlets designed to cater to shoppers looking for more convenience. Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, said because the Dollar Tree deal will allow the company to lower expenses by merging its operations, it will ultimately be able to lower prices to better compete with Walmart. "Now they're going to take the fight back to Walmart," Sozzi said. The deal also gives Dollar Tree more flexibility. Dollar Tree is true to its name, with everything in its stores costing just a buck. The fixed pricing has helped attract more customers and boosted sales, but it also puts the company in a tough spot as inflation pushes up its costs and pressures profit margins. Family Dollar is far more flexible in its pricing, which allows it to sell a greater variety of items, including Kraft cheese and Tide laundry soap, at various price points. Still, Family Dollar, which has more than 8,000 locations, has been shuttering stores and cutting prices in hopes of boosting its financial performance. Last month, investor Carl Icahn urged the company to put itself up for sale. Icahn has built up a stake in the company of more than 9 percent, according to regulatory filings. Based on his purchase price at the time, he stands to make nearly $200 million from the deal. In a statement, Icahn said he was "extremely pleased" with Dollar Tree's plans, but that he still thinks there are "a handful of potential buyers who could realize greater synergies" with Family Dollar. The companies didn't say if any Dollar Tree or Family Dollar stores would be closed. Dollar Tree, which has about 5,000 locations, will continue to operate under the existing Dollar Tree, Deals, and Dollar Tree Canada store banners. It will keep the Family Dollar brand as well, with Chairman and CEO Howard Levine reporting to Sasser. Representatives for Walmart and Kroger weren't immediately available for comment. A representative for Dollar General, which last year reported sales growth of 9 percent, declined to comment. Stockholders of Family Dollar Stores will receive $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for each share they own. The companies put the value of the transaction at $74.50 a share, which is an approximately 23 percent premium to Family Dollar's Friday closing price of $60.66. Including debt and other costs, the companies estimate the deal to be worth more than $9 billion. Family Dollar stockholders will own somewhere between 12.7 percent and 15.1 percent of Dollar Tree's outstanding common shares at closing. Dollar Tree plans to finance the deal with available cash, bank debt and bonds. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close by early next year. It still needs approval from Family Dollar shareholders. Shares of Family Dollar Stores, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, surged $14.89 to $75.55 in premarket trading. The record high during regular trading is $75.29. Shares of Dollar Tree, based in Chesapeake, Virginia, jumped 10 percent, or $5.50 to $59.72. The all-time high for that stock is $60.19. Primarily, the deal gives Dollar Tree greater diversity in pricing and product mix. Here's a snapshot of the two chains:

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy For 2015

Top Wireless Telecom Companies To Buy For 2015: Rewards Nexus Inc (ERNI)

Rewards Nexus Inc., formerly NIS Holdings Corp., incorporated on June 21, 2004, through its subsidiaries, operates in the loyalty/rewards industry. The Company has launched the Earn IQ rewards program, a consumer loyalty platform-coupled with marketing and advertising services for various industries.

The Company provides consumers with opportunities to interact and engage with online and mobile products. It primarily focuses on various business sectors, including the customer loyalty management market, the gift card industry, the online food ordering industry, and the marketing consulting industry

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Rewards Nexus Inc (OTCMKTS: ERNI), MyEcheck Inc (OTCMKTS: MYEC) and ITonis Inc (OTCMKTS: ITNS) fell 29.6%, 18.92% and 9.09%, respectively, last Friday. Moreover, some of these small cap stocks are already making big moves again this morning - perhaps in part because they have all been the subject of recent paid promotions. So where are these small cap heading this week and for the long term? Here is a quick reality check:

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-wireless-telecom-companies-to-buy-for-2015.html

Top 5 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Tony Award-nominated actor Brandon Victor Dixon chats with former actor Cherella Cox, as TheStreet continues its coverage of African Americans during Black History Month. Dixon is playing Berry Gordy in Motown: The Musical, written by Gordy, and now playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater.

Dixon is an actor who says he is not afraid of being typecast. The star has played a variety of characters, including Simba in The Lion King. He also received a Tony Award nomination for his role as Harpo in The Color Purple, which has opened up a lot of doors for the performer.

When asked his favorite song in Motown: The Musical -- out of more than the 50 songs from the '60s, '70s and '80s -- Dixon finally picks Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Me." (Cast member Bryan Terrell Clark is currently performing the part of Gaye.)

10 Best Oil Stocks To Buy Right Now: Emulex Corp (ELX)

Emulex Corporation (Emulex) is a provider of a range of network convergence solutions that connect servers, storage, and networks within the data center. The Company�� product portfolio includes Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), Converged Network Adapters (CNAs), Network Interface Cards (NICs), mezzanine cards for blade servers, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), embedded storage bridges, routers, and switches, Input/Output Controllers (IOCs), and connectivity management solutions. The Company is a designer, developer and supplier of HBAs, CNAs, NICs, mezzanine cards, Pass-Through Modules (PTM), embedded storage switches, embedded bridges, embedded routers, I/O ASICs, switch-on-a-chip (SOC) ASICs, Internet Baseboard management controllers (iBMC��) and connectivity management solutions. On August 25, 2010, Emulex acquired ServerEngines Corporation. In February 2013, Emulex acquired 89% ownership of Endace Ltd. In April 2013, Emulex Corp announced the completion of acquisition of Endace Limited.

Host Server Products

The Company�� Host Server Products include the development of chip level and board level server-based I/O adapters, including HBAs, Universal Converged Network Adapters (UCNAs), and mezzanine cards that connect servers and storage to networks using a range of products. Its products support Internet protocol (IP) and storage networking, including transmission control protocol (TCP)/IP, Internet small computer system interface (iSCSI), network attached storage (NAS), Fibre Channel, and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). Host Server Products (HSP) include LightPulse HBAs, OneConnecttm UCNAs, custom form factor solutions for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) blade servers, and ASICs. These products enable servers to connect to local area networks (LANs), storage area networks (SANs), and NAS by offloading data communication processing tasks from the server as information is delivered and sent to the network.

Its Fibre Channel H! BAs connect host computers to a Fibre Channel network. The Company�� adapters support a range of operating systems and host computer system interfaces, including Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and PCI Express-based platforms. Its Fibre Channel HBA offerings include single, dual, and quad port adapters at throughput speeds of two gigabyte per second, four gigabyte per second, and eight gigabyte per second for use in enterprise, large, medium, and small-sized organizations. The Emulex OneConnect UCNA is a single chip 10 gigabyte per second Ethernet platform designed to address the challenges of data center networks. The Emulex UCNA platform enables data center managers to consolidate multiple one gigabyte per second Ethernet links on to a single 10 gigabyte per second Ethernet link. Emulex HBAs and UCNAs are based upon its internally developed Fibre Channel and Ethernet IOCs. In addition, these IOCs can be used in embedded I/O environments, such as disk and tape storage arrays and storage appliances. Revenues from these applications are included in the Company�� Embedded Storage Products.

Embedded Storage Products

The Company�� Embedded Storage Products include the development of chip level, board level, and box level array based products that are deployed inside storage arrays, tape libraries, and other storage products to provide connectivity and protocol emulation functions. These products include embedded IOCs, I/O Processors (IOPs), SOCs, embedded bridges (FC/SATA/SAS), and embedded routers (FC/SATA/SAS). Emulex offers a range of integrated, embedded storage networking products for enterprise storage systems that deliver improved performance, reliability and storage connectivity. InSpeed is an advanced switching architecture that results in a single chip capable of handling multiple Fibre Channel devices operating at two, four, or eight gigabyte per second speeds. Its embedded router and bridge products consist of chip and firmware solutions.

! The Compa! ny competes with QLogic Corporation, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., Broadcom Corporation, Intel Corporation, Chelsio Communications, Inc., Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., LSI, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. and PMC-Sierra, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Mid cap networking solutions company Brocade Communications Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: BRCD) has pretty much been a sleeper for investors since the dot.com bust, but that has changed over the past year���meaning its worth revisiting the stock along with potential performance benchmarks�like QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QLGC), Emulex Corporation (NYSE: ELX) and iShares North American Tech-Multimedia Networking ETF (NYSEARCA: IGN). I should mention that we have recently Brocade Communications Systems to our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio because the company has successfully transitioned from being a hardware company to supporting virtual networks via software and it continues to offer best-of-breed technology.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  A top-level promotion has taken place at Emulex (NYSE: ELX  ) . The company announced that it has appointed Jeffrey Benck to be its CEO, effective immediately. He replaces James McCluney, who was named executive chairman of the board. In turn, McCluney displaces ex-chairman Paul Folino, who is to continue to serve as a director.

Top 5 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Logitech international SA (LOGI)

Logitech International S.A. (Logitech) is a holding company. Logitech develops and markets hardware and software products for digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Logitech operates in two segments: peripherals and video conferencing. The Company�� peripherals segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of peripherals for personal computers (PCs) and other digital platforms. Its products for the PC include mice, trackballs, keyboards, interactive gaming controllers, multimedia speakers, headsets, webcams, and lapdesks. Logitech�� Internet communications products include webcams, headsets, video communications services, and digital video security systems for a home or small business. Its digital music products include speakers, earphones, and custom in-ear monitors. On July 6, 2010, Logitech acquired all of the assets of Paradial AS. On March 31, 2011, the Company sold its equity interest in certain 3Dconnexion subsidiaries.

3Dconnexion subsidiaries are the providers of the Company�� 3D controllers, and its intellectual property rights related to the manufacture and sale of certain 3Dconnexion products. Paradial AS provides firewall and network address translation (NAT) traversal solutions for video communications. For home entertainment systems, Logitech offers the Harmony line of advanced remote controls, Squeezebox wireless music solutions and, in the United States, a line of Logitech products for the Google TV platform. For gaming consoles, the Company offers a range of gaming controllers and microphones, as well as other accessories. Logitech�� sells its peripheral products to a network of distributors and resellers and to other equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company�� worldwide retail network includes wholesale distributors, consumer electronics retailers, mass merchandisers, specialty electronics stores, computer and telecomm! unications stores, resellers and online merchants.

The Company�� video conferencing segment includes design, manufacturing and marketing of LifeSize video conferencing products, infrastructure and services for the enterprise, public sector and other business markets. LifeSize products include high-definition (HD) video communication endpoints, HD video conferencing systems with integrated monitors, video bridges and other infrastructure software and hardware to support large scale video deployments, and services to support these products. Logitech sells its LifeSize products and services to distributors, resellers, OEMs and direct enterprise customers. Logitech conducts its business through subsidiaries in the Americas, including North and South America; Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific, including, among other countries, China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Australia.

Pointing Devices

Logitech offers a range of computer mice, sold through retail and OEM channels. Its mice products include M215, M310 and M305 wireless mice with advanced 2.4 gigahertz wireless connection and cordless universal serial bus (USB) plug-and-forget nano-receiver; Performance Mouse MX and Anywhere Mouse MX with Logitech Darkfield Laser Tracking; Marathon Mouse 750, and Wireless Trackball M570. Logitech�� mice products also include a line of gaming mice, including the Wireless Gaming Mouse G700, with 13 precisely placed, programmable controls to perform single actions and complex macros, full-speed gaming-grade wireless, and a quick-connect charging cable. In addition, the Company sells both corded and cordless mice designed specifically for OEM customers.

Keyboards and Desktops

Logitech offers a range of corded and cordless keyboards and desktops (keyboard-and-mouse combinations). The Company�� keyboards and desktops include Wireless Solar Keyboard K750; K800 Illuminated Wireless Keyboard; The diNovo Edge keyboard; Wireless Desktop MK320, and G! 19 Keyboa! rd for Gaming.

Audio

Logitech designs and manufactures a range of multimedia speakers, including Wireless Speaker Z515, The Laptop Z305 speaker, and The S-series line of portable iPod/MP3 docks, including the Rechargeable Speaker S715i and the Portable Speaker S135i. It also designs and manufactures The Z-623 2.1 THX certified speakers, the Z-506 5.1 Speakers, and the Z-906 5.1 Surround Sound speakers. Logitech offers a portfolio of network music systems. The Squeezebox Touch, with its 4.3-inch color touch screen, connects to existing stereo system and speakers and supports sampling rates of up to 24 bits at 96 kilohertz. The Squeezebox Radio is a compact network music player and alarm that allows to connect to home network, and access Internet radio, personal music collection or subscription services.

The Ultimate Ears product line offers a range of in-ear consumer or fit earphones for portable music enthusiasts, as well as custom stage earphones for musicians and sound engineers. Its line of earphones include Ultimate Ears 100 and 200 value-priced earphones, with silicone ear cushions in a durable sweat-resistant design; Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 with triple armature speakers, and The Ultimate Ears 600 featuring single armature speakers, the Ultimate Ears 600vi, and the Ultimate Ears 700 featuring dual armature speakers. Its line of Ultimate Ears Custom Stage Earphones include Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors co-designed with Capitol Studios for professional studio engineers and producers for use during recording, mixing and mastering original music content, the UE-18 Pro featuring a six-speaker design, the UE-7 Pro for live performance and stage use, and the UE-4 Pro featuring a dual speaker design for artists and audiophiles.

Logitech offers headsets and microphones designed for applications, such as PC voice communications, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) applications and online gaming. Its products in this category include the ClearCha! t PC Wire! less headset, the Wireless Headset H760, the USB Headset H530, the G35 Surround Sound Headset for gaming, the Wireless Gaming Headset G930, the USB Desktop Microphone, and the OCS certified Logitech B-530 USB Headset.

Video

Logitech�� webcam offerings include Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910, Logitech Webcam Pro 9000, Logitech HD Webcam C510 and Logitech TV Cam for use with Logitech Revue. Logitech�� webcams works with video messaging applications, and provides up to HD 720p video calling in Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Logitech Vid HD. The Logitech Alert digital video security system is a complete home or small business video security system, with software that provides motion alerts and a live view from an Internet-connected computer, smartphone, tablet or Google TV system, including Logitech Revue.

Gaming

Logitech offers a range of game controllers for PC gamers, including joysticks, steering wheels, gamepads, mice and keyboards, and headsets, as well as gaming products for console platforms, such as PlayStation2, PlayStation3, PSP (PlayStation Portable), Xbox, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. The Company�� gaming products include Logitech G700 Wireless Gaming Mouse; Logitech G13 advanced gameboard with a built-in LCD screen, 25 programmable keys and onboard memory; Logitech G27 Racing Wheel and Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset.

Digital Home

The Company�� line of remotes includes Harmony One remote, Harmony 900 remote and Harmony 650. In October 2010, Logitech introduced its line of products for Google TV in the United States, including Logitech Revue and the Logitech Keyboard Controller; Logitech TV Cam and Vid HD service, and Logitech Mini Controller.

LifeSize Video Conferencing

LifeSize division offers HD video communication solutions, including HD video conferencing products, audio conference telephones, hardware infrastructure solutions, video management software, and services to support ! video and! audio communications and help users connect to any network securely and with ease. The LifeSize product line includes Passport, LifeSize Video Center, Express Series, Team Series, Room Series and LifeSize Bridge.

The Company competes with Microsoft Corporation, Plantronics, Inc., Altec Lansing LLC, Creative Labs, Inc., Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics NV, Hewlett-Packard, Intec, Razer USA Ltd., Performance Designed Products, LLC (Pelican Accessories), Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., Universal Remote Control, Inc., Universal Electronics Inc., RCA, Apple Inc., Roku, Inc., Cisco, Radvision Ltd., Vidyo, Inc. and Polycom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Logitech (NASDAQ: LOGI  ) is now on the hunt for a chief financial officer following the departure of Erik Bardman, who has joined the privately owned Roku to serve in the same position. Logitech said it is now searching for either an internal or external candidate to replace him after he formally leaves the company at the end of this month.

• [By Brian O'Connell and Brian O'Connell]

  You can�� be a video gamer, a PC user, or even a home entertainment watcher without using one of Logitech�� (NASDAQ: LOGI) products.
  
  The company develops and markets hardware and software products that enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, and audio and video communication over the Internet.
  
  The company�� stock has risen by 16 percent so far this year. In January, Logitech announced ��etter than expected��sales of $628 million for the third quarter, up 2 percent on a year-over-year basis. Cash flow was way up, and earnings per share of $0.30 was up compared to a loss one year earlier.
  
  The retail numbers tell the real story, with the company�� combined retail growth categories up 62 percent, year-over-year. Tablet peripheral salaries were up 95 percent; audio wearables and wireless sales were up 79 percent; and video gaming sales rose by 25 percent in the same time period.
  
  Those are numbers that are manna from heaven for a company that really needed them, after a 30-month period of mediocre performance from 2010-to-mid-2013 that saw LOGU�� share price fall stagnate in the $8-$10-per-share range.
  
  ��e��e pleased by our solid Q3 performance, with both sales and profit growth,��notes Bracken P. Darrell, Logitech�� chief executive officer. ��e��e encouraged by the robust sales in our growth categories, as well as the success of our ongoing initiatives to improve profitability.”
  
  ��e still have more work ahead, but our turnaround is on track as we continue to build a faster and more profitable Logitech,��he adds.
  
  Going forward, Logitech has upped its yearly outlook, calling for sales of $2.1 billion, up from $2 billion in its last outlook. Non-GAAP operating income should rise to $125 million, up from $100 million previously.
  
  Why the continued optimism over Logitech, after two-and-half years of tepid performance?
  
  Fir

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) shot up 16.94 percent to $15.46 after the company reported strong FQ3 results and lifted its full-rear guidance.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Logitech International SA (NASDAQ: LOGI) shares shot up 15.08 percent to $15.34 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its operating income forecast.

Top 5 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Nyxio Technologies Corp (NYXO)

Nyxio Technologies Corporation, incorporated on June 08, 2006, through its wholly owned subsidiary Nyxio Technologies Inc. (Nyxio), develop and provide technology for the entertainment and commercial markets within the consumer electronic industry. The Company�� product includes VioSphere Smart television (TV), a flat screen TV with a fully integrated personal computer.

The Realm is an all in one personal computer (PC)/ TV, combining the latest in PC technology with high definition (HD) TV. The Realm Pro, which is all in One PC/TV geared for commercial and digital signage markets. Venture MMV, which is a mobile media viewer is a new class of video eyewear offering designer styling in a sleek ergonomic design with features and performance. The Vuzion is a TV with Android operating system (OS) built in enabling 400,000 Android applications on a TV.

The Company competes with Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio, Apple, Dell, and HP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Nyxio Technologies Corp (OTCMKTS: NYXO), COREwafer Industries Inc (OTCMKTS: WAFR) and NanoTech Entertainment, Inc (OTCMKTS: NTEK) are three small cap stocks in some very diverse industries. In fact, one of these stocks just bought a 3D ice sculpture business. So will investors see their investment melt with that small cap stock�along with the other two? Here is a closer look to help you decide for yourself:��

Top 5 Computer Hardware Companies To Own For 2014: Steel Excel Inc (SXCL)

Steel Excel Inc., formerly ADPT Corp., incorporated in 1981, is primarily focused on capital redeployment and identification of new business operations. The identification of new business operations includes, but is not limited to, the oilfield servicing, sports, training, education, entertainment and lifestyle businesses. The Company operates in two segments: oilfield servicing and sports-related segment. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired two sports-related businesses and one oilfield servicing business. On June 27, 2011, the Company acquired Baseball Heaven LLC and Baseball Cafe, Inc. On August 15, 2011, the Company acquired The Show, LLC. On December 7, 2011, the Company acquired Rogue Pressure Services, LLC. On February 9, 2012, the Company acquired Eagle Well Services, Inc. In May 2012, the Company acquired Sun Well Service, Inc. Effective December 16, 2013, Steel Excel Inc acquired Black Hawk Energy Services Inc, a provider of oil and gas field services.

The Company�� oilfield servicing segment provides services in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Services include snubbing services (controlled installation and removal of all tubulars - drill strings and production strings) in and out of the wellbore with the well under full pressure, flowtesting, and hydraulic work over/simultaneous operations (allows customers to perform multiple tasks on multiple wells on one pad at the same time). The Company�� sports-related services segment provides services related to marketing and providing baseball facility services, including training camps, summer camps, leagues and tournaments, concession and catering events and other events and related Websites. In addition, the Company outfit little league baseball and softball players and coaches in official major league baseball uniforms.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  1. Steel Excel (SXCL)
  2. FormFactor (FORM)
  3. Imation (IMN)
  4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
  5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
  6. Maxygen (MAXY)
  7. Westell (WSTL)
  8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
  9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)