Hot US Companies To Own For 2014

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Clovis Oncology (NASDAQ: CLVS  ) , a biopharmaceutical company that's developing anti-cancer therapies, vaulted higher by as much as 136% (that's not a typo!) after reporting positive data on two early stage experimental treatments -- CO-1686 in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and Rucaparib in a monotherapy study of solid tumors -- at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting.

So what: In the 37 patient Rucaparib trial, 21 patients had breast cancer, 10 ovarian cancer, and six others had different types of solid tumors. The data showed that Rucaparib provided an 89% clinical benefit to patients with ovarian cancer. Clovis is still in the process of determining the recommended dosage but plans on initiating late-stage trials in the drug as soon as the second half of this year.

Hot Freight Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corp (PMPC)

Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation is a manufacturer, importer and distributor of electronic, electrical, mechanical, electro-mechanical appliances, other types of machinery, parts and components, battery, and other related products bearing the PANASONIC brand. The Company operates in three business segments: Global Consumer Marketing Sector (GCMS), System Network and Communication (SNC) and others. GCMS segment includes audio, video primarily related to selling products for media and entertainment industry. This also includes home appliance and household equipment primarily related to selling for household consumers. SNC segment includes office automation equipment such as telecommunication products, security system and projectors primarily related to selling for business consumers. Others segment includes supermarket refrigeration such as cold room, showcases and bottle coolers primarily related to selling to supermarkets and groceries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Suravi Thacker]

  Further, Tesla has some amazing plans for the future, which will make investors even more confident about the company. First, it has entered into partnership with Panasonic�(PMPC), the battery maker, to participate in setting up Gigafactory, the world�� largest battery factory in the U.S. This lithium ion battery factory will produce battery cells for 500,000 electronic vehicles on an annual basis. This initiative requires an investment of $5 billion and a total of 6,500 employees.

Hot US Companies To Own For 2014: Clarke(t)

T.Clarke plc, a building services contractor, provides electrical and mechanical installation services and supplies associated equipment. The company offers information communications technology (ICT) services in the areas of structured cabling and connectivity, network infrastructure and security, networked energy management, data centre infrastructure, and managed and support services; facilities management services, such as preventative, reactive, and planned maintenance solutions; and green technologies services, which comprise photovoltaics, rainwater harvesting, biomass boilers, ground source heating, air source heating, wind turbines, lighting, and carbon reduction audit services. It also provides massive reading station redevelopment, cross rail, border rail link, and underground power upgrade services for the rail sector; lifecycle building services combining mechanical and electrical works with ICT for utilities and technologies sectors; lifecycle services for ho tel and residential sectors, which include electrical, ICT, and mechanical systems design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance; and mechanical and electrical contracting services for education, healthcare, government/local authority, retail and leisure, stadiums, transport, towers, media, and residential sectors. In addition, the company manufactures and prefabricates elements of an installation, as well as engineering components. T.Clarke plc was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jamal Carnette]

  When it comes to dividend investing, AT&T (NYSE: T  ) is on many income investors' radars. And that makes sense: With a dividend yield of 5.2%, the stock nearly doubles the 10-year Treasury with its payouts. AT&T's stock has historically been a high-yielding investment. However, investors today find a vastly different company than the one they used to know.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Sometimes it doesn't take much to move a Dow Jones (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) stock with a $175 billion market cap. Today's second- biggest Dow gainer (as of 2 p.m. EDT) is AT&T (NYSE: T  ) , rising 2.7% on nothing but an analyst note.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  The Dow's telecom stocks are on the upswing today as well. Verizon (NYSE: VZ  ) shares have surged 1.6%, while rival AT&T's (NYSE: T  ) stock has picked up 1.3%. Electronic publication PCMag released the results of a study on America's major networks yesterday, and AT&T ranked as the fastest 4G LTE network nationwide. It's a victory for AT&T, but not one the company should get used to.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  AT&T (NYSE: T  ) saw shares rise by 1.71% today, making it the second best performing stock, just behind Merck's 2.04% rise. Now that interest rates have seemed to calm down, investors looking for yield are probably moving back into the 5.1%-dividend-yielding stock. The stock may have also gotten a boost from the announcement that Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) has postponed its shareholder vote on the SoftBank takeover, to give DISH Network more time to bring an offer to the table. This move may be a strategic one for Sprint, in hopes that the two companies will get into a bidding war, but ultimately it gives AT&T and Verizon more time to build their networks and get further ahead of Sprint. On the other hand, while it's likely that a deal will happen, neither one is going to be great from the eyes of AT&T shareholders. �

Hot US Companies To Own For 2014: Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC)

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., a professional services company, provides advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy, and human capital. It operates in two segments, Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting. The Risk and Insurance Services segment provides risk management and insurance broking, reinsurance broking, and insurance program management services for businesses, public entities, insurance companies, associations, professional services organizations, and private clients. The Consulting segment offers advice and services to the managements of organizations in the area of human resource consulting, comprising retirement and investments, health and benefits, outsourcing and talent; and strategy and risk management consulting, such as management, economic, and brand consulting. The company also provides investment consulting services for endowments and foundations in the United States; health and benefit recordkeeping, and employee enrollment technology; human resource knowledge, data, and solutions for professionals in various industries; and Medicaid policy consulting services. It principally serves customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Asia Pacific, and Continental Europe. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christina Rexrode]

  Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc. (MMC) and MetLife Inc. (MET) have been rising since those companies reported earnings earlier this week.

Hot US Companies To Own For 2014: Ballard Power Systems Inc.(BLDP)

Ballard Power Systems Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of fuel cell products for motive and stationary power applications worldwide. It offers clean energy PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell stacks, modules, and complete systems. The company provides fuel cell products and services for material handling and bus, back-up power, and distributed generation applications; and fuel cell engineering solutions for various fuel cell applications. It also offers carbon-based engineered material products in the form of roll goods as woven carbon fiber textile fabrics or carbon fiber papers primarily for automotive transmissions and gas diffusion layers. Ballard Power Systems Inc., through its interests in Dantherm Power A/S develops clean energy backup power through utilization of hydrogen fuel cell technology; and Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp. develops fuel cell products for the automotive fuel cell market. The company was founde d in 1979 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Management highlighted excessive service costs during 2Q and for the remainder of the year due to stack repairs and replacements of older generation fuel cell units from Ballard Power Systems (BLDP). Management noted in recent quarters increased up time of units and expects many of the challenges to be alleviated by year end. The operating expense levels are set to increase by about 15% in the back half of the year as R&D programs into adjacent areas are accelerated and sales personnel are hired for international markets and for pockets domestically.

Hot US Companies To Own For 2014: HNI Corp (HNI)

HNI Corporation, incorporated in 1944, is a provider of office furniture and hearth products. The Company operates in two segments: office furniture and hearth products. A broad office furniture product offering is sold to dealers, wholesalers, national office product distributors, end-user customers, and federal, state and local governments. Hearth products include a range of gas, electric, wood and biomass burning fireplaces, inserts, stoves, facings and accessories. These products are sold through a national system of dealers and distributors, as well as Corporation-owned distribution and retail outlets. It manufactures office furniture in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Texas and China. The Company manufactures hearth products in Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Washington and Pennsylvania. On November 14, 2011, the Company acquired Sagus International, Inc. (Sagus), a designer and manufacturer of educational furniture solutions. In August 2012, the Company BP Ergo Limited, a manufacturer and marketer of office furniture in India.

Eight operating units, marketing under various brand names, participate in the office furniture industry. These operating units include The HON Company, Allsteel Inc., Maxon Furniture Inc., The Gunlocke Company L.L.C., Paoli Inc., Hickory Business Furniture, LLC (HBF), Sagus and HNI Hong Kong Limited (Lamex). The operating unit Hearth & Home Technologies Inc. (Hearth & Home) participates in the hearth products industry. The retail and distribution brand for this operating unit is Fireside Hearth & Home. HNI International Inc. (HNI International) sells office furniture products manufactured by the Company�� operating units in select markets outside the United States and Canada. With dealers and servicing partners located in more than 50 countries, HNI International provides project management services virtually worldwide. The Company distributes its products through a network of independent office furniture dealers,! office products dealers, wholesalers and retailers. The Company is a supplier of office furniture to the nationwide distributors of office products.

Office Furniture

The Company designs, manufactures and markets a range of office furniture in four categories: storage, including vertical files, lateral files and pedestals; seating, including task chairs, executive desk chairs, conference/training chairs, side chairs and educational chairs and desk combinations; office systems (modular and moveable workspaces with integrated work surfaces, space dividers and lighting), and desks and related products, including tables, bookcases and credenzas. Its products are sold under the brand names, such as HON, Allsteel, Maxon, Gunlocke, Paoli, HBF, Artco Bell, Midwest Folding Products, LSI Corporation of America, basyx and Lamex, as well as private labels.

The Company offers a range of storage options designed either to be integrated into its office systems products or to function as freestanding furniture in office applications. The Company sells its freestanding storage through independent office products and office furniture dealers, nationwide chains of office products dealers, wholesalers and national office product distributors. The Company's seating line includes chairs designed for all types of office work.

It offers a complete line of office panel system products for team work settings, private offices and open floor plans. The Company offers whole office solutions, movable panels, storage units and work surfaces that can be installed and reconfigured. The Company and its dealer partners also offer consultative selling and design services for its office system products.

The Company�� offering of desks and related products includes stand-alone steel, laminate and wood furniture items, such as desks, bookshelves, credenzas and mobile desking. The Company's desks and related products are sold to a range of customers from those designing office config! urations ! to small retail and home office purchasers. It offers a range of tables designed for use in conference rooms, private offices, educational institutions, training areas, team work settings and open floor plans. It is North America�� manufacturer and marketer of prefabricated fireplaces, hearth stoves and related products, primarily for the home, which it sells under Heatilator, Heat & Glo, Quadra-Fire and Harman Stove brand names.

The Company�� line of hearth products includes a range of gas, electric and wood burning fireplaces, inserts, stoves, facings and accessories. Heatilator and Heat & Glo are brand in the two segments of the home fireplace market: vented-gas and wood fireplaces. In addition, the Company is also engaged in pellet-burning stoves and furnaces with its Quadra-Fire and Harman product lines, which provide home heating solutions using renewable fuel.

The Company competes with Steelcase Inc., Haworth, Inc., Herman Miller, Inc., Knoll, Inc., The Global Group, Kimball International, Inc., KI, Virco Mfg. Corporation, Teknion Corporation, Travis Industries Inc., Lennox International Inc., Monessen Hearth Systems Co., FMI Products, LLC, Wolf Steel Ltd. (Napoleon) and FPI Fireplace Products International Ltd. (Regency).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) reported that it has acquired BP Ergo Limited, a leading manufacturer and marketer of office furniture in India which goes to market through a national network of sales branches and dealers supported by two manufacturing locations.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Fireplace and office furniture maker�HNI� (NYSE: HNI  ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.24 per share, the same rate it paid for the last four quarters after it raised the payout a penny from $0.23 per share.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap office furniture stock Steelcase Inc (NYSE: SCS) jumped 11.66% after beating earnings expectations, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential office or commercial furniture stock peers like�HNI Corp (NYSE: HNI), Knoll Inc (NYSE: KNL) and Virco Mfg. Corporation (NASDAQ: VIRC). After all, the performance of any company selling office or commercial furniture would tend to give some insights into the office or employment markets.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Last week, HNI Corp. (HNI) beat earnings forecasts and promptly fell 3.4%. Raymond James, however, thinks the selloff was undeserved and raised its rating on the office-furniture maker, helping HNI Corp. to make back its loss.

  Raymond James analysts Budd Bugatch and�Bobby Griffin explain why they upgraded HNI Corp.:

  We are upgrading HNI to Outperform from a Market Perform rating and establishing a $36.00 price target following the company�� 1Q14 earnings release and management conference call. As stated in an earlier note, HNI delivered a ��lean��1Q14 EPS beat; and we are puzzled by Thursday�� trading activity. HNI historically trades at a premium to the office furniture peer group, but following the shares��recent pullback (down ~3.5% on Thursday before the Good Friday holiday and down 14% YTD compared to +0.8% for the SPX YTD), this is no longer the case and gives us reason for a more constructive rating.

  Shares of HNI Corp. have gained 4.9% to $35.17 at 1:45 p.m., while Steelcase (SCS) has risen 0.8% to $16.93, Knoll (KNL) has advanced 2.5% to $18.74 and Herman Miller (MLHR) has ticked up 0.3% to $30.57.

Hot US Companies To Own For 2014: Caterpillar Inc.(CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives worldwide. It operates through three lines of businesses: Machinery, Engines, and Financial Products. The Machinery business offers construction, mining, and forestry machinery, including track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, skid steer loaders, underground mining equipment, tunnel boring equipment, and related parts. It also manufactures diesel-electric locomotives; and manufactures and services rail-related products and logistics services for other companies. The Engines business provides diesel, heavy fuel, and natural gas reciprocating engines for Caterpillar machinery, electric power generation systems, marine, petrol eum, construction, industrial, agricultural, and other applications. It offers industrial turbines and turbine-related services for oil and gas, and power generation applications. This business also remanufactures Caterpillar engines, machines, and engine components; and offers remanufacturing services for other companies. The Financial Products business provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar machinery and engines, solar gas turbines, and other equipment and marine vessels, as well as offers loans and various forms of insurance to customers and dealers. It also offers financing for vehicles, power generation facilities, and marine vessels. The company markets its products directly, as well as through its distribution centers, dealers, and distributors. It was formerly known as Caterpillar Tractor Co. and changed its name to Caterpillar Inc. in 1986. Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) stock is taking the commodities hit the hardest today, falling 1.8%. If commodities continue their decline, the company will see lower demand for earth moving equipment. It was also announced on Thursday that negotiations between Caterpillar and the Milwaukee workers' union have been suspended. Last week, workers rejected a proposal that would have frozen wages for existing workers and created a lower pay scale for new workers. In the meantime, they continue to report for work under the old contract terms, so there's no pending disruption to manufacturing. �

Hot US Companies To Own For 2014: Hitachi Ltd (HTHIF)

Hitachi, Ltd. is a diversified company. Information and Telecommunication System segment offers system integration services and automated teller machines. Electricity System segment offers power generation systems. Social and Industrial System segment offers industrial machinery. Electronic Device and System segment offers liquid crystal displays. Construction segment offers hydraulic shovels and wheel loaders. High Functional Material segment offers electric wires and cables. Automotive System segment offers engine management and in-car information systems. Component and Device segment offers information record media and batteries. Digital Media and Consumer Product segment offers optical disk drives and refrigerators. Financial Service segment offers leasing and loan services. On March 1, 2014, it fully acquired Hitachi Medical Corp. On April 1, 2014, it transferred and integrated its air conditioning systems construction, and elevator and escalator businesses into two subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks rose as trading began Wednesday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) climbing 1.7% to 15,234.83, a strong advance after four days of declines. Aiding the export-heavy market was a rise in the U.S. dollar against the yen above the 楼103 level as the yen's safe-haven appeal waned alongside worries about emerging markets. Among exporters, Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267) (HMC) and Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) shares tacked on 2.4% and 1.5%, respectively, and Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) shot higher by 4.8%. But shares of Advantest Corp. (JP:6857) (ADTTF) dropped 9.3% after the electronics maker widened its full-year forecast. It now expects a net loss of 35.9 billion yen ($347.19 million), compared with a previous forecast for a loss of 2.5 billion yen.

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened sharply higher Monday, with the Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) advancing 1.1% to 14,242.86 after falling 2.8% Friday, as end-of-the-week gains for U.S. shares and some earnings news helped lift the market. The Topix also saw solid gains, up 0.8% in early moves. Major advances included a 2.5% rise for Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) , a 4.1% surge for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (JP:7211) (MMTOF) , and a 2.6% improvement for KDDI Corp. (JP:9433) (KDDIF) after the Nikkei business daily said the telecom will report a 50% increase for operating profit in the fiscal first half compared to a year earlier. Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) added 2% after scoring a Credit Suisse upgrade to outperform. Shares of NTT DoCoMo Inc. (JP:9437) (NTDMF) traded 1.1% higher after posting above-forecast quarterly results Friday, while JFE Holdings Inc. (JP:5411) (JFEEF) fell 3.2% after the steel producer also reported earnings.

• [By WWW.MARKETWATCH.COM]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japan's Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) traded 0.5% higher in the early minutes Tuesday, extending the previous day's 0.9% advance, with the market getting some support from overnight gains for U.S. shares and a slightly weaker yen (dollar at 楼101.56 vs. 楼101.40 at Monday's open). Among the gainers, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) rose 1.7%, Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) gained 1.5%, NEC Corp. (JP:6701) (NIPNF) improved by 2.5%, Bridgestone Corp. (JP:5108) (BRDCF) added 2.7% to extend gains over the past couple weeks following the company's purchase of U.S.-based Masthead Industries, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7011) (MHVYF) traded 1.1% higher as a Wall Street Journal report said the industrial major's Mitsubishi Aircraft unit had reached a tentative deal to sell 40 jets for the planned revival of defunct U.S. carrier Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. Auto makers were firmer as well, with Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) up 1.3%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) up 0.5%, and Honda Motor Co. (JP:7267)

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks struggled early Thursday, keying off a weak close for Wall Street on investor concerns about a pullback in monetary stimulus. The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NIK) shed 25 points, or 0.2%, to 15,889.77, and the broader Topix shed less than 0.1%. Yen strength on Wednesday left the Nikkei with its first loss in five sessions. Outperforming the broader market Thursday were shares of Hitachi Ltd. (JP:6501) (HTHIF) as they climbed 1.6%. The U.K. government has agreed to support loan financing for Hitachi's development of a new nuclear power reactor at an existing nuclear power station on the island of Anglesey, North Wales.