Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014

After several years of dramatic growth, high-end smartphone makers are struggling to find new approaches to stimulate demand. From quirky form factors to questionable features, smartphone "innovation" was disappointing at this year's 2014 International CES in Las Vegas. Even Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL  ) �iPhone and models based on�Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) �Android OS are making only incremental improvements.

Motley Fool analysts Rex Moore and Eric Bleeker discuss the problem from the floor of the world's largest consumer electronics show.

A full transcript follows the video.

Here's the real winner in the smartphone wars
Want to get in on the smartphone phenomenon? Truth be told,�one company�sits at the crossroads of smartphone technology as we know it. It's not your typical household name, either. In fact, you've probably never even heard of it! But it stands to reap massive profits NO MATTER WHO ultimately wins the smartphone war. To find out what it is,�click here�to access the "One Stock You Must Buy Before the iPhone-Android War Escalates Any Further..."

Top 10 Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Sigma Designs Inc.(SIGM)

Sigma Designs, Inc. provides integrated system-on-chip solutions (SoC) for the Internet protocol television (IPTV), media processor, connected home and media player, prosumer and industrial audio/video, high definition television, and PC-based add-in markets. The company offers semiconductors with a suite of real-time software that enables synchronous processing of video, audio, and graphics streams for various applications. Its media processor product line represents a family of SoC solutions that are a component of multiple consumer applications, which process digital video and audio content comprising IPTV, connected media players, and portable media players. The company?s home networking product line consists of wired networking solutions based on HomePNA, HomePlug AV, and G.hn standards, as well as wireless connectivity solutions based on Ultra-wideband technology. Its standards are used for transferring Internet protocol content across coaxial cables, phone lines, a nd power lines to enable service providers to deliver IPTV solutions and other media-rich applications. The company?s video image processor product line comprises of semiconductors that provide video output for professional and prosumer applications. Its home control and energy management automation product line includes wireless transceiver devices along with a mesh networking protocol. The company offers its home connectivity products under the CopperGate; wireless connectivity solutions under the CoAir; video image processors under the VXP; and wireless transceiver devices under the Z-Wave brands. It also provides software elements, such as multimedia library, security management software, and porting adaptations. In addition, the company offers PC-based solutions. It sells its products through direct sales force, manufacturer representatives, and independent distributors primarily in Asia, Europe, and North America. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered i n Milpitas, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rebecca McClay]

  In earnings news today, a few companies are reporting after the closing bell, including H & R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB), which is up about 1%. Pike Electric Corp. (NYES: PIKE), Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), and Sigma Designs Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGM) are also reporting quarterly earnings late this afternoon.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Actelion Ltd (ATLN.VX)

Actelion Ltd is a Swiss biopharmaceutical holding company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule drugs. The Company has four approved drugs on the market: Tracleer, an oral dual endothelin receptor antagonist; Veletri, a prostanoid vasodilator; Ventavis, an inhaled formulation of iloprost, and Zavesca, an oral treatment for type 1 Gaucher disease. Furthermore, the Company has a number of compounds various stages of development. The Company operates through a number of worldwide subsidiaries, including Actelion Registration Ltd, which holds marketing authorizations for products marketed in the European Union; Actelion Clinical Research, Inc, engaged in clinical development on behalf of the Company's group; Actelion Re SA, providing insurance solutions for the Company's group and Actelion US Holding Company, engaged in the holding activities of the Company's United States-based units. In September 2013, it acquired Ceptaris Therapeutics, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  Forest Laboratories has a current ratio of 2.69% which is higher than the ones registered by Endo International Plc (ENDP), Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) and Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CBST). For investors looking for a higher ROE, Allergan Inc. (AGN) and Actelion Ltd. (ATLN.VX) are good options.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: CyberOptics Corporation (CYBE)

CyberOptics Corporation supplies optical process control sensors and inspection systems to control the manufacturing process and ensure the quality of electronic circuit boards worldwide. The company also manufactures and sells sensors that assist with yield enhancement during semiconductor fabrication. Its products include surface mount technology (SMT) electronic assembly alignment sensors, including LaserAlign sensor that is incorporated into component placement machines used in the SMT production lines; BoardAlign camera, which identifies fiducial markings on a circuit board and aligns the board in the component placement machine prior to component placement; and InPrinter inspection camera that identifies fiducial markings on a circuit board to ensure accurate board registration prior to placement of solder paste. The company also offers photovoltaic and fuel cell alignment sensors, such as solar wafer alignment cameras for alignment measurements; and embedded process verification inspection technology products and solder paste inspection sensors. In addition, it provides SMT stand-alone inspection system products, which include solder paste inspection and automated optical inspection products; and WaferSense sensors that provide measurements of critical factors in the semiconductor fabrication process, as well as wafer mapping and alignment sensors, frame grabber products, and machine vision subsystems. The company sells its products to the manufacturers of electronic circuit board assembly equipment, manufacturers of semiconductor DRAM memory, and semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers, as well as end-user electronic assembly manufacturers, including original design manufacturers and electronic manufacturing service providers. CyberOptics Corporation markets its products through independent representatives and distributors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Emerson]

  I even recorded a tax loss carry-forward on my original purchase of CAMT for which I had paid $2.05 per share. It seems that I was a slow learner in regard to the necessity of selling AOI companies long before they entered a cyclical trough in their earnings. Happily, I have since remedied that problem. For informational purposes I must disclose that in the spring, I repurchased shares of CAMT and made a larger purchase in a Cyberoptics (CYBE) another AOI company, which was near a multiyear low at the time.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: ManpowerGroup(MAN)

ManpowerGroup provides workforce solutions and services worldwide. The company offers permanent, temporary, and contract recruitment services; assessment and selection services; training and development services; outsourcing services; and workforce consulting services. It also provides professional resourcing and project-based workforce solutions in the information technology, finance, and engineering fields; talent and career management workforce solutions; and talent based outsourcing services, managed services, recruitment process outsourcing services, borderless talent solutions, and strategic workforce consulting services. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Louis Navellier , NavellierGrowth.com]

  So without further ado, here are five companies that have the analyst community buzzing, and they should be on your radar as well.

  Best Buy (BBY): In the past two months, estimates have been revised up 22%. Analysts now expect 175% year-on-year earnings growth this quarter. Meanwhile, the industry average is 30% annual earnings growth. . ManpowerGroup (MAN): In the past month, the consensus estimate has been hiked up 19% to $1.08 per share. Analysts now expect 37% earnings growth. MAN is a buy. Netflix (NFLX): In the past three months, the consensus estimate has climbed 9%. Analysts now forecast 22% sales growth and a whopping 269% earnings growth. NFLX is a strong buy. Tesla (TSLA): In the past three months, analysts have completely reversed their projections. Earlier, the consensus was that Tesla Motors would post a net loss of 3 cents per share. Now the consensus calls for earnings of 12 cents per share. This translates into 113% earnings growth! TSLA is a strong buy. Whirlpool (WHR): In the past three months, earnings estimates have risen 15%. Analysts now expect 47% earnings growth. WHR is a strong buy.

  To put these earnings estimates into perspective, analysts forecast that the average S&P 500 company will grow earnings by 15.1% this quarter. This means that each of the five buys above are well-positioned to win big next earnings season, which kicks off on October 8. If you want to see how the analyst community feels about one of your holdings, feel free to run it through my Portfolio Grader screening tool. After hitting “submit,” you’ll see that one of the components of the stock’s Fundamental Grade is “Analyst Earnings Revisions.”

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Look out Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA), and step aside ManpowerGroup Inc. (NYSE:MAN). A young company called Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (OTCBB:STAF) is coming up fast in your rear-view mirror, and is poised to dominate the fastest growing arena of the temporary staffing world.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Hoping the situation will be anything but temporary, staffing specialist�ManpowerGroup� (NYSE: MAN  ) announced Tuesday it will pay a new, higher semiannual dividend of $0.46�per share on June 14 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 3.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Beamz Interactive Inc (BZIC)

Beamz Interactive, Inc., incorporated on May 25, 2001, develops an interactive laser controller technology that can be used in a range of music, game, therapy, education, senior care, lighting and consumer applications. The Company�� commercial products include Beamz Player and Beamz Pro. By connecting the Beamz Player to a personal computer (PC) and installing the included software, the user can play a range of digitized musical instruments by simply interrupting one or more laser beams with their hands, thereby creating great music in conjunction with a background rhythm track of original, popular, disc jockey (DJ) and children�� songs across numerous music genres (including Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Rock, Classical, Latin). In each song the user can select up to 12 different instruments, music clips and sound effects that are paired with a background rhythm track, amounting to hundreds of instruments to choose from across all songs in the Beamz music library.

BeamzPlayer software makes it easy to make great sounding music in minutes by following the diagram of the Beamz Player on the screen of the attached computer, which allows the user to identify which laser beam controls different instruments. Beamz songs are set up to be regardless of how they are played and the music samples assigned to a laser beam offer more complexity, often with several notes, chords and/or series of music samples controlled by touching one of the laser beams. The Company has commercialized several products that use the Beamz interactive laser controller technology for music making and music-controller related products. These products are interactive music systems that combine laser controller hardware and various versions of interactive music software, including mapping software applications that enable the Beamz laser controller hardware to be used with software applications offered by other companies relating to mixing/DJ, lighting controls and music creation/production applications.

The Com! pany�� hardware product offering consists of three product lines: the Beamz Player consumer product family, the Beamz DJ and Beamz Pro product family, and the Beamz Education, Special Needs, and Physical Rehabilitation product family (Beamz Products). The Beamz Player and Beamz Pro hardware may also be used as a general laser controller for many other purposes, such as lighting, games, music production, and other applications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Beamz Interactive Inc (OTCBB: BZIC), EHouse Global (OTCBB: EHOS) and Winning Brands Corporation (OTCMKTS: WNBD) were all heading in different directions at the end of last week with the first small cap surging 49.94% while the other two sank 31.28% and 25.32%, respectively, on Friday. Moreover, all three small cap stocks are already heading in different directions again this morning. So where should investors and traders place their bets? Here is a closer look at all three small cap stocks:

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: EDGAR Online Inc.(EDGR)

EDGAR Online, Inc. creates and distributes financial data and public filings for equities, mutual funds, and other publicly traded assets worldwide. The company?s data products include access to SEC filings in various formats, standardized and as-reported fundamental financial data, annual and quarterly financial statements, insider trades, institutional holdings, initial and secondary public offerings, Form 8-K disclosures, electronic prospectuses, and other investment instrument disclosure information. Its data solutions comprise the configuration of its data products; conversion of data from unstructured content into XML, extensible business reporting language (XBRL), and PDF formats; and storage and delivery of data and custom feeds, and tools to access information. The company delivers its data and analysis products through online subscriptions, embedded in other Web sites, and through redistributors. It also provides various end-user subscription services, including I-Metrix, which delivers a Web only service; I-Metrix Professional that allows a user to do in-depth analysis through the Web and a Microsoft Excel add-in; EDGAR Pro, which offers financial data, stock ownership, public offering data sets, and advanced search tools; and EDGAR Access, a retail product, which is available through single-seat credit card purchase. In addition, the company provides a mechanism that helps customers in converting financial statements into XBRL for filing with the SEC and other regulators. It serves generally financial, corporate, and advisory professionals who work in investment funds, asset management firms, insurance companies and banks, stock exchanges, and government agencies; and accounting firms, law firms, corporations, or individual investors. The company was formerly known as Cybernet Data Systems, Inc. and changed its name to EDGAR Online, Inc. in January 1999. EDGAR Online, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Rockville, Ma ryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bill Smith]

  FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
  Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )

Top 10 Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Velti plc(VELT)

Velti plc provides mobile marketing and advertising solutions for mobile operators, ad agencies, brands, and media groups. The company?s Mobile Marketing Platform (MMP) helps businesses to plan, execute, monitor, and measure mobile marketing or advertising campaigns on various digital delivery channels, including Internet sites, SMS and MMS, mobile TV, mobile communities, mobile applications, location-based services, and mobile social networking. Its MMP also helps in the creation of mobile Websites, portals, blogs, content, iPhone applications, branded games, and mobile widgets; and in the mobile marketing through mobile clubs, mobile content, contests, couponing, alerts and tips, photo/text to screen, green screen, and image remix applications. In addition, MMP offers Mobile CRM solutions that help in the creation and management of mobile communities, mobile broadcasts, member management, segment management, member rewards, multichannel registration, and advanced profil ing. It has operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 name that's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Velti (VELT), which provides mobile marketing and advertising technology solutions that enable brands, advertising agencies, and mobile operators to implement interactive and measurable campaigns by communicating with and engaging consumers via their mobile devices. This stock has been destroyed by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off sharply by 91%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Velti, you'll notice that this stock recently gapped down big from over $1 a share to 33 cents per share with monster downside volume. Following that gap down, shares of VELT have started to consolidate and move sideways between 33 cents per share on the downside and 44 cents per share on the upside. Shares of VELT are spiking sharply higher on Thursday above some near-term support at 35 cents per share. That move is pushing this stock within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in VELT if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at 44 cents per share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.02 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then VELT could easily explode higher and potentially re-test its gap down day high from August at 66 cents per share.

  Traders can look to buy VELT off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at 35 cents to 33 cents per share. One can also buy VELT off strength once it clears 44 cents per share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.