The price of crude oil in the U.S. has dropped nearly 9% during the past month of trading, and Credit Suisse believes it’s time to take another look at the refiners, including Tesoro (TSO) and� Calumet Specialty Products (CLMT).
Bloomberg News
Analyst Edward Westlake and team explain what they see happening:
The pullback in crude prices, notably WTI will reduce losses on secondary products (asphalt, LPG). Backwardation has turned into a slight contango, another 4Q positive. The smaller refineries are more sensitive to crude price gyrations than large complex Gulf refiners ��something to keep an eye on.
Narrower spreads between Cushing and the Gulf have made the Gulf refiners more competitive on the main product pipelines inland.
Westlake particularly likes Tesoro:
TSO looks like a clear winner from here. The stock is the cheapest when logistics dropdown value is taken into consideration. Their Northern Mid-Con and Pacific North-West are among the best positioned in US refining ��with a decade of free cashflow ahead. West Coast results demonstrate TSO�� above average asset quality which Carson synergies will cement further. We raise our TP from $60 to $62.
Titan Company Limited, formerly Titan Industries Limited, is engaged in manufacturing of watches/accessories, jewelry, precision engineering and eyewear. The Company has four divisions: watches/accessories, jewelry, precision engineering and eyewear. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had 332 World of Titan stores. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had over three business units in Bangalore, India, a manufacturing unit at Hosur and three assembly plants located in the north of India. The brands under the watches/accessories division include: Titan, Sonata, Fastrack, Xylys and others. Tanishq is Titan�� line of jewelry with a range of jewelry, studded with diamonds or colored gems in 18-karat gold, 22-karat gold and platinum jewelry. Under eyewear division, there is a brand named Titan Eye plus. The precision engineering division includes machine building and automation solutions and tooling solutions. In March 2013, Titan Properties Ltd. was amalgamated with the Company.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By James Miller Phd]
Peers like Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) present strong competition in the could-based CRM market, and have been enhancing their companies through various acquisitions such as recently acquired Nimbula, Eloqua Inc., RightNow Technologies and Taleo Corp from Oracle, or MarketingPilot and Netbreeze from Microsoft. Competition is moreover expected to increase with the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM software (Titan). Nevertheless, Salesforce has also been strengthening its product portfolio and expanding within the cloud based CRM services.
Top Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Pimco High Income Fund(PHK)
PIMCO High Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Allianz Global Investors Fund Management LLC. The fund is co-managed by Pacific Investment Management Company LLC. It invests in the public fixed income markets across the globe. The fund invests in U.S. dollar denominated high-yield corporate debt obligations. It employs fundamental analysis along with a top down stock picking approach to make its investments. PIMCO High Income Fund was formed on April 30, 2003 and is domiciled in the United States.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Dan Caplinger]
But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:
Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM ) and its concentration on high-yield mortgage REITs. When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Lesson 1: Income is king.
A look at the four funds trading at the highest premiums to net asset value reveals a common thread: They're all focused on maximizing income. What's interesting, though, is that they use different methods to reach the same ends. Among the three PIMCO funds, PIMCO High Income (NYSE: PHK ) looks largely to the high-yield bond market for its holdings, while PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunities (NYSE: PTY ) has a somewhat lower distribution rate but has a sizable allocation to investment-grade debt. The fund with the highest premium, PIMCO Global StocksPLUS, uses futures contracts to add stock exposure to its portfolio of income-producing bonds. Finally, BlackRock Virginia Municipal Bond rounds out the top four with its tax-free bond portfolio.
- [By Morgan Housel]
Interest rates have risen over the last month, offering a taste. Pimco High Income Fund (NYSE: PHK ) is down 10% in the last month. The Vanguard Long Term Corporate Bond Fund (NASDAQ: VCLT ) lost 4.6%. Mortgage REITS sensitive to the same interest rate risk have been pummeled; Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY ) shares are off by one-fifth over the last year.
Top Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2014: China Digital TV Holding Co. Ltd.(STV)
China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides conditional access (CA) systems to digital television markets in the People?s Republic of China. Its CA systems consist of smart cards and head-end software for television network operators, as well as terminal-end software for set-top box manufacturers, which enable digital television network operators to control the distribution of content and value-added services to their subscribers and block unauthorized access to their networks The company licenses its set-top box design to set-top box manufacturers and sells advanced digital television application software, such as electronic program guides and subscriber management systems to digital television network operators. It also provides system integration services for television network operators. China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd. sells its CA systems and digital television application software to television network operators, including cable, satell ite, and terrestrial television network operators and enterprises that maintain private cable television networks within their facilities. As of December 31, 2009, it had installed CA systems at 244 digital television network operators in 27 provinces, autonomous regions, and centrally administered municipalities in the People's Republic of China. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Garrett Cook]
In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.63 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included OpenTable (NASDAQ: OPEN), up 47 percent, and China Digital TV Holding Co (NYSE: STV), up 9 percent.
Top Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2014: LG Display Co Ltd (LPL)
LG Display Co., Ltd. (LG Display), incorporated in 1985, manufactures thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels in a range of sizes and specifications primarily for use in televisions, notebook computers and desktop monitors, and the Company is a suppliers of high-definition television panels. The Company also manufactures TFT-LCDs for other application products, such as mobile phones, certain types of tablet personal computers and industrial and other applications, including entertainment systems, automotives, portable navigation devices, e-books, digital photo displays and medical diagnostic equipment. During the year ended December 31, 2010, LG Display sold a total of 160.4 million large-size (nine-inch or larger) TFT-LCD panels. In addition to TFT-LCD panels, the Company also manufactures organic light-emitting diode (OLEDs) and flexible displays. As of March 31, 2011, the Company held a total of 15,049 patents, including 6,724 in Korea and 8,325 in other countries, including in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain and Taiwan.
In May 2010, the Company purchased the liquid crystal display module division of LG Innotek Co., Ltd. (LG Innotek), a subsidiary of LG Electronics. In June 2010, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Iriver Ltd. to establish L&I Electronic Technology (Dongguan) Ltd. in Dongguan, China. In August 2010, the Company entered into a joint venture agreement with Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. and AmTRAN Technology Co., Ltd., to establish Eralite Optoelectronics (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
As of December 31, 2010, the Company operated 12 panel fabrication facilities (five in Paju, Korea and seven in Gumi, Korea, and including expansions of certain facilities) and a total of nine module facilities (three in Nanjing, China, two in Guangzhou, China and one each in Gumi and Paju, Korea, Yantai, China and Wroclaw, Poland). In 2010, its display panels were included in products sold by LG Electronics, Appl! e, Toshiba, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Philips Electronics.
Televisions
The Company�� television panels range from 15 inches to 72-inch wide-format in size. The Company�� product portfolio includes panels of various sizes, such as 17-inch, 19-inch, 20-inch, 22-inch, 26-inch, 32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch, 47-inch and 55-inch panels.As of december 31, 2010, 32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch and 47-inch wide-format panels consists of principal products in this category in terms of sales revenue and sales volume.
Desktop Monitors
The Company�� desktop monitor display panels range from 15 inches to 30-inch wide-format in size in a variety of display resolutions and formats. In 2010, 19-inch and 21.5-inch display panels were its principal products in terms of sales revenue and sales volume in this category.
Notebook Computers
The Company�� display panels for notebook computers range from seven inches to 20.1-inch wide-format in size in a variety of display formats. In 2010, 15.6-inch, 9.7-inch and 14-inch panels were its principal products in this category.
Mobile and Other Applications
The Company�� product portfolio also includes panels for mobile and other applications, which utilize a wide array of display panel sizes, including mobile phones, certain types of tablet personal computers and industrial and other applications, including entertainment systems, automotives, portable navigation devices, e-books, digital photo displays and medical diagnostic equipment. TFT-LCD panels that are nine inches and smaller are referred to as small and medium-size panels, with those smaller than four inches being considered small-size panels. In 2010, sales of small-size panels constituted a significant majority in terms of both sales revenue and sales volume in the mobile and other applications category. Some of the panels the Company produces for industrial products, such as medical diagnostic equipment.
T! he Compan! y competes with Samsung Electronics, Samsung Mobile Display and Hydis Technologies, AU Optronics, Chimei Innolux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, HannStar, Sharp, Hitachi, TMDisplay, Mitsubishi, IPS-Alpha, SAVIC, Infovision and BOE-OT.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Steve Sechrist]
No trouble with the curve
The curved OLED screens in UHD are top-of-the-line, and LG� (NYSE: LPL ) and rival Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF ) are both expanding the line of spectacular display sets with a 65-inch and 77-inch size, respectively. LG's 77-inch television is a "bendable" version that can transform back to a flat screen when used for ambient viewing of art.�These UHD curved TVs, according to Dr. Ray Soneira of DisplayMate Labs, have marked advantages in that reduce glare and screen reflection from bright images behind the user. Curved displays "substantially" improve performance and are "no marketing gimmick," according to Soneira's technology review.�
- [By Steve Symington]
Naturally, that spooked investors in Universal Display (NASDAQ: OLED ) , the company whose technology enables nearly every OLED device on the market today. Even so, I noted that Cook's comments seemed curious at the time, especially given that recent reports claimed Apple had just hired a senior OLED technology expert away from one of its primary screen suppliers in LG Display (NYSE: LPL ) .
- [By Simon Erickson]
Organic LED televisions were one of the hottest topics at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week. LG (NYSE: LPL ) gave a sneak peek of its three new OLED sets that will hit the market in 2014 -- coming with screen sizes of 55, 65, and even 77 inches! OLED televisions are brighter, thinner, and more cost-efficient than other technologies. Watching movies at home might never be the same.
- [By Steve Symington]
Another long-term licensing deal
Next,�I think it's safe to assume a similar long-term deal will be signed in 2014 with LG Display (NYSE: LPL ) .
Top Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Iridium Communications Inc(IRDM)
Iridium Communications Inc. provides mobile voice and data communications services through satellites to businesses, the U.S. and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. It offers post-paid mobile voice and data satellite communications services; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications services; high-speed data services; machine-to-machine services for sending and receiving data from one location to other; and ancillary services, including inbound connections from the public switched telephone networks, SMS, SIM, activation, customer reactivation, and other peripheral services to commercial customers. The company also offers traditional voice, netted voice, data, messaging, and paging services, as well as maintenance services for the DoD?s dedicated gateway; and offers voice and data solutions, including personnel tracking devices; over-the-horizon aircraft communications applications; submarine communications applications; spec ialized communications solutions for high-value individuals; asset tracking devices for equipment, vehicles, and aircraft; and secure mobile communications and data devices for the military and intelligence community, such as secure satellite handsets to U.S. government customers. In addition, it manufactures and sells satellite handsets, voice and data modems, high-speed data devices, and machine-to-machine data devices. Further, the company offers accessories for its devices, including holsters, earbuds, portable auxiliary antennas, antenna adaptors, USB data cables, and charging units. Additionally, it provides engineering and support services to commercial and government customers. The company sells products and services to commercial end-users through service providers, value-added resellers, and value-added manufacturers. As of March 31, 2011, it had approximately 447,000 billable subscribers. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By John Udovich]
Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC�� Mad Money, recently touted ViaSat, Inc (NASDAQ: VSAT) as an in-flight WiFi or satellite communications related play, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of small cap in-flight WiFi provider Gogo Inc (NASDAQ: GOGO) and small cap satellite communications firm Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ: IRDM). I should mention that I have written about Gogo Inc in the past (Small Cap Gogo Inc (GOGO): Is There Turbulence Ahead? IRDM�and Is In-flight WiFi Stock Gogo, Inc. (GOGO) the Next Iridium?) and Cramer also touched on some of the differences between the in-flight wifi service offerings of both. Cramer also interviewed ViaSat, Inc�� CEO who said they had been waiting for a new satellite to ��isrupt��the market.
Top Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2014: Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc (DDE)
Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc., incorporated in December of 2001, is a premier gaming and entertainment resorts. The Company�� operations consist of: Dover Downs Casino, a 165,000-square foot casino complex featuring table games, including craps, roulette and card games, such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, 3-card and pai gow poker, the latest in slot machine offerings, multi-player electronic table games, the Crown Royal poker room, a Race & Sports Book operation, the Dover Downs' Fire & Ice Lounge, the Festival Buffet, Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, Frankie's Italian restaurant, as well as several bars, restaurants and four retail outlets; Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, a 500 room AAA Four Diamond hotel with a full-service spa/salon, conference, banquet, ballroom and concert hall facilities, and Dover Downs Raceway, a harness racing track with pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. All of its operations are located at its entertainment complex in Dover. Its two wholly owned subsidiaries include Dover Downs, Inc. and Dover Downs Gaming Management Corp.
Dover Downs Casino
The Company's casino had approximately 2,539 slot machines as of December 31, 2011. It is open for business around the clock. During the year ended December 31, 2011, that the facility was visited by approximately 2.6 million patrons. Its slot machines range from penny machines to $100 machines in the Premium Slots area and include games found in the country's major gaming jurisdictions. The Company operates with 40 tables, including blackjack, craps and roulette tables. The Crown Royal poker room has 12 poker tables. It has its Race and Sports Book operation featuring parlay sports wagering on NFL games and pari-mutuel wagering on live and simulcast horse races. Dover Downs, Inc. is authorized to conduct video lottery, sports wagering and table game operations. The Company's Capital Club, a slots players club and tracking system, allows it to identify customers and t! o reward their level of play through various marketing programs.
Dover Downs Hotel
The Company's luxury hotel facility, the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, connects to the Company's casino. The facility includes 500 rooms, including 11 luxury spa suites, a multi-purpose ballroom/concert hall, a fine dining restaurant, swimming pool and a luxurious 6,000 square-foot full-service spa. It offers a range of entertainment options to its patrons, including concerts featuring prominent entertainers, live boxing, gourmet dining, spa facilities, trade shows and conferences. During 2011, hotel occupancy averaged 90%.
Dover Downs Raceway
The Company�� Dover Downs Raceway conducts live harness races from November until April and is simulcast to more than 300 tracks and other off-track betting locations across North America on each of the Company's more than 120 live race dates. The Company's harness racing track is a 5/8-mile track that is located on DVD's property and is on the inside of its one-mile motorsports superspeedway. Additional amenities include the Winners Circle Restaurant overlooking the horse racing track. Within the Company's Race & Sports Book operation is the simulcast parlor where the patrons can wager on harness and thoroughbred races received by satellite into its facility year round from numerous tracks across North America. Television monitors throughout the area provide views of all races simultaneously and the betting windows are connected to a central computer allowing bets to be received on all races from all tracks.
The Company has an agreement with the Delaware Standardbred Owner's Association, Inc. (DSOA) effective September 1, 2010 and continuing through August 31, 2014. DSOA's membership consists of owners, trainers and drivers of harness horses participating in harness race meetings at its facilities and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. Under the DSOA agreement, the Company is required to distrib! ute as pu! rses for races conducted at its facilities a percentage of its retained share of pari-mutuel revenues.
The Company competes with Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Paul Ausick]
Stocks on the move: Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) is up 8.1% at $31.80 on reports of discussions with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) that would result in the sale of Vodafone�� 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to the controlling shareholder. Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) is up 10.8% at $1.54 after Wednesday�� launch of its online casino games that will soon be available to state residents to play for real money.
- [By Paul Ausick]
The REIT is expected to spend as much as $500 million in acquisitions in 2014, according to Barron��, and some potential acquisition targets include Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) which has a market cap of around $323 million or Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: DDE) with a market cap of around $47 million.
Top Cheapest Stocks To Watch For 2014: MiMedx Group Inc (MDXG)
MiMedx Group, Inc. (MiMedx), incorporated on February 28, 2008, is an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of regenerative biomaterial products processed from human amniotic membrane. The Company�� biomaterial platform technologies include the device technologies HydroFix and CollaFix, and tissue technologies, AmnioFix and EpiFix. Its tissue technologies are processed from human amniotic membrane that is derived from the donated placentas. Through the Company�� donor program, mothers delivering full-term caesarian births can elect in advance of delivery to donate the placenta in lieu of having it discarded as medical waste. MiMedx processes the human amniotic membrane utilizing its Purion Process to produce a manipulated implant for homologous use. MiMedx is the supplier of amniotic tissue, having supplied over 100,000 implants to distributors and other equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for application in the Wound Care, Surgical, Sports Medicine, Ophthalmic and Dental sectors of healthcare.
The Company has three platform technologies. Its largest addressable market is in chronic wound care consisting of diabetic, venous and pressure ulcers. On January 5, 2011, the Company acquired all of the outstanding equity interests in Surgical Biologics, LLC. Located in Kennesaw, Georgia, Surgical Biologics develops allografts and other products processed from human amniotic membrane that can be used for a range of medical applications, including ocular surface repair, gum repair, wound care, nerve and tendon repair, spine repair, burn treatment, and many other types of procedures that require the repair of a patient�� integumental (native) tissue. Surgical Biologics has developed a specialized process for the processing of amniotic membrane to produce a manipulated allograft for homologous use.
AmnioFix and EpiFix
MiMedx is the supplier of allografts processed from amniotic tissue, having supplied over 70,000 allografts to date for application in the Ophthalm! ic, Orthopedic, Dental, Spinal and Wound Care segments of healthcare. Its amnion products, AmnioFix and EpiFix, are processed from human tissue. The AmnioFix and EpiFix allografts can be used for a range of procedures, including ocular surface repair, gingival recession repair, wound care, burns, and many other types of procedures for the repair of a patient�� integumental (native) tissue. Its AmnioFix technology also is used as a graft to reduce the amount of scar tissue formation, provide a local anti-inflammatory and help with the soft tissue healing of the area. EpiFix offers a range of wound healing and wound care options. Much of the clinical usage of EpiFix has been for wound care patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, vein circulation ulcers, or artery circulation ulcers.
CollaFix
The Company�� CollaFix technology combines a means of creating fibers from soluble collagen and a specialized cross-linking process. MiMedx utilizes two separate cross-linking technologies for various applications. Initial laboratory and animal testing shows that the cross-linked collagen fibers produce a biocompatible, and durable construct that can be transformed into surgical meshes intended to treat a number of orthopedic soft-tissue trauma and disease disorders.
HydroFix
The Company licenses rights to a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer, which is a water-based biomaterial that can be manufactured with a range of mechanical properties, including those that appear to mimic closely the mechanical and physical properties of natural, healthy human tissue. This hydrogel has been used in other orthopedic and general surgery device applications, and it has demonstrated biocompatibility and durability inside the human body. It has a similar version of the product for the European market called HydroFix Spine Shield. The device is classified as a post-surgical adhesion inhibiting barrier and is used in specific spine surgeries. In December the original! HydroFix! Spine Shield (for Anterior use Class IIb in Europe) was renamed to be HydroFix Anterior Shield.
The Company competes with W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. and Stryker.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of MiMedx Group (NASDAQ: MDXG ) , a manufacturer of patented regenerative biomaterial products (in essence, products designed to treat inflammation and help wounds heal), were eviscerated, falling as much as 70% at one point before recovering half of its losses after it announced the receipt of an untitled letter from the Food and Drug Administration alleging it does not possess the proper licensing to manufacture certain products.