Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Buy Right Now

Best Communications Equipment Stocks To Buy Right Now: Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc (RVLT)

Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc., incorporated on December 16, 1993, designs, manufacture, market and sells commercial grade, light emitting diode (LED) replacement light bulbs and LED-based signage, channel letter and contour lighting products. The Company sells these products under the Seesmart, Array Lighting and Lumificient brand names. The Company operates in two segments: LED replacement lamps and fixtures and LED signage and lighting strips. On December 20, 2012, the Company acquired Seesmart Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Simi Valley, California. In August 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Relume Technologies (Relume). In October 2013, the Company announced that it has acquired a portfolio of general illumination LED lighting products, including several product lines from CMG Energy Solutions (CMG). In November 2013, the Company acquired Tri-State LED.

The Company's LED replacement lamps and fixtures seg ment include the Seesmart business and the Array business, which has been integrated with the Seesmart business. The LED signage and lighting strips segment is comprised of the Lumificient business.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  As you've probably heard by now, shares of LED lighting specialist Revolution Lighting  (NASDAQ: RVLT  ) popped by nearly 18% in Monday trading. But why?

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Big Earnings Movers: The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is up 2.1% at $68.58 on a good showing for its films but not so much for its TV programming. Molycorp Inc. (NYSE: MCP) is up 1.8% at $4.85 after offering a weakish outlook. Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RVLT) is up 21.5% at $3.28 after a strong report and reaffirmed solid outlook.

[By Paul Ausick]

Without making too much fuss over a small-cap stock, Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: RVLT) is seeing its share price rise by nearly 25% today after reporting results this Friday morning. Yahoo! Finance does not have any estimates for the company, but Revolution posted an operating loss of $3.1 million in the quarter, more than four times worse than its loss in the same period in 2012. Even with adjustments Revolution's operating loss totaled $1.8 million.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/best-communications-equipment-stocks-to-buy-right-now.html

Sunglasses-Wearing Bill Gross Says He’s a ‘Cool Dude,’ Forecasts 3%-5% Return

Bill Gross strode onto the stage at the Morningstar Investment Conference Wednesday wearing aviator sunglasses.

“When you’re 70 years old, you need props,” he told the audience in Chicago, before gazing at his own image on the massive screens flanking the stage and pronouncing himself “one cool dude.”

Gross, co-founder and chief investment officer of PIMCO, then raised the issue of the lambasting he has received in the press this year by recalling the tale of The Manchurian Candidate — the movie in which North Korean captors brainwash American soldiers into repeating endlessly their admiration for a heretofore disliked U.S. officer whenever they saw a red queen playing card. He jokingly said he was inviting reporters to a poker game at PIMCO, where he would produce a red queen and have them repeat “Bill Gross is the kindest, warmest, gentlest man…”

Tongue-in-cheek remonstrations of the press aside, Gross then launched into a defense of his Total Return bond fund, which he compared to a Mercedes “that delivers the ride you expect”: better returns than the index with less risk. And belying the perceptions of his negative press, that’s just what PTTRX has delivered this year, he said: higher returns than the index, before fees.

PIMCO can deliver that performance, he said, because of its belief in “template investing,” a belief shared by other great investors like GMO’s Jeremy Grantham and Berkshire’s Warren Buffett. Saying he might be “handing over the keys” to the PIMCO Mercedes, he said his template starts with a “world class, bottom-up research team” that helps build a portfolio that includes ‘Bonds Plus,’ which he called “Treasuries, but which are really corporate bonds in disguise” using interest rate futures and swaps to complement 6- to 12-month floating rate bonds.

The second part of the portfolio is bonds with intermediate maturities, including five-year Treasuries, “which have essentially delivered 30-year Treasury” returns that “roll down a positive yield curve, which is the essence of capitalism. The secret is patience.”

The third part of the portfolio template is to “employ volatility,” such as can be gained through buying 30-year mortgages despite their greater risk: “We’re willing to sleep less and perform more.”

Taken together, that template consistently adds “75 basis points in structural alpha each year.”

Moving onto the markets, Gross spent some time discussing the “New Neutral,” the PIMCO-coined term describing what the real policy rate is on fed funds by the Federal Reserve, which was the substance of his last monthly investment commentary. Since 1981, he said, “real policy rates have come down, down and now are negative.” The real rate has a “critical influence” on both stocks and bonds, but a real rate of 1% at the time of the financial crisis “broke the financial markets; cracked the economy.” However, at a 0% real rate, “bonds make sense” and “volatility is dampened.”

Now that the real rate is likely to be in negative territory, Gross says “we expect 3% to 4% returns from bonds; 4% to 5% from stocks,” and PIMCO expects “we’ll have a market where you can take measured risks.” Where will rates go in the future? Gross expects the U.K. will be “first to cut the real rate.”

He closed by thanking the audience for listening to his “late-in-life saga,” before proclaiming that “PIMCO is thriving in 2014. You’d be lucky to buy it; I have.”

---

Check out PIMCO’s Gross Cruises Into ‘New Neutral’ on ThinkAdvisor.

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top 10 Managed Healthcare Stocks To Watch Right Now: Coronado Biosciences Inc (CNDO)

Coronado Biosciences, Inc., incorporated on June 28, 2006, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy biologic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. The Companys two principal pharmaceutical product candidates in clinical development include Trichuris suis ova or CNDO-201 (TSO) a biologic comprising of the microscopic eggs of the porcine whipworm, for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as Crohns disease (Crohns), ulcerative colitis (UC) and multiple sclerosis (MS), and CNDO-109, a compound that activates natural killer (NK) cells of the immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In January 2011, the Company acquired the OvaMed GmbH License.

TSO

TSO is the microscopic eggs of a parasitic helminth, or worm, that is found in pigs. In September 2011, the Company filed an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with t he United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it initiated a single dose, dose escalation study in patients with Crohns in February 2012. The Phase 1 clinical trial was a multi-center, sequential dose-escalation, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the primary objective of which was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of TSO. The trial enrolled 36 patients with Crohns ranging in age from 20 to 54 with an equal distribution of male and female patients in three single dose cohorts of orally administered 500, 2500 and 7500 ova. Each cohort had 12 patients, with nine patients receiving TSO and three receiving placebo.

CNDO-109

CNDO-109 is a lysate (disrupted CTV-1 cells, cell membrane fragments, cell proteins and other cellular components) that activates donor NK cells. CTV-1 is a leukemic cell line recently re-classified as a T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). The Company has worldwide rights to dev! elop and commercialize CNDO-109 activated NK cells for the treatment of cancer fro! m UCLB. In February 2012, the Company submitted an IND for the CNDO-109 activated NK cell product in the United States. The treatment of patients with CNDO-109 activated NK cells involves several steps. The activated NK cells are infused into the patient after resting NK cells are incubated with CNDO-109 for at least eight hours. Preparation of CNDO-109 activated NK cells takes about 24 hours from start to finish.

The Company competes with Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.s Remicade , UCB S.A.s Cimzia, Abbott Laboratories Humira, Biogen Idecs Avonex, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Betaseron, Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd.s Copaxone and Novartis AGs Gilenya.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Coronado Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNDO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel immunotherapy biologic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer, reported that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of 2,000,000 shares of its common stock. All shares proposed to be included in the offering will be sold by the company.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  The last few weeks haven't been particularly encouraging for Crohn's disease sufferers. In August, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) and ChemoCentryx (NASDAQ:CCXI) reported that a jointly-developed Crohn's drug, vercirnon, had failed to meet its late-stage trial endpoints. Though the in-development drug isn't dead in the water (GSK and CCXI could rework the drug, the testing regimen, or use it for other indications), it doesn't look good. Then this month - just a few days ago - Coronado Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:CNDO) reported that its Phase 3 trials of Crohn's disease drug TSO had also failed to meet its primary endpoints as well. Like vercirnon, CNDO isn't completely out of luck here with the treatment, but forging ahead! with fur! ther development of the treatment is grasping at straws. Crohn's sufferers don't need to give up home just yet, however - TNI Biotech Inc. (OTCMKTS:TNIB) appears to have a Crohn's treatment that works, and should be able to sidestep the problems that pl agued ChemoCentryx, GlaxoSmithKline, and Coronado Biosciences.

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, biotechnology company Coronado Biosciences (NASDAQ: CNDO  ) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Coronado Biosciences (CNDO), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of immunotherapy biologic agents for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. This stock closed up 2.7% to $9.13 in Tuesday's trading session.

  Tuesday's Range: $8.85-$9.58
  
  52-Week Range: $4.00-$12.70
  
  Tuesday's Volume: 1.31 million
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 419,038

  From a technical perspective, CNDO trended up here right above some near-term support at $8.79 with heavy upside volume. This move is starting to push shares of CNDO within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if CNDO manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $9.60 to $10.20 and then once it takes out more resistance at $10.35 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CNDO as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $8.52 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 419,038 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CNDO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $11 to $11.81. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put its all-time high at $12.70 into range for shares of CNDO.

source from Top Penn! y Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/top-10-managed-healthcare-stocks-to-watch-right-now.html

Buyback Binge Surges to New High

U.S. companies returned a record amount of cash to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividend payouts in the first quarter, continuing a trend that has helped drive the stock market’s record-setting rally.

Stock buybacks and cash dividends reached $241.2 billion during the first three months of the year, exceeding the previous record of $233.2 billion set in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The new high is more than three times the $71.8 billion total in the second quarter of 2009, when the economy was in the early stages of recovering from the financial crisis.

The large payouts have played a prominent role in the market’s record-breaking rally. After gaining 30% last year, the S&P 500 is up more than 5% so far in 2014 and has has set 19 new highs this year.

“I expect this trend of greater shareholder return to continue throughout 2014, as activists remain strong, interest rates low, and companies awash in cash,”  said Howard Silverblatt, senior earnings analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

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Hot Restaurant Stocks To Buy Right Now

Companies particularly splurged on buybacks during the first quarter. They bought back $159.3 billion worth of stock during the first three months of 2014, up 59% from a year ago and a 23% increase from the fourth quarter.

Apple Inc.(AAPL), International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) and Exxon Mobil Corp.(XOM) spent the most on buybacks in the period. Apple repurchased $18 billion worth of stock, while IBM bought back $8.2 billion of its stock and Exxon repurchased $3.9 billion of stock. Five of the top 10 companies that implemented the biggest buybacks hailed from the tech sector, including Cisco Systems Inc.(CSCO), Oracle Corp.(ORCL) and Corning Inc.(GLW)

Buybacks increase a company’s earnings per share by reducing the supply of stock, making each share more valuable. For instance in 1993 IBM had 2.3 billion shares outstanding. Today, it has about 1 billion. The stock is up more than 900% in that time frame.

“Keeping up with the current bull market means that companies have to pay more for the same number of shares, and activists are demanding more of a return, both via dividends and buybacks," Mr. Silverblatt said. “For buybacks the true test is share count reduction, and we are seeing more companies achieve share count reduction as they increase their [earnings per share].”

Many investors have warmed to strategies that invest in companies boosting their payouts. The S&P 500 Buyback Index, which measures the 100 stocks with the highest buyback ratios, has rallied 24% over the past 12 months, compared to the broad S&P 500′s 18% gain over that same time frame.

But the rally has slowed in recent months. Since Jan. 1, the Buyback Index is up 4.7%, underperforming the S&P 500′s 5.1% gain.

Critics say companies would be better off deploying their capital in other ways, such as boosting hiring, investing in research and development or making deals. Companies also have a history of buying back shares at the wrong time. At the end of 2007, buyback activity was near record levels just as stocks were in the early stages of a precipitous drop.

“The key question for the second quarter is did they do it to boost a poor first-quarter earnings period that was impacted by weather conditions,” Mr. Silverblatt says, “or was it a shift towards more enhanced earnings via share count reduction, similar to what we experienced in 2006 and 2007?”

Is This MannKind's Biggest Risk?

Shares of clinical-stage biotech MannKind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD  ) have skyrocketed by 51% over the past month, catalyzed by a positive Advisory Committee vote for the company's inhaled insulin product, Afrezza. Since then, a contentious debate has broken out between bulls and bears on whether this rally is driven by fundamentals or emotional speculators. 

MNKD data by YCharts

The bull thesis centers on a large and growing diabetes market that already sports two megablockbuster insulin products by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.

By contrast, the short thesis primarily revolves around Afrezza's potential market share and its use in the real world. Namely, shorts are suggesting that Afrezza will be relegated to a specialty niche within the diabetes market, falling well short of blockbuster status as a result. 

Whether you are a bull or a bear, I think there is an even more critical risk factor for MannKind's growth prospects that is only now starting to be fully appreciated. 

MannKind's partnership could be a defining moment for the company
MannKind's management has repeatedly stated that it plans on partnering for Afrezza because the drug will require a substantial sales force to market properly and an educational effort to communicate the benefits of the product to medical professionals.

And by its own admission, MannKind presently does not have the cash to launch this product on their own at this time. In fact, MannKind's management has stated that they only have enough cash on hand to get through Afrezza's target Prescription Drug Fee User Act date of July 15. 

Although we've heard that MannKind is in ongoing discussions with potential partners, I think there are some key issues investors should consider going forward. First and foremost is the issue of how a partnership would be structured.

The problem is that MannKind's dwindling cash position puts it in a position of weakness at the negotiating table. Simply put, large pharmas know that MannKind would have to resort to major dilutive financing in order to market the product alone at this point, and this issue will likely be used as leverage when putting together a deal. Indeed, this is why many developmental biotechs try to get a deal done during the research phase if they are bent on partnering.

What might a deal look like?
I don't think it's a secret that MannKind needs and wants the deal to be front loaded with milestone payments -- and a double-digit royalty base would be nice as well. If they are unable to get a hefty milestone payment upfront, for example, they will have to raise additional funds to continue their operations without an interruption.

Large pharmas with extensive experience in the diabetes market, however, may not be willing to give MannKind what it desires. Besides the fact that MannKind is in a position of weakness from a financial standpoint, I don't believe the industry is sold on the commercial potential of an inhaled insulin for a few reasons.

First off, I suspect this is the case because large pharmas haven't pursued their own inhaled products since the Exubera calamity that cost Pfizer $2.8 billion. Second, we haven't seen any interest from the industry in terms of either a possible takeover or a even a partnership with MannKind. 

The bottom line is that a deal at this point would probably focus more on sales targets for Afrezza and may not include milestone payments for development. Deals that include milestone payments for regulatory and clinical achievements are usually signed prior to approval, not after. And this issue may be the reason why MannKind hasn't accepted an offer from one of its negotiating partners as of yet.   

Foolish wrap-up
MannKind shareholders have been handsomely rewarded by their faith in the company so far. The key issue going forward, however, is likely to be the details of a partnership. Perhaps we'll see another twist to this tale with a lucrative partnership or maybe we'll see the company decide a go-it-alone approach is best. Nonetheless, until the details of Afrezza's commercialization are known, I think it's difficult to properly assess the company's value moving forward.   

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Hang up if a caller claims to be from the IRS

One Grand Blanc woman was so terrified by a supposed call from the IRS demanding money that she drove immediately to the bank while the aggressive caller remained on the cell phone.

But the frightened woman slyly handed the teller a note that said "Robbery in Progress."

The police arrived at the bank, according to Grand Blanc Detective Steve Hatfield, because the teller thought that's who she needed to call.

Once the scam was explained, the police officer then actually talked to the guy on the cell, Hatfield said. But the brazen con artist caller threatened to lock up the police officer if he didn't pay the back-due taxes.

Susan Tompor:Did your cell phone ring just once? Do not call back

Susan Tompor: Better Business Bureau program guards against scams that target seniors

We're looking at one whacked out tax-time telephone scam here. But it's a scam that's growing to be more pervasive, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The IRS wants to make it clear that the IRS is not calling and demanding that anyone put money on a GreenDot card or other prepaid card, suggesting that you give the IRS your credit card number over the phone. Do not believe anyone who demands that you wire the IRS money, either.

And no, you're not going to lose your driver's license if you don't pay up.

"They're calling people up and telling them they're the IRS and threatening them," said Cindy Burnett, special agent and public information officer for the Department of Treasury IRS criminal investigation office in Traverse City.

The IRS said scammers have called taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.

"They're hitting Michigan really hard," Burnett said.

Burnett heard of one case where a caller running a scam told a Michigan resident to pay the IRS by bringing a money order to a local gas station where the "IRS" would supposedly meet them.

One Troy resident received a morning call on Feb. 4 claiming to be from the IRS. The caller demanded that ! the man pay up and put $4,286.49 on a GreenDot prepaid card. The man left home to get the money but his wife was suspicious and called the Troy police. Once he was alerted about the scam, the man didn't buy the prepaid card or send any money.

The Grand Blanc Police Department received two other complaints in the past month or so about this scam, Hatfield said.

In late January, Hatfield said, one woman did end up sending about $3,500 via GreenDot prepaid cards for supposedly back-due taxes that her husband owed. The money was lost to fraudsters.

"It's gone," Hatfield said.

The IRS put out an earlier warning on this scam in the fall last year. But the scammers are making these calls now and the calls are likely to heat up as we move closer to the tax deadline April 15.

Some tell-tale signs of the scam: The scammers are targeting seniors or recent immigrants. The caller says the person owes money to the IRS and demands to be paid promptly. The taxpayer is told to go to the store to load cash onto a prepaid debit card or wire the cash. The person who buys a prepaid card may be asked to read the numbers over the phone so the money is immediately available to the con artist.

MORE: IRS releases 'Dirty Dozen' tax scams for 2014

Once money is put on a prepaid card or wired, it's harder to track the con artists, who could be overseas.

Other signs: Caller ID might show an IRS number but that number is being spoofed and it's not a real IRS call. The scammers may give a fake name and a fake IRS badge number to sound more authentic.

And the fake IRS callers act like they have your file right there.

"The thing that's really terrifying is they have the last four digits of your Social Security number. They know your name," said Luis D. Garcia, a spokesman for the IRS in Detroit.

MORE: Poor IRS customer service hurts taxpayers

Some callers are extremely intimidating, too.

"They become verbally abusive. They use foul language. You're not going! to get t! hat from the IRS," Garcia said.

If you hang up, it's even possible you'd receive another call that might look like its from it's from the local police or the Secretary of State and involve someone threatening to revoke a driver's license or business license. Again, that's a follow up scam call that's designed to convince you to wire money.

The first IRS contact with taxpayers on a legitimate tax issue is likely to take place via a letter sent in the regular mail, not e-mail or a phone call.

Contact the IRS directly if you believe you have a tax issue at 800-829-1040.

Contact Tompor at stompor@freepress.com

Cliffs Natural Resources: Do the Right Thing

Last week, Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) made changes. Big changes. Very big changes. Huge changes.

AFP Photo/Rio Tinto

Cliffs Natural Resources appointed a new CEO; it cut costs; it postponed its expansion of Bloom Lake; it even beat earnings for the fourth consecutive quarter. It still might not be enough, say Wells Fargo’s Sam Dubinsky and Amir Chaudhri. They write:

Cliffs Natural Resources reported upside to Q4 earnings, but the main focus for shares is the new CEO implementing cost cuts ahead of what could be a challenging iron ore backdrop. While we believe management is making the right movies (particularly the discontinuation of Bloom Lake Phase II in Canada), we remain cautious on shares due to our bearish outlook on iron ore pricing, in addition to customer specific risk (Essar has poor liquidity).

While we believe management is doing everything in its control to improve operations, our cautious stance on iron ore and Essar concerns are hold ups. Should iron ore prices improve on greater China growth, we could turn more positive.

Shares of Cliffs Natural Resources have dropped 1% to $22.92 today at 3:14 p.m., even as base-metal giants BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) gain. BHP Billiton is up 2.8% to $70.20 after beating earnings forecasts, while Rio Tinto has advanced 1.7%. Vale (VALE) has dropped 1.2% to $14.48.

Top Diversified Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now

Top Diversified Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: WEX Inc (WEX)

WEX Inc., formerly Wright Express Corporation, incorporated on June 18, 1999, is a provider of corporate card payment solutions. The Company operates in two segments: Fleet Payment Solutions and Other Payment Solutions. The Fleet Payment Solutions segment provides customers with fleet vehicle payment processing services specifically designed for the needs of commercial and government fleets. The Other Payment Solutions segment provides customers with payment processing solutions for their corporate purchasing and transaction monitoring needs through the Company's payment products. The Company's United States operations include WEX Inc., and the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries Fleet One, WEX Bank, rapid! PayCard, and Pacific Pride. On October 4, 2012, the Company acquired Fleet One. On August 30, 2012, the Company acquired a 51 % controlling interest in UNIK S.A. On May 11, 2012, the Company acquired CorporatePay Limited.

The Company's virtual card is used for transactions where no card is presented, including, for example, transactions conducted over the telephone, by mail, by fax or on the Internet. The Company's virtual card also can be used for transactions that require pre-authorization, such as hotel reservations. The rapid! PayCard product, a pre-paid payroll card, provides a paycard benefit and ePayroll program designed for employers choosing to convert to electronic delivery of payroll in the United States, replacing paper employee payroll checks. The Company also has several other product offerings, including corporate purchase cards and pre-paid and gift cards.

Fleet Payment Solutions

The Company's closed-loop fuel networks afford the Company access to a higher level of fleet-specific information and control than is widely available on open-loop networks. This allows the Company to improve and refine the information reporting the Company provides to its fleet customers a! nd strategic relatio nships. The Company offers a differentiated set of products ! and services, including security and purchases controls, to allow its customers and the customers of its strategic relationships to better manage their vehicle fleets. The Company provides customized analysis and reporting on the efficiency of fleet vehicles and the purchasing behavior of fleet vehicle drivers. The Company's software facilitates the collection of information and affords the Company a high level of control and flexibility in allowing fleets to restrict purchases and receive automated alerts.

Other Payment Solutions

The Company's virtual products offer corporate customers enhanced security and control for payment needs. The Company's strategic relationships include three of the United States based online travel agencies. The Company's operations in the United Kingdom provide corporate prepaid solutions to the travel industry. In addition, the Company offers virtual products in the insurance/warranty and healthcare markets in the Unite d States. The Company offers paycard products in the United States and Brazil. These products include payroll cards which are used to replace paper payroll checks.

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 WEX (NYSE: WEX  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  WEX (NYSE: WEX  ) reported earnings on May 1. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), WEX met expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

source from Top ! Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-diversified-bank-companies-to-watch-in-right-now.html

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Top 10 Casino Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Monarch Casino & Resort Inc (MCRI)

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Monarch), incorporated in 1993, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc. (Golden Road), owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa(the Atlantis), a hotel/casino facility in Reno, Nevada. Monarch's other wholly owned subsidiaries, High Desert Sunshine, Inc. (High Desert) and Golden North, Inc. (Golden North), each own separate parcels of land located adjacent to the Atlantis. The Company owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, which is located approximately three miles south of downtown in the area of Reno, Nevada. The Atlantis features approximately 61,000 square feet of casino space; a hotel with 824 guest rooms and suites; ten food outlets; an enclosed year-round pool with waterfall; an outdoor pool; a health spa; two retail outlets offering clothing and resort gift shop merchandise; a full service salon for men and women; an 8,000 square-foot family entertainment center; and approximately 52,000 sq uare feet of banquet, convention and meeting room space. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired 1.5 acre parcel of developable land contiguous to the Riviera Black Hawk Casino.

In April 2012, it acquired Riviera Black Hawk, Inc.

The Atlantis Casino offers approximately 1,450 slot and video poker machines; approximately 39 table games, including blackjack, craps, roulette and others; a race and sports book; keno and a poker room. The Atlantis includes three contiguous high-rise hotel towers with 824 rooms and suites. The Atlantis includes three contiguous high-rise hotel towers with a total of 824 rooms and suites. The first of the three hotel towers contains 160 rooms and suites in 13 stories. The 19-story second hotel tower contains 278 rooms and suites. The third tower contains 386 rooms and suites in 28 stor! ies.

The Atlantis hotel rooms feature designs and furnishings consistent with the Northern Nevada market, as we ll as nine-foot ceilings (most standard hotel rooms have eig! ht-foot ceilings), which create an open and spacious feel. The third hotel tower features a four-story waterfall with an adjacent year-round swimming pool in a climate controlled, five-story glass enclosure, which shares an outdoor third floor pool deck with a seasonal outdoor swimming pool and year round whirlpool. A full-service salon (the Salon at Atlantis) overlooks the third floor sundeck and outdoor seasonal swimming pool and offers salon-grade products and treatments for hair, nails, skincare and body services for both men and women. A health spa is located adjacent to the swimming areas, which offers treatments and amenities. The hotel rooms on the spa floor are designated as spa rooms and feature decor that is themed consistent with the spa. Certain spa treatments are also available in spa floor hotel rooms. The hotel also features glass elevators rising the full 19 and 28 stories, of the respective towers providing views of the Reno area and the Sierra Nevada mount ain range.

The Atlantis has eight restaurants, two gourmet coffee bars and one snack bar. It includes 160-seat Atlantis Steakhouse gourmet restaurant; the 200-seat upscale Bistro Napa featuring a centrally located wine cellar; the Oyster Bar restaurant in the Sky Terrace offering fresh seafood, soups and bisques made to order; the Sushi Bar, also in the Sky Terrace, offering a variety of fresh raw and cooked sushi specialties, including all-you-can-eat lunch and dinner selections. The Oyster Bar and Sushi Bar can accommodate up to 139 guests; The 178-seat 24-hour Purple Parrot coffee shop; the 122-seat Cafe Alfresco restaurant serving a full menu, pizzas prepared in a wood-fired, brick oven and a variety of gelato deserts; the 170-seat Manhattan Deli restaurant specializing in piled-high sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts; two go! urmet cof! fee bars, offering specialty coffee drinks, pastries and desserts made fresh daily in the Atlantis bakery; a snack bar and soda fountain serving ice cream and arcade-style refreshmen! ts.

The Sky Terrace is a structure with a diamond-shaped, blue glass body suspended approximately 55 feet, and spanning 160 feet across, South Virginia Street. The Sky Terrace connects the Atlantis with additional parking on its 16-acre site across South Virginia Street from the Atlantis. The structure rests at each end on two 100-foot tall Grecian columns with no intermediate support pillars. The interior of the Sky Terrace contains the Oyster Bar, the Sushi Bar, a video poker bar, banks of slot machines and a lounge area with oversized leather sofas and chairs.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea] ong>Risks and Valuation

  Although the Chinese government will maintain its gambling restrictions in the mainland over the next decade, Sand Corp's market share and leverage in fixed costs will continue to riel in strong revenue growth from this region. Fiscal 2013 marked a 24.80% revenue increase ($13.8 billion) and operating margins continue to expand at the same pace. Despite the inherent risk of an economic slowdown in Asia or a recession in the U.S., which could put a halt to leisure spending, the company is well prepared to balance out any short-term losses. The casino operator's EBITDA growth of 65.30%, for example, is an impressive result when compared to the industry's average of 4.90%.

  Looking forward, earnings per share are expected to continue their fast-paced upward trend, having jumped from $1.56 in 2011 to $2.79 at the end of fiscal 2013. The 21.6% return on equity, as well as 1.80% dividend yield should also be attractive to shareholders and future investors. Although Las Vegas Sand Corp is currently trading at a 24% price premium relative to the industry average of 22.60x trailing earnings, I feel very bullish about this firm's long term ! profitabi! lity, given its strong market position in Asia.

  Disclosure: Vanina Egea holds no position in any stocks mentioned.

  
  Also check out: Andreas Halvorsen Undervalued Stocks Andreas Halvorsen Top Growth Companies Andreas Halvorsen High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Andreas Halvorsen keeps buying
  About the author:Vanina EgeaA fundamental analyst at Lone Tree Analytics

  Visit Vanina Egea's Website

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Monarch Casino & Resort (MCRI) fell 15% to $18.71 after revenue missed forecasts today.

  Stamps.com (STMP) fell 6.2% today ahead of its earnings results. It beat earnings after the close today.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-10-casino-stocks-to-invest-in-right-now-3.html

A Festival Lets You Eat, Drink, Floss with Bacon

Wayne Parry/APA BLT made with an entire pound of bacon on display at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Get ready for bacon like you've never eaten, drunk or worn it before. Bacon milkshakes. Chocolate-covered bacon shaped like roses. Bacon-flavored toothpaste, dental floss and lip balm. Bacon bourbon, margaritas, beer and vodka. Bacon ice cream sundaes. A BLT sandwich with a full pound of bacon. They're all on the menu this week as one Atlantic City casino stretches the bounds of good taste and cardiovascular health with Bacon Week. The festival at the Tropicana Casino and Resort gives new meaning to the term "pigging out." The idea of a bacon festival is not as far-fetched as it might sound. Americans eat about 1.5 billion pounds of bacon a year, according to the National Pork Board. And the website bacontoday.com counted nearly 30 bacon festivals around the country from late April through December 2013, many of whose tickets sold out in minutes. "Bacon is like heaven," said Nadina Fornia, of Egg Harbor Township. "If you're going to die, die with bacon on your lips and a BLT in each hand." She was drawn to the casino Monday by the promise of bacon in far-out forms, including milkshakes and beer (not in the same glass, thankfully.) She also heard about the bacon-infused vodka. "That is my quest today," she said. Fornia tried a bacon bloody Mary mixed with a smoky bacon beer. Despite the overwhelming salty taste and the small strip of bacon floating in the glass, it tasted mostly like sharp tomato juice, she said. Nearby were chocolate covered pretzels with crumbled bacon bits; chocolate-drizzled potato chips with bacon, two kinds of pasta dishes with bacon, bacon cupcakes, and bacon wrapped around a fake green stem to form roses, which were then dipped in chocolate. "The first taste is chocolatey, then it's all bacon," said Melissa Ehrke, of Egg Harbor Township. "I was a little surprised I liked it, 'cause I was afraid to try it. It's that whole sweet and salty thing." While bacon-flavored grooming items are sold at festivals around the nation, they were encountering some skepticism at the Tropicana this week. "There are people that are just crazy for bacon," said Denise McGrath, of Neptune City. "But bacon toothpaste or floss? I'm not that crazy." James Sanders, of New York City, was in heaven trying as many free samples of bacon-flavored items as he could get his hands on. "I love me some bacon!" he exclaimed between bites of ... something. "I don't even know what this is, but it's got bacon in it. And it's good!" Sanders said eating bacon is a multilayered experience. "You keep chewing it and chewing it, and the flavor comes out the more you chew on it," he said. "And then you get to the fat and that floods into your mouth. I just love it." Carrie Jorgenson and her husband, Mike, were downing the bacon bloody Mary beer concoctions, while channeling celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.

Stocks: Dow up 1% after drop in jobless claims

Stocks are higher Thursday as a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims last week gave Wall Street hope that tomorrow's January employment report will come in strong enough to quell fears of an economic slowdown.

The Dow is on track for its best point gain of 2014.

In afternoon trading the Dow Jones industrial average is up 138 points -- 0.9% -- to 15,577. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is 0.9% higher at 1,767 and the Nasdaq composite 0.9% higher at 4,048. U.S. stocks struggled to gain traction and closed lower Wednesday as turbulence in emerging markets and the negative impact of bad winter weather on the economy gave investors pause.

Amid individual stocks, Twitter shares are down more than 20%. The micro-blogging service beat revenue projections when it released its corporate earnings report Wednesday, but Wall Street was not impressed with its weaker-than-expected user growth numbers.

European benchmarks put in a solid performance Thursday with regional bourses in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain all up around 1.5% or more. In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 0.2% to 14,155.12.

PRODUCTIVITY: Grows at 3.2% rate

MORTGAGE RATES: 30-year falls to 4.23%

Shares of Coca-Cola and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters were also up sharply after Coke took a 10% stake in Green Mountain in a move centered around partnering on an in-home cold-beverage-maker system. Coke shares were up 1.3% to $38.08 and Green Mountain shares soared more than 27% to $102.93.

Wall Street is dealing with a lot of cross-currents early this year, including a drop of nearly 6% at one point for the S&P 500 that has raised fears that the broad market gauge was in danger of suffering its first 10% drop, or correction, since 2011. While the index hasn't fallen that much, more than half of the stocks in the index are down more than 10% from their highs, a statistic that shows just how broad the downturn has been.

The number of Americans fili! ng for first-time unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 331,000 in the past week, which was better than the 335,000 first-time claims Wall Street was expecting.

TRADE DEFICIT: Widens to $38.7B

JOBLESS CLAIMS: Decline signals few layoffs

WEDNESDAY: Markets finish session slightly lower

The upbeat outlook for jobs has taken a little bit of the fear factor out of the market. A closely watched Wall Street "fear gauge," known as the VIX, fell 10% Thursday. Similarly, the safe-haven rush to U.S. government bonds cooled. The price of the 10-year Treasury fell, and the yield, which moves in the other direction, rose to 2.7%, up from 2.67% Wednesday and well above Monday's three-month low of 2.58%

Investors were also digesting meetings by the European Central Bank and Bank of England Thursday, as well as a U.S. report on non-farm payrolls for January on Friday. Both the ECB and the BOE kept interest rates on hold and also made no changes to their bond-buying programs.

Benchmark U.S. oil for March delivery rose 14 cents to $97.52 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 19 cents to close at $97.38 Wednesday.

FIRST TAKE: Sometimes financials aren't enough

How to Profit From an IPO Even When You Can't Buy the IPO

Alamy Shares of an initial public offering in a hot company are practically the holy grail for most investors. The opportunity to get into a stock on the ground floor before the general public has an opportunity to buy in can be a fast way to make a profit. Unfortunately, IPO shares are usually allotted only to large investment firms or their select high-net-worth clients. There is, however, a way in which you can still ride the wave of a highly anticipated IPO in order to make some money. When it comes to investing, much of Wall Street has a herd mentality. Just as different TV networks look to the most popular shows on rival networks, then try to produce more shows in the hot genres, investment managers who see a company doing well will look for other companies in that sector to invest in. For example, if Facebook is hot, investment money will flow into other social media companies like Twitter or LinkedIn, and in the process drive all their share prices higher. This effect isn't limited to public companies; it also exists between companies in the same sector, even if some are public and others are private. A strategy that takes advantage of this can often give you an edge in your investing. Take for instance HomeAway, which trades under the ticker symbol AWAY. HomeAway connects landlords and renters, helping to facilitate short-term vacation rentals in the United States and internationally. Fundamentally, it's a sound company riding a growing tech trend, with rising EPS and revenue estimates, as well as a history of beating analysts' expectations. These factors alone would make it a worthy candidate to consider investing in, but if you dig a little bit more, you'll find another potential ace-in-the-hole. That ace is called Airbnb. Airbnb is the premier company in the online rental game -- the same sector that HomeAway occupies -- but it's a private company. You can't invest in it yet. However, it's expected that Airbnb will launch an IPO late in 2014, with a valuation of over $10 billion. Here's where that herd mentality comes into play. As investors' attention is drawn to a hot IPO, capital tends to flow to its publicly traded competitors; in essence, they become a proxy for the better private company. So even though Airbnb may be the better of these two companies, HomeAway's stock should still go up as anticipation of Airbnb's IPO rises. Of course, there are no guarantees, and what happens in the overall market will probably play a bigger role in HomeAway's share performance than the Airbnb IPO. But now that you know how this symbiotic relationship works, you can use it find other examples -- and profit from them as well.

All eyes on the Fed this week

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The biggest thing on investors' minds lately are interest rates, and this week offers a peek into where they're heading.

Most investors expect rates to rise in 2015. An increase before that could rattle markets or even stunt economic growth, but waiting too long to raise rates could cause bubbles. It's a tough call.

The Federal Reserve's Open Markets Committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday, and Fed chief Janet Yellen will speak afterward at a press conference. Nobody thinks the Fed will change much at this meeting, so all eyes are on the future. It's all about what Yellen has to say and connecting the dots.

Reading between the dots: The economic version of a straw poll is the dot plot. Every quarter, members of the Fed board place their vote -- a dot -- on where they expect the key interest rate to be at the end of 2014, the end of 2015 and the end of 2016.

It's like catnip for policy nerds. But it's taken on a lot of significance recently because it's a good indicator of whether rates could rise by the end of the year. In the last dot plot, all the dots for December 2014 were on 0.25% -- the current interest rate -- except for one dot on 1%

"I think that'll be a new parlor game, figuring out the dots," said John Canally, investment strategist at LPL Financial.

The more important thing for investors to watch, he said, is Yellen's tone during her press conference, which has tremendous sway on the markets. In March the stock market freaked out when she off-handedly said the Fed might raise rates six months or so after the end of its bond-buying program is over.

Lately, Yellen has mastered the art of subtlety, but everyone will be looking for hints.

Will inflation surprise? Unemployment is 6.3%, still a fair amount higher than the 5.5% target the Fed has for "full employment". The other key indicator is inflation, and the latest data on that comes out Tuesday. Analysts expect the rate to fall from 2% to 1.8% annually. The Fed considers 2% the Goldilocks point for the economy.

"If anything, what might surprise investors is the Fed expressing concern about the recovery's underlying strength," said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Because stocks are near all-time highs and bond yields remain low, any unexpectedly ! early changes in rates would likely cause a drop in stock prices and a rush into treasuries as bond investors flee to safer assets. Although the market knows low rates can't continue forever, timing is a big deal.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney added to the angst last week when he warned that the U.K. is likely to raise interest rates sooner than the markets expect. Unemployment is still elevated in the UK, and inflation is just under the central bank's target, but the country has red-hot housing bubble.

Earnings: Four big names are reporting next week: Shipping giant FedEx (FDX), gun maker Smith & Wesson (SWHC), tech giant Oracle (ORCL, Tech30) and BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30).

Since shipping plays a role in many industries, FedEx's earnings are seen as an indicator of the rest of the economy. Many are forecasting increased sales and profits.

Although gun sales are hot, analysts think Smith & Wesson's will fare well but not as stellar as last year. Wall Street thinks Oracle is going to be showing better profits and sales based on more businesses signing up to license its software. As for Blackberry, it's still sour. Expectations are that losses will double as the company continues to hemorrhage users.

International Unrest: Iraq and Ukraine are back in the headlines.

Iraq is under siege from a group of insurgents seeking to set up an Islamist state within the country, and they're knocking on Baghdad's door.

Hot Oil Service Stocks For 2015

President Barack Obama said Friday that the U.S. would not be sending in troops, although he did say America would offer assistance if asked through other channels. Oil prices were up 4% last week, and gold is also on the rise.

The ongoing Uk! raine con! flict has also weighed on global markets. The World Bank lowered its global growth projections last week, citing in part the trouble in the country's eastern region as the reason why.