After falling nearly 100 points for no apparent reason yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) is currently retaking most of the lost ground despite worse-than-expected weekly jobless claims and a disappointing first-quarter GDP estimate. With about an hour left in the trading session, the blue-chip index is up by 90 points, or 0.59%.
Investors were reminded this morning that while the unemployment situation is improving, it's doing so in fits and starts. According to data released by the Department of Labor today, the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance increased last week by 10,000 to 354,000. On the face of it, this is unquestionably bad news. At the same time, however, given that it only covers a one-week time period, its susceptibility to variation is high.
Also out today were revised figures on the nation's first-quarter GDP. For the three months ended March 31, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that domestic output expanded at an annualized rate of 2.4%. While this was lower than the BEA's previous estimate of 2.5% and also came up slightly short of the consensus forecast, there were a number of positive signs. Among others, both consumer spending and international trade are headed in the right direction, offset in part by a reduction in government expenditures.
Top Beverage Stocks To Watch Right Now: Herbalife Ltd (HLF)
Herbalife Ltd., incorporated on April 4, 2002, is a global network marketing company that sells weight management, nutritional supplements, energy, sports and fitness products and personal care products through a network of approximately 2.7 million independent distributors, except in China, where the Company sells its products through retail stores. The Company is a network marketing company that sells a range of weight management products, nutritional supplements and personal care products. As of December 31, 2011, the Company sold products in 79 countries throughout the world. Herbalife�� products are grouped in four principal categories: weight management, targeted nutrition, energy, sports and fitness and Outer Nutrition, along with literature and promotional items. The Company�� generates revenue from its six regions: North America, Mexico, South and Central America; EMEA, which consists of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific (excluding China), and China. On December 31, 2012, the Company acquired a manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The Company�� products are manufactured by third party providers and by the Company in its Suzhou, China facility and in its manufacturing facility located in Lake Forest, California, and then are sold to independent distributors who sell Herbalife products to retail consumers or other distributors. As of December 31, 2011, Herbalife marketed and sold 138 products encompassing over 4,400 stock keeping units (SKUs) through its distributors.
Weight Management
Weight Management is the Company�� largest product category representing 62.5% of its net sales during the year ended December 31, 2011. Formula 1, its product, is a healthy meal with soy protein, essential vitamins, minerals, herbs and nutrients that is available in seven flavors and can help support weight management. Personalized Protein Powder is a soy and whey protein product designed as a boost to Formula 1 to personalize a pe! rson�� daily protein intake to help achieve their desired weight and shape. Weight-loss enhancers, including Herbal Tea Concentrate, Total Control and Prolessa Duo address specific challenges associated with dieting, such as lack of energy, hunger and food craving, fluid retention, decreased metabolism and digestive challenges, by building energy, boosting metabolism, curbing appetite and helping to promote weight loss. Healthy snacks are formulated to provide between-meal nutrition and appetite satisfaction.
Targeted Nutrition
Herbalife markets numerous dietary and nutritional supplements designed to meet its customers��specific nutritional needs. Each of these supplements contains botanicals, vitamins, minerals and other natural ingredients and focuses on specific life stages of its customers, including women, men, children and those with health concerns, including heart health, healthy aging, digestive health, or immune solutions. Niteworks is a product that supports energy, circulatory and vascular health and enhances blood flow to the heart, brain and other vital organs. Garden 7 is designed to provide the phytonutrient benefits of seven servings of fruits and vegetables and has anti-oxidant and health-boosting properties. Best Defense is an effervescent drink that helps boost immunity. In 2011, the Company expanded distribution of its Active Fiber line by introducing its Apple flavored Active Fiber Complex in the South and Central America region.
Energy, Sports and Fitness
Herbalife entered into the energy drink with the introduction of Liftoff, an energy drink containing a blend of B-vitamins, guarana, ginseng, ginkgo and caffeine to increase energy and improve mental clarity for better performance throughout the day. It launched H3Otm Fitness Drink to provide hydration, sustained muscle energy plus antioxidant protection for people living a healthy, active lifestyle. It also introduced H30 Pro in EMEA to provide an isotonic drink to indivi! duals par! ticipating in high activity sports.
Outer Nutrition
The Company�� Outer Nutrition products complement its weight management and targeted nutrition products and aim to improve the appearance of the body, skin and hair. These products include skin cleansers, toners, moisturizers and facial masks, shampoos and conditioners, body-wash items and a selection of fragrances for men and women. Its Herbal Aloe line is its introductory line providing distributors with cleansers, lotions and soaps that help sooth the skin. NouriFusion Multivitamin skin care products are formulated with antioxidant Vitamins A, C and E. It launched a line of anti-aging products as an extension of its Skin Activator product, an advanced face cream that contains a collagen-building Glucosamine Complex to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It also launched a number of regional products including a Soft Green Body Care line in Brazil, the Whitening Serum under the NouriFusion brand in the Asia Pacific region, and the Lively Fragrances perfume line.
Literature, Promotional and Other Products
Herbalife also sells literature and promotional materials, including sales aids, informational audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs (CDs) and digital versatile discs (DVDs) designed to support its distributors��marketing efforts, as well as start-up kits called International Business Packs for new distributors. It introduced BizWorks, a customizable retail Website for its distributors to enhance the on-line experience.
The Company competes with NuSkin Enterprises, Nature�� Sunshine, Alticor/Amway, Melaleuca, Avon Products, Oriflame, Tupperware and Mary Kay, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, General Nutrition Centers and Wal-Mart.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Teresa Rivas]
Shares of Herbalife (HLF) were falling more than 4% in morning trading, after news late Monday that the New York attorney general is investigating the company.
Anonymous sources told The New York Post that Eric Schneiderman–much like the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Justice Department–is looking into allegations that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme, based on testimony from at least two whistleblowers.
The sources also note that Schneiderman�� office has received complaints from former Hispanic Herbalife distributors who claim that the company defrauded them.
Herbalife�� Tuesday slide erases nearly all of the gains it clawed back yesterday, as the stock sold off heavily on Friday when news broke of the federal investigations.
At recent check, Nu Skin�(NUS) and Usana Health Sciences�(USNA) were also trading down.
10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy Right Now: NAPCO Security Technologies Inc.(NSSC)
Napco Security Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells security products for intrusion, fire, video, wireless, access control, and door locking systems. The company offers intrusion and fire alarms, building access control systems, and electronic locking devices for commercial, residential, institutional, industrial, and governmental applications. Its access control systems comprise identification readers, control panel, personal computer-based computer, and electronically activated door-locking devices; alarm systems include automatic communicators, control panels, combination control panels/digital communicators and digital keypad systems, door security devices, fire alarm control panels, and area detectors; and video surveillance systems consists of video cameras, control panel, and video monitor or personal computer. The company also markets peripheral and related equipment manufactured by other companies. It sells and markets its pro ducts to independent distributors, dealers, and installers of security equipment worldwide. The company was formerly known as NAPCO Security Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Napco Security Technologies, Inc. in January 2009. Napco Security Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Amityville, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Powell]
A more speculative idea, and a companion stock to ADT, I recommend Napco Security Technologies (NSSC). The company supplies security systems, primarily to commercial, institutional, industrial, and government customers.
10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Harris Corporation (HRS)
Harris Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a communications and information technology company that serves government and commercial markets worldwide. It operates in three segments: RF Communications, Government Communications Systems, and Broadcast Communications. The RF Communications segment designs, develops, and manufactures secure radio communications products and systems for manpack, handheld, soldier-worn, vehicular, strategic fixed-site, and shipboard applications that operate in various radio frequency bands. It also offers products and solutions ranging from wireless network infrastructure solutions to portable and mobile single-band and multiband radios, and public safety-grade broadband video and data solutions for the public safety, federal, utility, commercial, and transportation markets. The Government Communications Systems segment develops, supplies, and integrates communications and information processing products, systems, and netw orks for aerospace, terrestrial, and maritime applications supporting department of defense missions. This segment also provides mission-critical communications and information processing systems for the U.S. civilian Federal market, as well as offers IT transformation, managed, and information assurance solutions. The Broadcast Communications segment provides workflow, infrastructure, and networking solutions that enable media companies to streamline workflow from production through transmission; media solutions to manage digital media workflow through software solutions for advertising, media management, digital signage, broadband, digital asset management, and play-out automation; and transmission systems for delivery of media over wireless broadcast terrestrial networks. The company also offers healthcare IT solutions, IT compliance solutions, and mission-critical managed satellite communications services. Harris Corporation was founded in 1895 and is based in Melbourne, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Some of the companies most dependent on government for revenue are Harris Corp. (HRS) �with 80% of revenue government-derived; Granite Construction Inc. (GVA) �with 58%; Flir Systems Inc. (FLIR) �with 54%; and Waste Management Inc. (WM) � and Republic Services Inc. (RSG) �both with 50%, according to Goldman Sachs.
- [By Rich Smith]
Media reports say that the average time needed to process a claim for VA benefits has grown to 272 days. But now, the agency says it's finally going to do something about this. On Tuesday, communications contractor Harris (NYSE: HRS ) announced that it has won a four-year, $37 million contract to try to bring the Veterans Benefits Administration's (VBA) Enterprise Data Warehouse, the primary source for veterans' benefits data and information, into the 21st century.�
- [By Rich Smith]
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded nine new contracts on Monday worth some $1.121 billion in aggregate. The largest of these awards, however, swallowed more than 85% of the funds on offer. Split among five publicly traded companies, and one privately owned, this monster IT contract envisions paying out $960 million over the course of time to contractors:
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT ) Raytheon (NYSE: RTN ) Harris� (NYSE: HRS ) L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL ) TYBRIN Corp., a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC ) SRA InternationalThe multiple award, indefinite- delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract was awarded under the U.S. Air Force's Network-Centric Solutions-2 (NETCENTS-2) Application Services program, which the Air Force describes as being one of its primary vehicles for purchasing "sustainment, migration, integration, training, help desk support, testing and operational support" services. Over the course of the contract, the six named contactors will be the only ones entitled to bid (against each other) for task orders awarded under the umbrella IDIQ contract.
10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Mellanox Technologies Ltd.(MLNX)
Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., a fabless semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of interconnect products primarily in North America, Israel, Europe, and Asia. It offers semiconductor interconnect products that facilitate data transmission between servers, communications infrastructure equipment, and storage systems in enterprise data centers, high-performance computing, and embedded systems. The company provides solutions based on InfiniBand, including host channel adapter, switch and gateway ICs, adapter cards, switch and gateway systems, cables, and software. Its products also support the Ethernet standard. The company provides adapters to server, storage, communications infrastructure, and embedded systems OEMs as ICs or standard card form factors with PCI-X or PCI express interfaces; support server operating systems, including Linux, Windows, AIX, HPUX, Solaris, and VxWorks; and InfiniBand switch ICs to server, storage, communicati ons infrastructure, and embedded systems OEMs to create switching equipment. The company offers its products under the Mellanox, BridgeX, ConnectX, InfiniBlast, InfiniBridge, InfiniHost, InfiniPCI, InfiniRISC, PhyX, InfiniScale, and Virtual Protocol Interconnect trademarks in the United States. It primarily serves enterprise data center, high-performance computing, and embedded end-user markets, as well as embedded systems OEMs. The company sells its products directly, as well as through a network of domestic and international sales representatives, and independent distributors. Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Yokneam, Israel.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Mani] Shares of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX) have fallen 54 percent in the last one year. However, the company could see potential upside from the return of hyperscale high performance computing (HPC) buyers driven by Intel's Grantley later next year, more storage market sales required due to flash, and Ethernet switch share gain helped by open source Layer 3 software.
Mellanox Technologies is a leading supplier of end-to-end InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect solutions and services for servers and storage. Mellanox interconnect solutions increase data center efficiency by providing the highest throughput and lowest latency, delivering data faster to applications and unlocking system performance capability.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Mellanox Technologies (MLNX), a fabless semiconductor company, designs, manufactures and sells interconnect products and solutions. This stock closed up 6.1% at $36.67 in Monday's trading session.
Monday's Volume: 751,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 479,653
Volume % Change: 65%From a technical perspective, MLNX ripped sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $33.57 with above-average volume. This big spike to the upside on Monday is quickly pushing shares of MLNX within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if MLNX manages to take out its 200-day moving average of $37.06 to some more near-term overhead resistance at $38.03 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MLNX as long as it's trending above Monday's intraday low of $34.60 or above some more near-term support at $33.33 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 479,653 shares. If that breakout begins soon, then MLNX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $40.80 to $44.14.
- [By Alex Planes]
What: Shares of Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX ) lost nearly 13% of their value today despite beating expectations last night. Analysts at two investment firms are not at all convinced that last night's good news will translate into long-term strength.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Top losers in the sector included CommVault Systems (NASDAQ: CVLT), off 28 percent, and Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX), down 13 percent.
Top Headline
Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) reported a drop in its first-quarter profit. Ford's quarterly profit slipped to $989 million, or $0.24 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.61 billion, or $0.40 per share. Its revenue rose to $35.9 billion versus $35.6 billion. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.31 per share on revenue of $34.54 billion.
10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated(HBAN)
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services. The company?s Retail and Business Banking segment offers various financial products and services, including checking, savings, and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, and small business loans and leases; and investments, insurance, interest rate risk protection, foreign exchange hedging, and treasury management services to consumer and small business customers. Its Regional and Commercial Banking segment provides commercial lending; depository and liquidity management products; treasury management solutions; equipment and technology leasing; international services; and capital markets services, such as interest rate risk protection, foreign exchange hedging and sales, trading of securities, mezzanine investment capabilities, and employee benefit programs to government, not-f or-profit, health-care, and publicly traded entities. The company?s Automobile Finance and Commercial Real Estate segment offers financing for the purchase of automobiles, and new and used vehicle inventory by automotive dealerships; and financing for land, buildings, and other commercial real estate owned or constructed by real estate developers, automobile dealerships, or other customers. Its Wealth Advisors, Government Finance, and Home Lending segment provides investment management; investment servicing; custody, and corporate trust and retirement plan services; and administrative and operational support to fund to high net worth customers. It also offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services; and operates approximately 1,300 automated teller machines. As of December 31, 2011, the company had 652 branches located in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jeff Reeves]
One sector of the stock market that has big potential in 2014 is regional banks. And among these players, Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) is one of the strongest regional banks on Wall Street.
10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy Right Now: Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc (TTNP.OB)
Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated in February 1992, is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics primarily for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The Company is focused primarily on clinical development of products that include Probuphine for the treatment of opioid addiction; Iloperidone: for the treatment of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, and Spheramine for the treatment of advanced Parkinson�� disease. Titan Pharmaceuticals is directly developing its product candidates and also utilizing corporate partnerships, including a collaboration with Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany (Bayer Schering) for the development of Spheramine to treat Parkinson�� disease, and Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Vanda) for the development of iloperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.
Probuphine
Probuphine is the first product to utilize the Company�� ProNeura long-ter m drug delivery technology. Probuphine is designed to provide continuous, long-term therapeutic levels of the drug buprenorphine, an approved agent for the treatment of opioid addiction. In December 2007, the Company completed enrollment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase III clinical study of Probuphine in the treatment of opioid addiction. This 150 patient study, which is being conducted in the United States, will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of treatment with Probuphine versus placebo in reducing opioid addiction over 24 weeks of treatment. This study is part of a registration directed program intended to obtain marketing approval of Probuphine for the treatment of opioid addiction in Europe and the United States.
Iloperidone
Iloperidone was evaluated in a Phase III program comprising over 3,500 patients at more than 200 sites in 24 countries, administered and funded by Novartis Pharma AG (Novartis). In three completed efficacy studies conducted by Novartis, ! i! loperidone statistically reduced the symptoms of schizophrenia compared to placebo. Iloperidone has also been investigated in three 12-month safety studies, which confirm safety and tolerability. A dose dependent increase in the Q-T Corrected (QTc) interval was observed and investigated further in a clinical study, and no clinically significant adverse events were observed. In September 2007, Vanda submitted a new drug application (NDA) with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for iloperidone. The NDA for iloperidone was officially accepted for review by the FDA in November 2007.
Spheramine
Spheramine is a cell-based therapeutic that utilizes the Company�� cell-coated microcarrier (CCM) technology, which enables the development of cell-based therapies for minimally invasive, site-specific delivery to the central nervous system of therapeutic factors precisely where they are needed. Spheramine consists of microcarriers coated wit h human retinal pigment epithelial cells that are intended to enhance brain levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter deficient in certain brain regions in Parkinson�� disease, leading to movement disorders. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the preliminary efficacy and safety of Spheramine, including blinded studies in a primate model of Parkinson�� disease. In June 2007, enrollment was completed in a current multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of Spheramine in Parkinson�� disease. This Phase IIb clinical study enrolled 71 patients with advanced Parkinson�� disease (Hoehn and Yahr Stages III and IV) to further evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of Spheramine.
Bayer Schering, the Company�� corporate partner for worldwide development and commercialization of Spheramine, is funding the clinical development program for Spheramine. Under an agreement, Bayer Schering has received exclusive, worldwide deve lopment, manufacturing and commercialization rights, an! d, in! ad! dition! to the clinical and manufacturing development funding and milestone payments, Bayer Schering will pay Titan Pharmaceuticals a royalty on future product sales.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By C.R. Jackson]
Fanapt was discovered by Hoechst Marion Roussel in 1995 as a novel atypical antipsychotic agent. Hoechst was a German life-sciences company that became Aventis Deutschland after its merger with France's Rhône-Poulenc in 1999. When the company joined with Sanofi-Synthélabo in 2004, it became a subsidiary of the Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) the French pharmaceutical conglomerate. In 1997, Hoechst sold the research rights to Titan Pharmaceuticals (TTNP.OB). Then Titan quickly sold the worldwide rights to Novartis in 1998. Novartis then sold the Phase 3 development rights for loperidone to Vanda in 2004. Vanda originally attempted to get FDA approval for Fanapt in 2008, but the FDA refused to approve iloperidone. The agency required an additional clinical trial.
10 Best Industrial Disributor Stocks To Buy Right Now: MFA Financial Inc (MFA)
MFA Financial, Inc., incorporated on July 24, 1997, is engaged in the business of investing, on a leveraged basis, in residential Agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Non-Agency MBS. Its business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders resulting from the difference between the interest and other income it earn on its investments and the interest expense it pays on the borrowings, which it uses to finance its leveraged investments and its operating costs. Its operating policies require that at least 50% of its investment portfolio consist of ARM-MBS, which are either Agency MBS or rated in two rating categories by at least one of rating agency, such as Moody�� Investors Services, Inc., Standard & Poor�� Corporation (S&P) or Fitch, Inc. The remainder of its assets may consist of direct or indirect investments in other types of MBS and residential mortgage loans; other mortgage and real estate-related debt and equity; and other yield instruments.
The mortgages collateralizing the Company�� MBS portfolio are Hybrids, ARMs and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages. The Hybrids collateralizing its MBS typically have fixed-rate periods ranging from three to 10 years. Interest rates on the mortgage loans collateralizing its ARM-MBS reset based on specific index rates, which include London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or the one-year constant maturity treasury (CMT) rate. The mortgages collateralizing its ARM-MBS have interim and lifetime caps on interest rate adjustments. The Company�� Non-Agency MBS have been at discounts to face/par value.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
After raising its payout last quarter by 10%,�residential mortgage-backed securities REIT�MFA Financial (NYSE: MFA ) announced today it was keeping its second-quarter dividend steady at $0.22 per share.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
MFA Financial Inc. (NYSE: MFA) has an estimated $0.20 decline in book value. This is partially attributable to the company’s recent special dividend declaration. For the third quarter, Sterne Agee sees MFA with a core earnings per share of $0.19, yet the dividend of $0.50 is a combined $0.22 estimated and $0.28 special.
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