For years, investors have relied on cheap money to fund high stock prices. Yet as promising as positive economic data has been lately, it also raises the question of when the Federal Reserve will stop needing to provide economic stimulus to support the economy. As the Japanese yen continues to plunge and bond yields around the world are on the rise, many investors fear that the end will be at hand a lot sooner than previously thought. Yet most of the damage was confined to international bond markets, as the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) finished with a loss of only 27 points, while the S&P 500 actually gained a fraction of a point to hit another new record.
Within the Dow, though, it was easy to find stocks that bucked the trend and moved higher. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE ) was the biggest gainer in the Dow, jumping more than 2% as the company said it would present nearly a dozen different abstracts for its Xeljanz rheumatoid arthritis treatment at a European conference next month. With the drug having gotten a negative opinion from the European Medicines Agency lately, Pfizer clearly wants to give regulators there reason to reconsider their views on Xeljanz.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Altisource Residential Corp (RESI)
Altisource Residential Corporation is a development-stage company engaged in the acquisition and ownership of single-family rental assets. The Company�� primary sourcing strategy to acquire these assets includes purchase of sub-performing and non-performing mortgages, as well as single-family homes at or following the foreclosure sale (REO Properties (REO)).
The Company intends to pursue opportunities to acquire its single-family rental assets throughout the United States. The Company is managed by Altisource Asset Management Corporation (AAMC). On December 21, 2012, Altisource Residential Corporation�� spin-off from Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. (Altisource) was completed.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mark Holder]
Altisource Residential (NYSE: RESI ) (NYSE: RESI ) (NYSE: RESI ) purchases distressed mortgage loan portfolios with a strategy to work with borrowers to modify and refinance loans to either keep them in their homes or convert the unmodified loans into renovated rental properties.
- [By Amanda Alix]
For Wall Street types, single-family foreclosures can be bought cheaply and in bulk, then fixed up and rented. Companies like the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX ) and Colony Financial (NYSE: CLNY ) have been very active in this market, with the former purchasing 16,000 homes just last year, and the latter ramping up its own portfolio to approximately 7,000. This new industry has also spawned fresh entrants from the REIT field, Silver Bay Realty (NYSE: SBY ) and Altisource Residential, (NYSE: RESI ) two trusts that were spun off earlier this year from parent companies Two Harbors Investment (NYSE: TWO ) and Altisource Portfolio Solutions (NASDAQ: ASPS ) , specifically to take advantage of the boom in the foreclosure-to-rental market.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Johnson Matthey PLC (JMAT)
Johnson Matthey Plc is a global specialty chemicals company operating in three divisions: Environmental Technologies, Precious Metal Products and Fine Chemicals. Environmental Technologies is a supplier of catalysts and related technologies for applications, such as pollution control, cleaner fuel, hydrocarbons and the hydrogen economy. Precious Metal Products��activities comprise the marketing, distribution, refining and recycling of platinum group metals (pgms), fabrication of products using precious metals and related materials, manufactures pgm and base metal catalysts and pgm chemicals. Fine Chemicals is a supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients, fine chemicals and other specialty chemical products and services to chemical and pharmaceutical industry�� customer supplier of catalysts. In March 2012, Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. acquired U.S. patent 7,851,482 B2 for oxymorphone hydrochloride from the Company. In March 2013, the Company acquired Formox AB. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Inyoung Hwang]
Atos declined 3.5 percent after an investor cut its stake in the company. Intermediate Capital Group Plc lost 3.5 percent after Numis Securities Ltd. lowered its rating on the money manager. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. slid 1.2 percent after UBS AG removed it from its recommended list of stocks. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) climbed 3.6 percent after reporting a profit increase in the first half of the year.
- [By Namitha Jagadeesh]
British American Tobacco Plc and Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (IMT) each lost at least 1.5 percent as American peer Philip Morris International Inc. forecast 2014 profit growth below its long-term target. Antofagasta Plc (ANTO) and Vedanta Resources Plc (VED) followed miners lower, sliding at least 2 percent. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) gained 3.9 percent after posting better-than-forecast profit and raising its dividend.
- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
Barclays Plc (BARC) fell to a one-month low as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. sold a stake in the lender. Fiat SpA lost 6.5 percent as Chrysler Group LLC went in for a vehicle recall. France Telecom SA (FTE) rose after its Orange Business Services unit won a five-year deal to deploy a private network for Heineken NV. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) jumped to its highest price in at least 23 years after posting full-year profit that beat estimates.
- [By Sarah Jones]
Barclays Plc (BARC) led a selloff by U.K. lenders as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. sold half of its stake in the bank. EasyJet Plc (EZJ) lost 4.1 percent as the carrier reported passenger numbers for May. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) rallied 6.3 percent after posting pretax profit that beat analysts��estimates.
Hot Undervalued Companies To Own For 2015: Qualys Inc (QLYS)
Qualys, Inc. (Qualys), incorporated on December 30, 1999, is a provider of clouds security and compliance solutions that enable organizations to identify security risks to their information technology (IT) infrastructures, help protect their IT systems and applications from cyber attacks and achieve compliance with internal policies and external regulations. The Company designed its QualysGuard Cloud Platform to transform the way organizations secure and protect their IT infrastructures and applications. The Company's cloud platform offers an integrated suite of solutions that automates the lifecycle of asset discovery, security assessments, and compliance management for an organization's IT infrastructure and assets, whether they reside inside the organization, on their network perimeter or in the cloud.
The Company provides its solutions through a software-as-a-service model, primarily with renewable annual subscriptions. These subscriptions require customers to pay a fee in order to access the Company's cloud solutions. The Company's QualysGuard Cloud Platform consists of a suite of IT security and compliance solutions that leverage the Company's shared and extensible core services and its scalable multi-tenant cloud infrastructure. The Company's suite of solutions provides security intelligence by automating the life cycle of IT asset discovery, security assessment and compliance management. The Company's cloud platform's infrastructure includes integrated services that deliver a automated and scalable scanning infrastructure capable of scanning IT systems and Web applications, inside and outside corporate firewalls. The Company also provides open application program interfaces (APIs), and other developer tools that allow third parties to embed its technology into their solutions and build applications on its cloud platform.
The Company's suite of solutions, which the Company refers to as the QualysGuard Cloud Suite, includes Vulnerability Management, Web Application Sca! nning, Malware Detection Service, Policy Compliance, PCI Compliance and Qualys SECURE Seal. The Company's customers can subscribe to one or more of the Company's security and compliance solutions based on their initial needs and expand their subscriptions over time to new areas within their organization or to additional QualysGuard solutions. The Company offers two editions of its QualysGuard Cloud Suite, the Enterprise edition for large and medium-sized enterprises and the Express edition for small and medium-sized businesses.
QualysGuard Vulnerability Management (QualysGuard VM), is a solution that automates network auditing and vulnerability management across an organization, including network discovery and mapping, asset management, vulnerability reporting, and remediation tracking. QualysGuard Policy Compliance (QualysGuard PC) allows customers to analyze and collect configuration and access control information from their networked devices and Web applications and automatically maps this information to internal policies and external regulations in order to document compliance.
QualysGuard PCI Compliance (QualysGuard PCI) provides organizations that store cardholder data a automated solution to verify and document compliance with PCI DSS. QualysGuard Web Application Scanning (QualysGuard WAS) uses the scalability of its cloud platform to allow customers to discover, catalog and scan a large number of Web applications. QualysGuard Malware Detection Service (QualysGuard MDS) provides organizations with the ability to scan identify and remove malware infections from their Websites. QualysGuard Web Application Firewall (QualysGuard WAF) delivers enterprise-grade Web application security without associated with appliance-based Web application firewall solutions. QualysGuard SECURE Seal helps organizations demonstrate to their online customers that they maintain a proactive security program.
Core Services include asset tagging and management, reporting and dashboards! , questio! nnaires and collaboration, remediation and workflow, big data correlation and analytics engine, and alerts and notifications. The Company�� infrastructure layer, which it refer to as its Infrastructure, includes the data, data processing capabilities, software and hardware infrastructure and infrastructure management capabilities that provide the foundation for its cloud platform and allow the Company to automatically scale its Infrastructure and Core Services to scan millions of Internet protocols (IPs).
The Company competes with Hewlett-Packard Company, Imperva, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, McAfee, Inc., Symantec Corporation, Barracuda Networks, Inc., BeyondTrust Software, Inc., Lumension Security, Inc., nCircle Network Security, Inc., NetIQ Corporation, Rapid7 LLC, Tenable Network Security, Inc. and Trustwave Holdings, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) shares shot up 8.24 percent to $20.68 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.Shares of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) got a boost, shooting up 15.95 percent to $4.84 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings and announced its plans to close at least 400 stores in the US.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Equities Trading UP
Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) shares shot up 10.23 percent to $21.07 after the company reported upbeat quarterly results.Shares of Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) got a boost, shooting up 15.95 percent to $4.84 after the company reported upbeat quarterly earnings and announced its plans to close at least 400 stores in the US.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Steel Dynamics Inc.(STLD)
Steel Dynamics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of steel products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Steel Operations, Metals Recycling and Ferrous Resources Operations, and Steel Fabrication Operations. The Steel Operations segment provides a range of sheet steel products, including hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; structural steel beams, pilings, and rails; special bar quality and merchant bar quality rounds and round-cornered squares; billets and merchant steel products comprising angles, plain rounds, flats, and channels; and merchant beams and specialty structural steel sections. This segment offers its products for automotive, agriculture, energy, construction, commercial, transportation, and industrial machinery markets. The Metals Recycling and Ferrous Resources Operations segment purchases, processes, and resells ferrous products, such as heavy melting steel , busheling, bundled scrap, shredded scrap, steel turnings, and cast iron products; and processes nonferrous products consisting of aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, and other nonferrous metals for use in foundry, mill refining, and smelting applications. It also provides liquid pig iron and hot briquetted iron; and iron nugget products. The Steel Fabrication Operations segment fabricates steel building components, which include steel joists, trusses, girders, and decking products for the non-residential construction industry. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Goldman Sachs boosted its rating on US Steel (X) to Buy from Sell, along with that of AK Steel (AKS) and Steel Dynamics (STLD). Axiom Capital Management’s Gordon Johnson responds with a great big “huh?” in regards to the US Steel upgrade, especially as it relates to OCTG–oil country tubular goods.
- [By Rich Smith]
"We remain optimistic as the demand for high-quality steel products has not abated." So said Steel Dynamics' (NASDAQ: STLD ) CEO Mark Millett in making yesterday's earnings announcement. But the facts beg to differ.
- [By Rich Duprey]
Despite expected increases in steel shipments, steel maker and recycler�Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ: STLD ) announced yesterday�its second-quarter guidance would be below both the results it posted in the first quarter and those it put up a year ago because margins are being compressed by substantially lower prices resulting in reduced profitability.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
First, let Credit Suisse analyst�Nathan Littlewood and team explain why they not only downgraded US Steel and Nucor, but lowered their EBITDA forecasts for AK Steel (AKS), Commercial Metals (CMC) and Steel Dynamics (STLD), as well:
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: AEterna Zentaris Inc.(AEZS)
Aeterna Zentaris Inc. operates as a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy. Its lead oncology compounds include perifosine, a PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor that is in Phase 3 registration trial for refractory advanced colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma; and AEZS-108, a doxorubicin-targeted conjugate in Phase II for the treatment of ovarian, endometrial, castration refractory prostate, and refractory bladder cancer. The company?s lead endocrinology compound, AEZS-130, is an oral ghrelin antagonist in Phase III trial as a diagnostic test for adult growth hormone deficiency. Its pipeline also includes earlier-stage compounds, such as AEZS-112 that is in a Phase I trial in advanced solid tumors and lymphoma, as well as AEZS-120, an anti-cancer vaccine in pre-clinical development. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Quebec City, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
What's coming down the pipeline
Avastin: Surprise: It's Roche's (NASDAQOTH: RHHBY ) wonder drug yet again! Roche's Avastin is in the process of being tested as a treatment for recurrent endometrial cancer and demonstrated promising results in a mid-stage trial according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Avastin, which is an angiogenesis inhibitor (a fancy way of saying it inhibits blood vessel growth), was tested on 52 evaluable patients and delivered a progression-free survival of at least six months for 21 of them. Overall median PFS was 4.2 months, and median overall survival came in at 10.5 months. Don't be surprised if Roche decides to pursue further studies of Avastin in recurrent endometrial cancer with these results.� AEZS-108: Currently in late-stage development by Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ: AEZS ) , a holding in my own portfolio, AEZS-108 is an intravenous treatment composed of a synthetic peptide carrier and doxorubicin that targets Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone-receptor expressing tumors. That series of scientific jargon simply means it targets cancer cells with minimal healthy cell death relative to the current standards of treatment. In mid-stage trials, AEZS-108 delivered an overall response rate of 30.8% and a clinical benefit rate of 74.4%. These figures were enough to get AEZS-108 a special protocol assessment (SPA), which should streamline its approval if these results stay consistent in late-stage studies.
As we saw with the current treatment options, the endometrial cancer pipeline isn't filled with a lot of choices, but they are at least more encouraging than the standard care treatments we've seen over the past three decades.Your best investment
With very few investable options to choose from, since many of these treatments are off patent as they're decades old, I'm going to split my decision this week between Roche and Aeterna Zentaris for obvious reasons.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Greatbatch Inc. (GB)
Greatbatch, Inc. provides technology solutions for medical and industrial applications. The company operates in two segments, Greatbatch Medical and Electrochem Solutions. The Greatbatch Medical segment designs and manufactures systems, components, and devices for the cardiac rhythm management, neuromodulation, vascular access, and orthopaedic markets. Its products include batteries, capacitors, filtered and unfiltered feedthroughs, engineered components, and enclosures used in implantable medical devices; instruments and delivery systems used in hip and knee replacement, and trauma and spine surgeries, as well as in hip, knee, and shoulder implants; and introducers, catheters, steerable sheaths, and implantable stimulation leads. This segment also offers value-added assembly and design engineering services for medical systems and devices. It serves primarily multi-national original equipment manufacturers. The Electrochem Solutions segment provides technology solutions fo r critical industrial applications, including customized battery power and wireless sensing systems. This segment?s products comprise cells, primary and rechargeable battery packs, and wireless sensors. It serves companies involved in energy, security, portable medical, and environmental monitoring markets. This segment sells its products directly to end users and original equipment manufactures. Greatbatch, Inc. sells its products primarily in the United States, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and Belgium. The company was founded in 1970 and is based in Clarence, New York.
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 Greatbatch (NYSE: GB ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: NeoStem Inc (NBS)
NeoStem, Inc., incorporated on September 18, 1980, operates in cellular therapy industry. Cellular therapy addresses the process by which new cells are introduced into a tissue to prevent or treat disease, or regenerate damaged or aged tissue, and consists of a separate therapeutic technology platform in addition to pharmaceuticals, biologics and medical devices. The Company�� business model includes the development of novel cell therapy products, as well as operating a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing services to others in the regenerative medicine industry. Progenitor Cell Therapy, LLC, the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary (PCT), is a CDMO in the cellular therapy industry. PCT has provided pre-clinical and clinical current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) development and manufacturing services to over 100 clients advancing regenerative medicine product candidates through rigorous quality standards all the way through to human testing.
PCT has two cGMP, cell therapy research, development, and manufacturing facilities in New Jersey and California, serving the cell therapy community with integrated and regulatory compliant distribution capabilities. Its core competencies in the cellular therapy industry include manufacturing of cell therapy-based products, product and process development, cell and tissue processing, regulatory support, storage, distribution and delivery and consulting services. The Company�� wholly-owned subsidiary, Amorcyte, LLC (Amorcyte) is developing its own cell therapy, AMR-001, for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. AMR-001 represents its clinically advanced therapeutic product candidate and enrollment for its Phase II PreSERVE clinical trial to investigate AMR-001's safety and efficacy in preserving heart function after a heart attack in a particular type of post Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) patients.
Through the Company�� subsidiary, Athelos Corporation (Athelos), the Company is collaborating w! ith Becton-Dickinson in early stage clinical development of a therapy utilizing T-cells, collaborating for autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, including but not limited to, graft vs. host disease, type 1 diabetes, steroid resistant asthma, lupus, multiple sclerosis and solid organ transplant rejection. The Company�� pre-clinical assets include its Very Small Embryonic Like (VSEL) Technology platform. The Company has basic research and development capabilities, manufacturing facilities on both the east and west coast of the United States.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Another under-$10 biopharmaceutical player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Neostem (NBS), engages in the development of proprietary cell therapy products. This stock has been hit hard by the sellers during the last three months, with shares off by 22%.
If you take a look at the chart for Neostem, you'll notice that this stock has recently spiked higher back above both its 50-day moving average at $6.41 and its 200-day moving average of $6.60 a share. This move has also pushed shares of NBS back above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $6.57 to $6.98 a share. That move is quickly pushing NBS within range of triggering another breakout trade above some key near-term overhead resistance.
Market players should now look for long-biased trades in NBS if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $7.22 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action 327,514 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then NBS will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from October that started just above $8 a share. If that that gap gets filled with volume, then NBS could easily tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $9 to $9.50 a share, or even its 52-week high at $9.89 a share.
Traders can look to buy NBS off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average of $6.41 a share, or near more support at $6 a share. One can also buy NBS off strength once it takes out $7.22 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
- [By John Udovich]
The results of a recent Pew Center Poll regarding attitudes towards abortion and various forms of stem cell research could be a good sign for the stem cell industry along with small cap stem cell stocks like StemCells Inc (NASDAQ: STEM), NeoStem Inc (NASDAQ: NBS), Neuralstem, Inc (NYSEMKT: CUR),�International Stem Cell Corp (OTCMKTS: ISCO) and BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX). Basically, Americans think that having an abortion is a moral issue with 49% of American adults believing abortion is morally wrong, 23%�view it not as a moral issue and and 15% view it as morally acceptable. However and when Americans were asked about issues surrounding�human embryos, such as stem cell research or in vitro fertilization, as a matter of morality, their views were different.
- [By Stock Investor]
Back in April in my article titled, "Regenerative Medicine's Time Has Come", I covered two very interesting companies focused on this field: NeoStem Inc. (NBS) and Neuralstem Inc. (CUR).
- [By Monica Gerson]
NeoStem (NYSE: NBS) priced an underwritten public offering of 5,000,000 shares of common stock at an offering price of $7.00 per share. NeoStem shares dipped 9.44% to $7.10 in after-hours trading.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Office Depot Inc.(ODP)
Office Depot, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies office products and services. Its North American Retail division sells an assortment of merchandise, such as general office supplies, computer supplies, business machines and related supplies, and office furniture under various labels, including Office Depot, Viking Office Products, Foray, Ativa, Break Escapes, Niceday, and Worklife through its chain of office supply stores. It also provides printing, reproduction, mailing, shipping, and other services, as well as personal computer support and network installation service. As of December 25, 2010, this division operated 1,147 office supply stores in the United States and Canada. The company?s North American Business Solutions division sells nationally branded and private brand office supplies, technology products, furniture, and services to small- to medium-sized customers through a dedicated sales force, catalogs, and Internet. Its International division sells o ffice products and services through direct mail catalogs, contract sales forces, Internet sites, and retail stores using a mix of company-owned operations, joint ventures, licensing and franchise agreements, alliances, and other arrangements. As of December 25, 2010, it sold its office products to customers in 53 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This division operated, through wholly-owned or majority-owned entities, 97 retail stores in France, Hungary, South Korea, and Sweden; and participates under licensing and merchandise arrangements in South Korea, Thailand, India, Israel, Japan, and the Middle East. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Munarriz]
Office Depot (NYSE: ODP ) -- $4.30
Shares of the office supply superstore chain have more than doubled since being singled out in this column last summer. - [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Richard Drew/AP BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Office Depot is planning to close at least 400 U.S. stores, as its merger with OfficeMax resulted in an overlap of retail locations that can be consolidated. The combined company's financial results beat Wall Street estimates for the January-March quarter and it raised its full year forecast for operating income Tuesday. Office Depot (ODP) shares jumped 17 percent in morning trading. The office supply retailer had 1,900 stores in the U.S. at the end of the first quarter, so the plans call for closing about 21 percent of them. Office Depot and OfficeMax Inc. completed their $1.2 billion deal last November. Office Depot said it hasn't quantified the number of jobs that will be affected by the store closures but that it will look to place its best talent impacted by the store closings into new roles, wherever possible. Chairman and CEO Roland Smith said in a statement that one of the company's goals this year was to improve how its stores are positioned in North America to meet customer demand better and ensure that it's well positioned in the markets it serves. "The overlapping retail footprint resulting from the merger provides us with a unique opportunity to consolidate and optimize our store portfolio, while maintaining the retail presence necessary to serve our customer," Smith said. Office Depot said Tuesday that it expects to close 150 U.S. stores this year, mostly in the fourth quarter. It closed 14 stores in the first quarter, a company spokeswoman said. All of the store closures are anticipated to occur by the end of 2016. The store closings are expected to result in at least $75 million in annual savings by 2016's end and add to earnings starting next year. Office Depot, which is based in Boca Raton, Florida, said that it's still trying to determine expected working capital savings and costs related to the store closings. The company also reported its first-quarter financial results Tuesday, which includ
- [By Holly LaFon]
The company�� primarily competitors are Office Depot (ODP), United Stationers (USTR) and Office Max (OMX). Staples has the best gross margins of its competitors, at greater than 26%, and the only one to increase its book value per share since 2001.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Old Republic International Corporation(ORI)
Old Republic International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various insurance and mortgage guaranty products in North America. The company operates in three segments: General Insurance, Mortgage Guaranty, and Title Insurance. The General Insurance segment provides liability insurance coverages to businesses, government, and other institutions in commercial construction, forest products, energy, general manufacturing, and financial services industries; and transportation, including trucking and general aviation industries. It provides various insurance products, such as automobile extended warranty, aviation, commercial automobile insurance, general liability, home warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers? compensation, as well as liability coverage for claims arising from the acts of owners or employees, and protection for the physical assets of businesses. This segment also offers financial indemnity products, such as consumer credit indemnity , errors and omissions/directors and officers, guaranteed asset protection, and surety, as well as bonds that cover the exposures for losses of monies, or debt and equity securities due to acts of employee dishonesty. The Mortgage Guaranty segment insures first mortgage loans, primarily on residential properties incorporating one-to-four family dwelling units to mortgage bankers, brokers, commercial banks, and savings institutions. The Title Insurance segment provides lenders' and owners' title insurance policies to real estate purchasers and investors based upon searches of the public records. It also provides escrow closing and construction disbursement services; and real estate information products, national default management services, and services related to real estate transfers and loan transactions. Old Republic International Corporation markets its products directly, as well as through insurance agents and brokers. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Chi cago, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon]
Prem Watsa is renowned for his long track record of outstanding returns using Buffett-style value investing through his worldwide insurance and reinsurance company, Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings. His five-year cumulative is 176.4%, compared to 12.2% for the S&P 500. Most recently, he made headlines for making a large contrarian bet on Research In Motion (RIMM) and joining its board in his first activist investing foray. In the fourth quarter, he added to this position. He also added to his positions in Citigroup Inc. (C), Old Republic Corp. (ORI) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and dramatically reduced one of his largest holdings, Dell (DELL). As a Ben Graham devotee, Watsa looks past short-term fluctuations in price to the underlying strength of a business. His stance on the economy, as of September and October 2011, was that he believed the U.S. was showing Depression-level interest rates and deficits, but he still liked some stocks and would hedge his exposure, he told CFA Institute Magazine.
Top 10 Promising Stocks To Own Right Now: Midstates Petroleum Company Inc (MPO)
Midstates Petroleum Company, Inc. is an independent exploration and production company. The Company�� areas of operation include Pine Prairie, South Bearhead Creek/Oretta, West Gordon and North Cowards Gully. Its Upper Gulf Coast Tertiary trend extends from south Texas to Mississippi across its operating areas in central Louisiana. As of December 31, 2011, it had accumulated approximately 77,100 net acres in the trend. As of December 31, 2011, its development operations are focused in the Wilcox interval of the trend. The Company�� business is conducted through Midstates Petroleum Company LLC, as a direct, wholly owned subsidiary. In September 2012, the Company and its subsidiary acquired all of Eagle Energy Production, LLC�� producing properties as well as their developed and undeveloped acreage primarily in the Mississippian Lime oil play in Oklahoma and Kansas.
As of December 31, 2011, it drilled 57 gross wells in the trend, approximately 93% of. During the year ended December 31, 2011, its average daily production were 7,499 barrels of oil equivalent per day. As of December 31, 2011, it had a total of 974 gross vertical drilling locations, including 115 related to acreage under option, in the trend. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� properties included approximately 92 gross active producing wells, 95% of, which it operate, and in which it held an average working interest of approximately 99% across its 77,100 net acre leasehold. During March 31, 2012, the Company continued its drilling program, spudding 14 wells, of which nine are producing, three are being drilled and two are waiting to be completed. As of December 331, 2011, it averaged daily production is approximately 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Pine Prairie
The Company�� properties in the Pine Prairie area represented 46% of its total proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. During 2011, the Company�� average production from these properties was 3,793 net barrels of oil equ! ivalent per day, consisting of 2,143 barrels of oil, 565 barrels of natural gas liquidations (NGLs) and 6,508 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 31, 2011, it held an average working interest and average net revenue interest of 92.2% and 68.9%, respectively, on its acreage in Pine Prairie area. The Company has an additional 194 identified drilling locations in this area based primarily on 10-acre spacing.
South Bearhead Creek/Oretta
The Company�� properties in the South Bearhead Creek/Oretta area represented 20.3% of its total proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. During 2011, the Company�� average production from these properties was 4,367 net barrels of oil equivalent per day, consisting of 2,196 barrels of oil, 438 barrels of NGLs and 10,396 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. During 2011, these wells produced at an average daily rate of 2,413 net barrels of oil equivalent per day. As of December 31, 2011, it held an average working interest and average net revenue interest of 100% and 78.5%, respectively, on its acreage in South Bearhead Creek/Oretta area. The Company has an additional 43 identified drilling locations in this area based primarily on 40-acre spacing.
West Gordon
The Company�� properties in the West Gordon area represented 21% of its total proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. During 2011, the Company�� average production from these properties was 1,002 net barrels of oil equivalent per day, consisting of 617 barrels of oil, 68 barrels of NGLs and 1,901 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 31, 2011, it held an average working interest and average net revenue interest of 95.9% and 71.2%, respectively, on its acreage in West Gordon area. The Company has an additional 74 identified drilling locations in this area based primarily on 40-acre spacing.
North Cowards Gully
The Company�� properties in the North Cowards Gully area represented 11.5% of ! its total! proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. During 2011, the Company�� average production from these properties was 149 net barrels of oil equivalent per day consisting of 103 barrels of oil, 11 barrels of NGLs, and 211 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. As of December 31, 2011, it held an average working interest and average net revenue interest of 94.3% and 71.2%, respectively, on its acreage in North Cowards Gully area. The Company has an additional 95 identified drilling locations in this area based primarily on 40-acre spacing.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By The Energy Report]
Onshore, my favorite play is the Utica Shale, in which my top plays are Gulfport Energy Corp. (GPOR) and Rex Energy Corp. (REXX). Both companies have highly economic acreage, solid balance sheets and industry-leading production growth. I also like Rex Energy for its likely production upside. Another one of my favorite plays is the Eagle Ford Shale, in which my top plays are Penn Virginia Corp. (PVA) and Sanchez Energy Corp. (SN). Both have core acreage in the region, improving operating results and experienced management. Another favorite name of mine is Midstates Petroleum Co. Inc. (MPO). The company has assets in three solid plays and a management team with a long successful track record. Those are my favorite names at this time.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
One energy player that's starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Midstates Petroleum (MPO), an independent exploration and production company focused on the application of modern drilling and completion techniques to oil-prone resources. This stock is off to a rough start in 2013, with shares off by 30%.
If you look at the chart for Midstates Petroleum, you'll notice that this stock has recently come out of a nasty downtrend that took shares from over $8 to its low of $4.26 a share. Shares of MPO have started to find some buying interest over the last month at $4.44, 4.26 and $4.48 a share, as the stock has held those levels on recent pullbacks. This could be signaling that a bottom is forming for MPO, since the downside volatility looks over. Shares of MPO are now rebounding strong off those support levels and are quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MPO if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.82 a share and then once it takes out its 50-day moving average at $5.30 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 542,939 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MPO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6 to its 200-day moving average of $6.54 a share.
Traders can look to buy MPO off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $4.48 or $4.26 a share. One can also buy MPO off strength once it takes out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
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