Top 5 Performing Companies To Own For 2014

Stocks tied to consumer spending have been huge winners lately. Thanks to elevated consumer confidence, folks are feeling optimistic and starting to open their wallets. But this news has investors wondering if good stock buys still exist in the consumer goods space.

Dissecting the sector
Just last month, The Conference Board reported that the Consumer Confidence Index hit a five-year high. The real estate recovery is under way, and the job market is slowly rebounding. Despite a payroll tax increase that took effect at the beginning of the year, consumers are loosening the purse strings and feeling good these days. In fact, consumer spending rose at the fastest pace in two years during the first quarter of this year.�

Consumer discretionary stocks, which span industries like autos, apparel, leisure, and media, enjoy more upside during a robust economy and typically outperform the overall market when the economy is purring. For example, from the March 2009 market doldrums to present, the consumer discretionary�sector returned 282% versus 175% for S&P 500. So far this year, it's been the best-performing sector, returning nearly 26% versus the S&P 500's 20%.�

10 Best Net Payout Yield Stocks For 2015: Radioshack Corporation(RSH)

RadioShack Corporation engages in the retail sale of consumer electronic goods and services through its RadioShack store chain and kiosk operations. Its products include postpaid and prepaid wireless handsets and communication devices, such as scanners and global positioning system (GPS) products; home entertainment, wireless, music, computer, video game, and GPS accessories; media storage, power adapters, digital imaging products, and headphones; home audio and video end-products, personal computing products, residential telephones, and voice over Internet protocol products; digital cameras, digital music players, toys, satellite radios, video gaming hardware, camcorders, and general radios; general and special purpose batteries and battery chargers; and wires and cables, connectivity products, components and tools, and hobby products. The company also provides consumers access to third-party services, such as prepaid wireless airtime and extended service plans in its ser vice platform. In addition, it manufactures various products, including telephones, antennas, wires, and cable products, as well as various hard-to-find parts and accessories for consumer electronics products; and provides repair services. As of March 31, 2011, the company operated 4,467 company-operated retail stores under the RadioShack brand name in the United States; and 1,304 kiosks located in Target and Sam?s Club stores. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 211 company-operated stores under the RadioShack brand, 9 dealers, and 1 distribution center in Mexico; a network of 1,207 RadioShack dealer outlets, including 34 located outside of North America; and 4 distribution centers in the United States. Further, the company sells its products through its Website, radioshack.com. RadioShack Corporation was founded in 1899 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Tuesday was a day of extremes for investors of consumer electronics retailers. Shares of Best Buy (BBY) plunged 7 percent after posting disappointing quarterly results. That contrasted sharply with shares of RadioShack (RSH), which soared 19 percent on reports that a shareholder rescue package was in the works. We can't judge the fate of two meandering chains on a single trading day. After all, Best Buy may have let the market down by posting weaker-than-expected sales, but at least it's not the one hoping that a "rescue package" will save it from bankruptcy. Anytime a stock appreciates by a fifth of its value on anything with the words "rescue" and "package," you know there's a fairly good chance that it's not going to end well. Best Buy Is the Better Buy There's no denying that Best Buy is in a funk. Sales declined 4 percent to $8.896 billion, fueled by another quarter of shrinking comparable-store sales. The consumer electronics superstore chain sees the weakness continuing. It sees negative comps continuing through at least the next two quarters. Consumer appetite has been weak in general. Tablet sales have been cooling off, and Best Buy points out that the smartphone market has stalled ahead of the iPhone 6 hitting the market. Apple's (AAPL) new smartphone should be unveiled at some point next month, but it's doubtful that will be enough to light a fire under the mobile handset market. Apple updates the iPhone every year, and none of those upgrades have been enough to save Best Buy over the past two years of sliding sales. However, unlike RadioShack, Best Buy is still profitable. In fact, its adjusted earnings actually climbed in its latest quarter. The retailer has been successful in shaving its overhead to the point where it can grow its bottom line despite coming up short on top. It's a trick that Best Buy can't keep performing forever. Sooner or later it's going to have to find a way to get shoppers to com

• [By GuruFocus]

  Dr. Paul Price wrote an article called Wake-Up Calls Often Come Too Late. He discussed the collapses of the stock prices with Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR), Netflix (NFLX) and Soda Steam (SODA). As pointed correctly out by Adib Motiwala, value investors are rarely hurt by companies like Green Mountain Coffee, Netflix and Soda Steam. The reason is simple. These stocks are usually traded at extremely high valuation and value investors would normally avoid the situations like these. Value investors are much more likely hurt by the stocks like Nokia (NOK), RadioShack (RSH) and Research-in-Motion (RIMM) as these stocks have been traded for very low valuations. Value investors thought that they were buying into value, while they were actually buying into value traps. The valuation just gets lower, and lower.

• [By DAILYFINANCE]
  NEW YORK -- Which Super Bowl ads will people discuss at the office a day after the biggest event of the year on American television? There were no crude jokes during the Super Bowl, the NFL championship and most-watched U.S. sporting event. Sexual innuendo was kept to a minimum. And uncomfortable scenes were missing. In short, there wasn't much shock value. Sure, RadioShack (RSH) poked fun at its image by starring '80s icons like Teen Wolf in its ad. And Coca-Cola (KO) struck an emotional chord by showcasing people of different diversities in its spot. As did Chrysler, with its "Made in America" message. But with a 30-second Super Bowl commercial fetching $4 million and more than 108 million viewers expected to tune in to Sunday night's game, advertisers tried to keep it family friendly with socially conscious statements, patriotic messages and light humor. After all, shocking ads in previous years haven't always been well received. (Think: GoDaddy.com's ad that featured a long, up-close kiss was at the bottom of the most popular ad lists last year.) "A lot of brands were going with the safety from the start," said David Berkowitz, chief marketing officer for digital ad agency MRY. Many advertisers played it safe by promoting a cause or focusing on sentimental issues. Chevrolet's (GM) ad showed a couple driving through the desert in remembrance of World Cancer Day. And Bank of America (BAC) turned its ad into a virtual video for singing group U2's new single "Invisible" to raise money for an AIDS charity. The song will be a free download on iTunes for 24 hours following the game and Bank of America will donate $1 each time it is downloaded to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. Meanwhile, a Microsoft (MSFT) ad focused on how its technology helps people in different ways. The ad is narrated by Steve Gleason, a former prof football player who is living with ALS, a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle mov
• [By Ben Levisohn]

  RadioShack (RSH) fell 17% yesterday after reporting earnings, announcing store closures and having one analyst compare it to Circuit City.

  AP

  B. Riley’s Scott Tilghman explains that the outcome for RadioShack looks increasingly binary:

  In one way or another, RadioShack is entering a new chapter that will either have a fairytale ending as the store base rightsizing and five pillars of work help the company to recover from losses, or simply end in a bankruptcy filing as losses mount and vendors pullback. Recent results highlight the challenges facing the company as comps fell 19% on top of last year�� 7% 4Q decline. [RadioShack's cost] cuts have not been able to keep up with the sales drops, and new concept stores don�� seem to be profitable, yet remodels will continue. [RadioShack] is tasked with changing not just its merchandising, but also attempting to attract new traffic (demographics) in a heightened competitive environment. We expect losses to continue as negative sales trends are difficult to reverse and GM pressures persist. As a result, it is difficult to justify valuation other than at liquidation value, leading us to reiterate our Sell rating

  Shares of RadioShack have dropped 2.7% to $2.19 at 2:15 p.m., while BestBuy (BBY) has fallen 0.9% to $25.56, GameStop (GME) has gained 2.2% to $371.86 and Amazon.com (AMZN), which caused all their troubles in the first place, has risen 3.4% to $38.61.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Dell Inc.(DELL)

Dell Inc. provides integrated technology solutions in the information technology (IT) industry worldwide. It designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports mobility and desktop products, including notebooks, workstations, tablets, smartphones, and desktop PCs, as well as servers and networking products. The company offers storage solutions, including storage area networks, network-attached storage, direct-attached storage, and various backup systems. It also provides IT and business services comprising transactional services, such as support, managed deployment, enterprise installation, and configuration services; outsourcing services, including data center and systems management, network management, life cycle application development and management, and business process outsourcing services; and project-based services consisting of IT infrastructure, applications, business process, and business consulting services. In addition, the company offers third-part y software products comprising operating systems, business and office applications, anti-virus and related security software, and entertainment software; and peripheral products, such as printers, televisions, notebook accessories, mouse, keyboards, networking and wireless products, and digital cameras. Further, it provides financial services, including originating, collecting, and servicing customer receivables related to the purchase of its products and third-party technology products. The company sells its products and services directly through its sales representatives, telephone-based sales, and online sales; and through retailers, third-party solution providers, system integrators, and third-party resellers. It serves corporate businesses, law enforcement agencies, small and medium businesses, consumers, and public institutions that include government, education, and healthcare organizations. Dell Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Grass Hopper]

  New York, New York, July 31, 2013 ��Carl C. Icahn and his affiliates and Southeastern Asset Management today issued the following open letter to stockholders of Dell (DELL) Inc. and the Dell Special Committee.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Also in the news...
  In this week's episode of "Dells (NASDAQ: DELL  ) of our Lives," we were privy to the company's first-quarter earnings results -- and here's a hint: They weren't good. Revenue at Dell's laptop segment sank 16% while overall PC-related sales tumbled 9%. Somehow, thanks to growth in its IT segment, Dell was able to deliver a market-topping $14.1 billion in revenue; however, adjusted EPS was only $0.21, which was well below the $0.35 in EPS the Street was expecting. On the offer front, Dell has requested additional information about Carl Icahn's offer, but it certainly appears, following these results, that current shareholders may be more willing to "talk turkey" if it ensures that a buyout occurs.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Well, the litmus test is about to begin. The new Haswell chips are available today, and they've been chosen to power a handful of brand-name tablets. Dell (NASDAQ: DELL  ) has a $1,200 tablet available with Haswell inside. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) announced Haswell-powered tablets last month. The Dell model runs Windows 8 and doubles as an ultrabook by swinging the screen around. We're still waiting for details on the HP slates, but they're likely to follow Dell into the Windows world.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Nanosphere Inc.(NSPH)

Nanosphere, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets molecular diagnostics platform, the Verigene System that enables genomic and protein testing on a single platform. Its Verigene System includes a bench-top molecular diagnostics workstation with nanoparticle technology that provides the ability to run multiple tests simultaneously on the same sample. The Verigene System is used for testing infectious disease assays, human and pharmacogenetic assays, and ultra-sensitive protein assays. The company serves hospital-based laboratories and academic research institutions in the United States. Nanosphere, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Nanosphere Inc. (NASDAQ: NSPH) is not exactly a household name in molecular diagnostics, and apparently it needs better name recognition for boosting sales. Its sales were disappointing and the stock was down almost 18% at $2.40, and now we have indications down around $2.35 in Wednesday trading indications.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  
  

  One under-$10 medical equipment player that's quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Nanosphere (NSPH), which develops, manufactures and markets an advanced molecular diagnostics platform, the Verigene System, which enables simple, low-cost and highly sensitive genomic and protein testing on a single platform. This stock has been hit hard by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off by 27%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Nanosphere, you'll notice that this stock is just starting to spike sharply higher today back above its 50-day moving average of $2 a share. This spike is quickly pushing shares of NSPH within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That breakout will trigger once NSPH manages to take out the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in NSPH if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.17 to $2.20 a share and then once it takes out its gap down day high from August at $2.29 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 652,718 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then NSPH will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from August that stated just above $3 a share. If that gap gets filled with volume, then NSPH could easily tag $3.50 to $4 a share.

  Traders can look to buy NSPH off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $1.81 to $1.77 a share. One can also buy NSPH off strength once it clears those resistance levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top 5 Performing Companies To Own For 2014: Highpower International Inc (HPJ)

Highpower International, Inc., incorporated on January 3, 2006, is engaged in the production and sales of rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries, lithium batteries and battery systems. The Company also recycles scrap battery materials through outsourcing and resells the recycled materials to some of its customers. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiary is Hong Kong Highpower Technology Company Limited (HKHTC). HKHTC�� wholly owned subsidiaries Shenzhen Highpower Technology Company Limited (SZ Highpower), Highpower Energy Technology (Hui Zhou) Company Limited (HZ Highpower), Springpower Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited (SZ Springpower) and Icon Energy System Company Limited (ICON) and SZ Highpower�� wholly owned subsidiary Ganzhou Highpower Technology Company Limited (Ganzhou Highpower).

The Company�� Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are solutions for many applications. The Company�� Ni-MH rechargeable batteries offer capacity and energy density. As a result, users can expect a longer time between charges and longer running time. The Company�� Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are available in both cylindrical and prismatic shapes. The Company produces Li-ion batteries and Li-polymer batteries with hundreds of different models and specifications. As of December 31 2011, the Company produced an average of 1,520,000 lithium battery units per month.

The Company�� batteries fall into two main categories, such as consumer batteries and industrial batteries. The Company�� consumer batteries category produces Ni-MH and lithium batteries, which offers power capacity, allowing for longer working time and shortened charging time during equivalent working periods. The Company produces A, AA and AAA sized batteries in blister packing, as well as chargers and battery packs. The Company�� industrial batteries are designed for electric bikes, power tools and electric toys. They are specifically designed for high-drain discharge applications.

The Comp! any competes with SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Panasonic, BYD Company Ltd., GPI International, Ltd., GS Yuasa Corporation, Desay Corp., Coslight Group, Tianjin Lishen Battery Co. Ltd. and ATL.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kyle Woodley]

  The short, sucky answer? A lot:

  Plans for a ��igafactory��meant to produce millions of electric-car batteries ginned up excitement, but also raised eyebrows. The Wall Street Journal reported on skepticism in the space — including from heads at Volkswagen (VLKAY) and battery maker Highpower International (HPJ). Now, even planned investment partner Panasonic (PC) now sounds iffy on the project, with company Kazuhiro Tsuga saying “the investment risk is definitely larger.” Not good. There also was Tesla�� direct sales snafu. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie huffed and puffed and (on March 11) successfully blew down Tesla�� direct sales model, with the Motor Vehicle Commission approving a measure to enforce an already-existing ban on direct sales. On the flip side, Tesla has scored victories in New York and Ohio in the past month, and is making progress in Arizona (which has a little incentive on the board). Production of the Model X has been pushed further back, to 2015. Musk’s reasons — mostly having to do with focusing on bolstering Model S sales — are valid, but that doesn�� really soften the blow of a longer wait for the much-anticipated addition to Tesla�� line. To address the issue of battery fires in the Model S, TSLA added titanium shields and aluminum deflector plates to new vehicles and offered to install them for free in all its existing cars. Tesla�� margins are excellent, and there�� no hard number on the cost impact of the fix, but titanium ain�� cheap. This definitely isn�� going to add to Tesla�� bottom line. What Now?

  I won�� belabor you with my bullish position on TSLA stock, but if you want, you can see it here. In short, Musk is a genius; Tesla products are quality and appeal to (and are priced for) the all-important luxury segment; and just given size and scale, TSLA has oh-so-much room to grow.