Penn Virginia is For Lovers (of Price-Target Increases)

Virginia might be for lovers, but analysts love Penn Virginia (PVA).

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The independent oil & gas explorer reported earnings last week, and promptly surged 11%. Now analysts are coming out with reports about why Penn Virginia can head even higher.

Imperial Capital’s Kim Pacanovsky, for instance, raised her price target on Penn Virginia to $18 from $13 today. She explains why:

We believe [Penn Virginia's] Eagle Ford position has been nearly fully derisked, and with 1,125 locations in the play, consistently improving IP rates, and decreasing costs per stage, we believe the company is in an excellent position to continue to grow earnings, EBITDA, and cash flow as well as to continue to improve debt metrics.

Top Small Cap Companies To Buy For 2015

Howard Weil’s Brian Corales, meanwhile, lifted his price target to $23 from $16 with a Sector Outperform rating. He explains why:

[Penn Virginia] continues to deliver very impressive well results, and we are starting to see that translate into production and cash flows. The most recently drilled wells have 30 day rates that average greater than 1 MBoepd, much higher than our current type curve. Additionally, the impressive reserve results in 2013, along with the continued increase in acreage, significantly boosts our NAV. Even on a cash flow basis, [Penn Virginia] continues to trade at a discount to Eagle Ford and Small-Cap peers.  The balance sheet is more stretched than most peers, but there is a clear line of sight to improve the debt metrics. The Company has already sold the EF gas gathering and processing, bringing in $94MM and is planning to sell some non-core E&P assets to offset the cash flow outspend. We have the balance sheet steadily improving as production and cash flows continue to grow.  [Penn Virginia] has really just started accelerating drilling plans, and the 80,000 net acre position could grow relatively quickly. Finally, the upper Eagle Ford looks encouraging, and we do not give any value for this potential. If successful as a separate reservoir, the upper Eagle Ford could provide another increase to the existing location count.

These positive comments came on top of those made by SunTrust Robinson Humphrey on Feb. 20, and KLR Group’s Gail Nicholson, who raised her price target to $26 from $16 on Feb. 21, while noting that Penn Virginia trades at a 15% discount to peers even after gaining about 50% so far this year.

Shares of Penn Virginia have gained 6.2% to $15.02 today at 3:03. p.m., while Sanchez Energy (SN) has risen 5.6% to $30.92, EQT Corp (EQT) has advanced 1.1% to $101.94 and EOG Resources (EOG) is up 1.7% at $180.99.

This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves

If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.

1. Facebook writes another fat check 
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB  ) turned heads with its $19 billion deal for WhatsApp.

There's no shortage of critics arguing that the social networking giant is overpaying for the mega messaging app, but a lot of those likely think that Facebook is overvalued itself. That places the bulk of the price -- $12 billion in Facebook stock and another $3 billion in restricted stock units -- into a different perspective. The balance is $4 billion in cash, and that's not going to break the bank at Facebook.

Skeptics also feel that WhatsApp -- a site with no advertising that charges just $0.99 a year per user after the first year -- is just a bad business. Well, there were plenty of naysayers suggesting that Facebook overpaid when it shelled out $1 billion for Instagram, and the photo-sharing site has only grown more popular.

WhatsApp is the platform folks are using, and that's bigger than just the near-term monetization efforts. A whopping 54 billion messages were sent or received on New Year's Eve alone. There are more active WhatsApp users than one can find on just about any other social platform outside of Facebook. Facebook knows people. Give it some credit here.

2. Electric slide
Shares of Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA  ) hit a new all-time high after posting blowout financial results.

Tesla wound up selling and delivering 6,892 cars during the period, wrapping up 2013 by moving roughly 22,000 Model S sedans. This year will be even better as Tesla plans on ramping up production to the point where it can deliver 35,000 cars.

Tesla's aiming to produce 7,400 cars during the current quarter, but a lot of those will be going overseas and won't be recorded as sales until the following quarter. Investors didn't care, bidding the stock higher on the strong financial results and rosy outlook.

3. It's the wood that makes it good
Once again, Lumber Liquidators  (NYSE: LL  ) is making the most of a housing boom that finds homeowners and investors upgrading their homes with hardwood planks at discount prices. 

Revenue at the hardwood flooring retailer soared 23% to $258.4 million during the holiday quarter. Comps soared 15.6% during the period. Profitability surged 51% to $20.8 million, or $0.74 a share. Analysts were only banking on a profit of $0.72 a share on $255.7 million in revenue.

4. It's a lock 
Identity theft isn't going away, even if you didn't shop at the "cheap chic" retailer this holiday shopping season.

Best Value Companies To Buy For 2015

LifeLock (NYSE: LOCK  ) has been a beneficiary over the years, as folks turn to the company to monitor potential ID breaches. It scored another strong quarter, with revenue climbing 30% and adjusted profitability more than doubling. 

LifeLock has been surprisingly consistent. It has rattled off 35 consecutive quarters of sequential growth in revenue and subscriber count. There are now more the 3 million LifeLock subscribers, and retention rate is improving. It's good to cater to the paranoid.

5. High fiber 
Google  (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) has made Kansas City, Austin, Texas, and Provo, Utah, the first three cities to enjoy the search giant's high-speed Internet service, delivering speeds 100 times faster than traditional providers.

This week Google announced that it has invited U.S. cities in nine metro areas to work with the search giant to explore bringing Google Fiber to their residents. At a time when there's consolidation among broadband providers and many leading players are offering slowing speeds on digital video, the time is right for Google to get aggressive with its platform. 

Source: Google.

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Why retailers aren't protecting you from hackers

  Who hacked Target? NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Big American retail stores have become a top target of cybercriminals, but the retail industry has very little incentive to beef up its security.

Massive retailers have resisted expensive changes to their point-of-sale systems and security standards that could help thwart the kind of major attacks at Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and Neiman Marcus last year. For one thing, they fear that newer credit card technology could slow down checkout lines.

"You have a system that's designed to be as cheap and frictionless as possible, and that convenience came at the cost of security and consumer privacy," said Kevin O'Brien, an executive at data security firm CloudLock.

But retailers also see more to gain from collecting consumer information than protecting it. That magnetic stripe shares your name, bank and card information with anything it touches. Tell a cashier your zip code, and that arms them with information to send a marketing blitz your way. Harnessing that data promises up to 60% higher returns, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

That lucrative flow of data could dry up if retailers adopt more advanced, chip-based cards. Chip-and-PIN payment systems promise stronger security at the checkout by immediately encrypting your information. That means hackers won't have access to your data -- but retailers wouldn't either.

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Meanwhile, banks and retailers have waited on one another to implement chip-and-PIN. It will cost at least $8 billion to upgrade the nation's 610 million credit cards, 520 million debit cards, 15 million card terminals and 360,000 ATMs. Banks and retailers a! re engaging in what identity theft expert Adam Levin calls "a dangerous game of chicken."

Retailers' current standards just aren't cutting it. The industry regulates itself through the Payment Card Industry Council. But the relatively relaxed PCI standards are often misinterpreted as the pinnacle of security instead of the bare minimum to protect consumer information, said SilverSky analyst Richard Westmoreland. The council levies fines when fraud occurs, but most hacks are small-scale and don't significantly impact retailers' bottom lines.

Cybercriminals have taken notice. Hackers that once targeted banks exclusively now aim at retailers. In 2013, they recorded the highest number of data breaches in a decade, according to the Open Security Foundation. Meanwhile, the underground market for credit cards and personal information has exploded, noted Javelin Strategy & Research senior analyst Alphonse Pascual.

That's why hackers were able to steal personal data on up to 70 million Target customers, plus 40 million debit and credit cards swiped there and another 1.1 million cards from Neiman Marcus.

These exposed the personal or financial data of nearly a third of U.S. adults, dire enough that Congress recently held three hearings asking those retailers and experts how to prevent massive data breaches from happening again.

One possible step is to force companies everywhere to notify consumers when their data has been exposed -- instead of relying on a patchwork of 46 different state laws.

"There should be a single federal law that sets out very clearly to companies that are breached: Here is what you have to do, when you have to do it, and how you have to do it," said Jason Oxman, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association trade group.

Another is to force the adoption of chip-and-PIN cards. It worked in England, where credit card fraud plummeted 34% in the six years after British banks and merchants implemented them. Credit card companies! already ! have that in the works for October 2015, when any bank or retailer that doesn't have the technology will be liable for fraud losses. The federal government could speed that up and require additional protections.

The retail lobby says it's now on board for those changes -- but they still want banks to make the first move on new credit cards. Until both industries get their act together, however, be on guard for further Target-style breaches.

"This problem is systemic to the U.S. and won't go away anytime soon," said David Burg, the top cybersecurity consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Google, car makers bring Android to dashboards

Google has kicked off press day here at CES 2014 in Las Vegas by announcing that Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai, and chip manufacturer Nvidia are creating a partnership aimed at bringing Android to your car.

Called the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), it promises that automotive infotainment systems may run on the open-source operating system as soon as 2014.

The idea of Audi bringing Android to the automotive scene was long-rumored ahead of CES. While it was expected that Audi and Google would pair up to bring Android into the car, the inclusion of other partners is something that hadn't hit the rumor mill until today.

The alliance uses a platform that's already familiar to drivers and developers alike, giving automakers access to an open ecosystem and allowing programmers to easily create new apps specifically tailored to in-car use.

When Nvidia revealed its latest chip last night, the Tegra K1, it specifically teased the possibility of cars that could employ Android computing not just for infotainment, but for a host of demanding functions such as driverless travel.

Patrick Brady, Android's director of engineering, wrote in a blog post that OAA would create a "driving-optimized experience," customizing Android to make driving "safer, easier and more enjoyable for everyone."

We already saw an Android-powered infotainment system in the 2014 Kia Soul at last year's New York Auto Show, and came away impressed with its speed and customizability. We're hoping to see similar results from the automakers in the Alliance.

Brady said the announcement of OAA was "just the beginning," as other companies are welcome to join. With Apple's promise of iOS in the Car, competition for dashboard real estate may be heating up.

Get more coverage of the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show from Reviewed.com and follow @ReviewedDotCom on Twitter.

Betting on a Turn

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) seems to have halted its slide.  The index bottomed out year-to-date on February 3, when it was down 11.2 percent. Since then, it has gained 1.5 percent, but bargains in the emerging markets still abound.

As I discussed in "A Plan, Not a Panic" two weeks ago, emerging markets are in much better economic shape today than they were even just a few years ago, much less during the currency crisis that peaked in 1998. Foreign exchange reserves are generally much more robust, budget deficits are narrower if they exist at all and, so far at least, the full-blown currency war that many were predicting last year isn't likely to breakout.

With rationality finally setting in, this is a terrific time to do a little bargain hunting in the emerging markets.

The most obvious play here is the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index itself. Covering China (18.8 percent of assets), South Korea (16 percent), Taiwan (12 percent) and Brazil (10.2 percent) with smaller positions spanning Asia and Europe, the fund is most exposed to any shift in sentiment.

The fund is currently trading at just 10.2 times forward one-year earnings, well below its average of about 18 times over the past two decades. On a price-to-sales basis it is even more attractive valued at just 1.03 times; the last time the index was this cheap on a sales basis was early 2009.

So while there are always dangers in trying to call a bottom to any market move, valuations alone are attractive enough to start pulling bargain hunters back in.

A broadly diversified play on an emerging market turnaround, iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a great buy up to 45, which leaves plenty of room to run back to the average.

For those who can tolerate a bit more risk, you can also drill down and make more country-specific bets.

At this point my favorite would be iShares MSCI Sout! h Korea Index Fund (NYSE: EWY).

South Korea is something of a special case; despite having a highly developed economy, it is still lumped in with emerging markets.

South Korea's per capital income last year totaled more than USD33,000, well ahead of Spain and Italy and closing the gap between France and Japan. The South Korean economy is also the 15th largest in the world, boasts low unemployment and almost nonexistent inflation and ranks 7th in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index.

That said, South Korea still uses capital controls to help protect its won. There is limited currency convertibility outside the country, essentially forcing traders to use Korean institutions. There are also some limits on foreign access to Korean equity markets, essentially making it more difficult to move money out of the country.

Because of those restrictions, MSCI (NYSE: MSCI), the company which is the primary arbiter of what is and isn't an emerging market, still lumps South Korea in with the emerging markets. That creates an advantage for market watchers, though.

Since South Korea is included in almost every emerging market index, any time those countries take a hit South Korea falls with them. But given the fact that it has more developed market characteristics than not, it's also usually one of the first to turn.

So far in February, there are early signs of improvement as iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund has crossed both its 10-day and 200-day moving averages. Its relative strength index reading has also closed in on its average reading, all of which point to the fund's turn gaining momentum.

IShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund is a riskier bet on a turn, but it should pay off up to 63.

VW, UAW cooperate before union election begins

DETROIT — The UAW and Volkswagen have already forged a high level of cooperation even before workers at the company's Chattanooga, Tenn., plant begin voting Wednesday on whether they want union representation.

Volkswagen has accepted the union's "principles for fair union elections" that UAW President Bob King began discussing in 2010.

STORY: Tenn. lawmakers issue incentive threat in VW union move
STORY: Volkswagen: Union vote won't affect U.S. plans

"Volkswagen may be one of the few employers — if not the first — that has ever explicitly agreed to those principles," said Gary Klotz, a labor attorney with the Detroit firm of Butzel Long. "It's almost a dream world for the UAW."

That management-union cooperation, before about 1,500 workers vote Wednesday through Friday, has inflamed opposition among Tennessee Republicans and other anti-union groups who have purchased billboard space and lobbied workers to reject the union.

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U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., pleaded with Volkswagen workers to reject the UAW, which he described as "a Detroit-based organization" and "the largest shareholder of General Motors." Corker is the former mayor of Chattanooga.

“It's still neutral in that Volkswagen is not saying that regardless of what happens they will support the UAW. ”

— Paul Secunda, professor of law at Marquette University

That is a reference to the 8.8% stake in GM held by the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, established in the 2009 taxpayer-funded bankruptcy of GM to cover health care claims of the company's UAW retirees.

The trust chose to accept shares of GM as part of the bankruptcy restructuring. Corker voted against federal aid to GM and Chrysler.

"The key to their survival is to come down and organize plants in the Southeast," Corker said. "We're concerned about the impact. Look at Detroit."

Maury Nicely, a Chattanooga lawyer representing the anti-union group Southern Momentum, said some groups in Tennessee are, "examining the legality of this rush to an election and whether it may form the basis for some sort of unfair labor practice charge."

As voting begins, Southern Momentum and the Center for Worker Freedom, funded by Washington. D.C.-based anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist, have accused Volkswagen of backing the UAW.

Republican leaders, who control majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly, and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam have threatened to reject incentives for a Volkswagen expansion in Chattanooga if workers accept the UAW.

Gary Casteel, a UAW regional director, said it's "sad that when workers exercise their legal right to form a union some Tennessee politicians are threatening the economic well-being of communities and businesses."

There is an unusual lack of tension between company leaders and the UAW, at least in their public comments.

Volkswagen and the UAW agreed Jan. 27 to hold this week's election under supervision of the National Labor Relations Board.

In most NLRB-supervised elections, corporations fight hard to convince workers to reject a union. Volkswagen is accustomed to dealing with unions in Europe and South America organized through joint employee-management works councils. It has chosen to remain neutral in Chattanooga.

“The key to! their survival is to come down and organize plants in the Southeast. We're concerned about the impact. Look at Detroit.”

— U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.

Details of the neutrality agreement include the following provisions:

• The parties "will communicate with employees in a non-adversarial, positive manner and will not defame or make any untruthful statements regarding one another."

• Both parties will make presentations to employees. The Volkswagen presentation was mandatory. The UAW portion was optional.

• Management provided the UAW with a room where it could talk to employees and answer questions.

• Management informed employees it believes establishment of a works council is in the common interest of Volkswagen and its employees.

• Management gave the UAW a list of employees' names and home addresses.

Paul Secunda, professor of law at Marquette University, said the election agreement would probably withstand any legal challenges.

"It's still neutral in the sense that Volkswagen is not saying that regardless of what happens they will support the UAW," Secunda said. "The NLRB ... has generally held that these types of ground rules and procedures are lawful."

General Motors Stock Running Low on Momentum Fuel

2013 was a great year for the automotive industry as a stronger economy pushed many to buy new cars, while an improved European market had a similar effect on car sales across the Atlantic. Hopes were pretty high for a solid 2014 too, though with recent data some are wondering if that will really be the case.

These concerns have really been centered on the January car sales report which came in far below expectations. Most major automotive manufacturers saw plunging sales which were largely blamed on the frigid weather across much of the Midwest, and the intense snow in much of the Northern part of the country.

Yet while many viewed the weather as a culprit for the lax sales, luxury brands actually saw a pretty decent January. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi all saw gains for the month (year-over-year), while Nissan and Fiat Chrysler both saw double digit increases from the previous year.

To me, this suggests that more than the weather was at play for the January figures, and that a shifting demand picture could really be hurting some car makers this year. This is particularly true for General Motors (GM), as the company saw one of the biggest declines in sales for the month, with total sales slumping 12% (year-over-year).

GM in Focus

This is quite the disappointment for GM as the company had seen a smooth ride for much of 2013, and it finally broke free from the 'Government Motors' label as the U.S. Treasury sold off the rest of its stake in the automotive giant. However, thanks to its weak January sales and a sluggish earnings report, 2014 isn't shaping up too well.

In the firm's most recent earnings release GM was expected to post earnings of 88 cents a share. However, the company saw just 67 cents in profits, a miss of over 23%, and the first such miss since the December 2012 quarter.

Even more troubling was the miss on sales for GM, as this represented the first such miss since the June 2012 quarter. While it was barely a miss—shy by 0.83%– it does suggest that the company is having trouble meeting expectations. And when you throw in the weak January numbers, investors have to be feeling a little wary about GM's stock in the near term.

GM Estimates

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With this backdrop, it isn't too surprising to note that analysts have been slashing their estimates for General Motors stock, pretty much across the board. All new estimates in the past 30 days have been lower for the current quarter, while the same trend has been seen for the current year and next year time frames as well.

Thanks to these declining estimates, the consensus has been sliding for General Motors stock  pretty much across the board. In fact, the current quarter has seen the consensus slide from $1.04 per share 30 days ago to the current level at just 78 cents a share, suggesting that analysts are becoming increasingly bearish on the firm's near term prospects.

This drop in expectations has led GM to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), meaning it is in roughly the bottom 5% of all stocks that we cover. And with a poor Zacks Industry Rank for the automotive domestic sector—bottom 30%– the broader space isn't looking too hot either.

Better Pick

With such a poor industry rank, solid companies in the domestic automotive sector are hard to come by. However, there is one top Ranked company in the space which could be a great selection for those who want to stay in the space, Tesla Motors (TSLA).

Tesla currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and earnings estimates have been surging in recent sessions for this firm, pushing year-over-year growth expectations for this year up over 100%. And since it is in the luxury car market, it could survive the bad weather better than the low-to-mid market focused GM, and thus be a better near term selection for automotive stock investors.

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Zacks Investment Research

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015

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 chemical maker Zep (NYSE: ZEP  ) plunged 17% today after its quarterly results missed Wall Street expectations.

So what: The stock has rallied nicely in 2013 on steadily improving fundamentals, but a wide third-quarter miss -- EPS of $0.28 on revenue of $186 million versus the consensus of $0.42 and $197 million -- is forcing analysts to recalibrate their growth estimates. While management said that its diversification and expansion initiatives are right on track, weak demand and higher costs are weighing heavily on profitability.

Now what: Unfortunately for Zep bulls, management doesn't expect the operating pressure to let up anytime soon. "[W]e are currently experiencing organic revenue declines and expect this to continue over the next twelve months," said Chairman and CEO John Morgan. "We will therefore restructure the business to bring costs in-line with our revenue expectations and improve return on invested capital, while continuing to prudently invest in future growth initiatives." With the stock now off about 20% from its 52-week highs and trading at a forward P/E of 10, it might even be a good time to buy into that turnaround talk.�

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: Huntsman Corporation(HUN)

Huntsman Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of differentiated organic and inorganic chemical products worldwide. The company offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, propylene oxide, polyols, propylene glycol, thermoplastic polyurethane, aniline, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether products, which are used to produce rigid and flexible foams, as well as coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers; and performance products, such as amines, carbonates, surfactants, linear alkyl benzene, maleic anhydride, performance chemicals, ethylene glycol, olefins, and technology licenses. It also provides advanced materials comprising epoxy resin compounds and formulations; cross-linking, matting agents, and curing agents; and epoxy, acrylic and polyurethane-based adhesives, and tooling resin formulations. In addition, Huntsman Corporation offers textile chemicals, dyes, and titanium dioxide. The company?s products are used in various applicatio ns, including adhesives, aerospace, automotive, construction products, durable and non-durable consumer products, electronics, medical, packaging, paints and coatings, power generation, refining, synthetic fiber, textile chemicals, and dye industries. Huntsman Corporation was founded in 1970 and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Flannelly]

  Due to a number of tailwinds that should benefit Huntsman Corporation (HUN) over the next two years, analysts at Jefferies upgraded the chemical products manufacturer on Monday.

  The analysts upgraded HUN from “Hold” to “Buy” and now see shares reaching $26, up from the previous target of $20. This new price target suggests a 35% upside to the stock’s Friday closing price of $19.27.

  “Tailwinds into 2014-2015 (butane, new PO/MTBE JV, productivity, better FCF profile, EU footprint), recent relative performance and relative valuation support outperformance into 1H14 even with a neutral resolution on TiO2,” Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander noted regarding Huntsman Corp.’s future performance.

  Huntsman Corporation shares were up 48 cents, or 2.49%, during pre-market trading on Monday. The stock is up 21.19% year-to-date.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Another source of potential problems is the titanium dioxide market. DuPont has made substantial investments in boosting TiO2 production based on the extremely high demand seen a couple of years ago, but buyers stockpiled substantial amounts of the chemical in order to avoid paying ever-higher prices. DuPont joined competitors Huntsman (NYSE: HUN  ) and Tronox (NYSE: TROX  ) in implementing TiO2 price increases, with DuPont's effective July 1, but the question remains whether the paint makers that need the chemical will keep buying or continue to seek cheaper substitutes.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: OCI Partners LP (OCIP)

OCI Partners LP, incorporated on February 07, 2013, owns and operates an integrated methanol and ammonia production facility that is strategically located on the Texas Gulf Coast near Beaumont. The Company is a methanol producer in the United States with an annual methanol production capacity of approximately 730,000 metric tons and an annual ammonia production capacity of approximately 265,000 metric tons, and it is in the early stages of a debottlenecking project that increases its annual methanol production capacity by 25% to approximately 912,500 metric tons and its annual ammonia production capacity by 15% to approximately 305,000 metric tons.

Both methanol and ammonia are global commodities that are essential building blocks for numerous end-use products. Methanol is a liquid petrochemical that is used in a variety of industrial and energy-related applications. Methanol is used in industrial applications to produce adhesives used in manufacturing wood products, such as plywood, particle board and laminates, resins to treat paper and plastic products, paint and varnish removers, solvents for the textile industry and polyester fibers for clothing and carpeting. Methanol is also used outside of the United States as a direct fuel for automobile engines, as a fuel blended with gasoline and as an octane booster in reformulated gasoline. In the United States, ammonia is primarily used as a feedstock to produce nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea and ammonium sulfate, and is also directly applied to soil as a fertilizer. In addition, ammonia is widely used in industrial applications, particularly in the Texas Gulf Coast market, including in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, resins and numerous other chemical compounds.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Stocks on the Move: Potbelly Corp. (NASDAQ: PBPB) is up 119.1% at $30.68 after a blistering IPO at $14 a share. OCI Partners LP (NYSE: OCIP) is up 5.6% at $19.01 after an IPO at $18.00 a share. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp. (NYSE: CHMI) is down 7.6% at $18.48 following its IPO on Friday morning. Discovery Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: DSCO) is up 37.1% at $2.70 following approval of updated specifications for a drug to prevent respiratory distress in premature infants. Forest Oil Corp. (NYSE: FST) is down 9.7% at $5.74 following the sale of $1 billion worth of assets in the Texas panhandle.

Top 5 Low Price Stocks To Invest In 2015: Koppers Holdings Inc (KOP)

Koppers Holdings Inc. (Koppers), incorporated on November 12, 2004,is a global provider of carbon compounds and commercial wood treatment products and services. The Company's products are used in a variety of niche applications in a diverse range of end-markets, including the aluminum, railroad, specialty chemical, utility, concrete and steel industries. The Company serves its customers through a global manufacturing and distribution networks, with manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark. The Company operates in two business segments: Carbon Materials & Chemicals and railroads & Utility Products.

The Company's operations are, to a substantial extent, vertically integrated. Through the Company's Carbon Materials & Chemicals business, the Company processes coal tar into a variety of products, including carbon pitch, creosote, naphthalene and phthalic anhydride, which are intermediate materials necessary in the production of aluminum, the pressure treatment of wood, the production of high-strength concrete, and the production of plasticizers and specialty chemicals, respectively. Through the Company's Railroad & Utility Products business, the Company believes that the Company is thesupplier of railroad crossties to the North American railroads.

Carbon Materials & Chemicals

Carbon pitch, naphthalene, and creosote are produced through the distillation of coal tar, a by-product generated through the processing of coal into coke for use in steel and iron manufacturing. Coal tar distillation involves the conversion of coal tar into a variety of intermediate chemical products in processes beginning with distillation. During the distillation process, heat and vacuum are utilized to separate coal tar into three primary components: carbon pitch (approximately 50%), chemical oils (approximately 20%) and creosote (approximately 30%).

The Company's Carbon Materials & Chemicals business! (CM&C) manufactures principal products, including carbon pitch, a critical raw material used in the production of aluminum and steel; naphthalene, used for the production of phthalic anhydride and as a surfactant in the production of concrete; phthalic anhydride, used in the production of plasticizers, polyester resins and alkyd paints, and creosote and carbon black feedstock, used in the treatment of wood or as a feedstock in the production of carbon black. The Company also uses naphthalene as a feedstock in the manufacture of phthalic anhydride. The primary markets for phthalic anhydride are in the production of plasticizers, unsaturated polyester resins and alkyd resins. The Company is a producer of carbon pitch for the aluminum industry.

Creosote is used as a commercial wood treatment chemical to preserve railroad crossties and lumber, utility poles and piling. The majority of the Company's domestically produced creosote is sold to its Railroad & Utility Products business. In Australia, China and Europe, creosote is sold primarily into the carbon black market for use as a feedstock in the production of carbon black. In Europe and China creosote is also sold to wood treaters. The Company's wood treating plants in the United States purchase substantially all of their creosote from the Company's tar distillation plants.

Other products include the sale of refined tars, benzole and specialty chemicals. The Company's CM&C business manufactures its primary products and sells them directly to the Company's global customer base under long-term contracts or through purchase orders negotiated by its regional sales personnel and coordinated through its global marketing group in the United States. The Company's nine coal tar distillation facilities including joint ventures and four carbon materials terminals give the Company the ability to offer customers multiple sourcing and a consistent supply of products.

Railroad & Utility Products

The Company's Railroad ! & Utility! Products business (R&UP) sells treated and untreated wood products, rail joint bars and services primarily to the railroad and public utility markets in the United States and Australia. The Company also produces concrete crossties, a complementary product to its wood treatment business, through a joint venture in the United States.

Railroad products include procuring and treating items such as crossties, switch ties and various types of lumber used for railroad bridges and crossings. Railroad products also include manufacturing and selling rail joint bars, which are steel bars used to join rails together for railroads. Utility products include transmission and distribution poles for electric and telephone utilities and piling used in industrial foundations, beach housing, docks and piers. The R&UP business operates 13 wood treating plants, one rail joint bar manufacturing facility, one co-generation facility and 13 pole distribution yards located throughout the United States and Australia. The Company's network of plants is strategically located near timber supplies to enable the Company to access raw materials and service customers effectively. In addition, the Company's crosstie treating plants are typically adjacent to its railroad customers' track lines, and its pole distribution yards are typically located near its utility customers.

In the United States, hardwood lumber is procured by the Company from hundreds of small sawmills throughout the northeastern, midwestern and southern areas of the country. The crossties are shipped via rail car or trucked directly to one of the Company's crosstie treating plants, all of which are on line with a railroad. The crossties are either air-stacked for a period of six to twelve months or artificially dried by a process called boultonizing. Once dried, the crossties are pressure treated with creosote, a product of the Company's CM&C business.

The Company's R&UP business' customer base is the North American Class I railroa! d market,! which buys approximately 80% of all crossties produced in the United States and Canada. The Company also has relationships with many of the approximately 550 short-line and regional rail lines. This also forms the customer base for the Company's rail joint bar products. The railroad crosstie market is a mature market with approximately 23 million replacement crossties (both wood and non-wood) purchased during 2012. The Company supplies all seven of the North American Class I railroads and have contracts with six of them. The Company treats poles with a variety of preservatives, including pentachlorophenol, copper chrome arsenates and creosotes .In the United States the market for utility pole products is characterized by a number of small producers selling into a price-sensitive industry. The utility pole market is fragmented domestically, with over 200 investor-owned electric and telephone utilities and 2,900 smaller municipal utilities and rural electric associations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Koppers Holdings (NYSE: KOP  ) were looking rusty today, falling as much as 12% after the company cut its outlook for the current quarter.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: Linde AG (LIN)

Linde AG is a German company engaged in the gases and engineering sector. It operates two divisions: Gases and Engineering, as core divisions, as well as Gist. The Gases Division includes Healthcare, producing medical gases; and Tonnage, as its two global business units; as well as the two business areas Merchant and Packaged Gases, offering liquefied and cylinder gases, and Electronics. The Company�� products are used in the energy sector, for steel production, chemical processing, environmental protection and welding, as well as in food processing, glass production and electronics. The Engineering division offers planning, project development and construction of turnkey industrial plants used in fields, such as petrochemical and chemical industries, in refineries and fertilizer plants, to recover air gases, to produce hydrogen and synthesis gases, to treat natural gas, and in the pharmaceutical industry. As of August 13, 2012, the Company acquired Lincare Holdings Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Gabelli started the week by reducing his position in LIN Media (LIN). The guru reduced his position by -1.36%. Gabelli sold a total of 23,007 shares at an average price of $16.88 per share. Gabelli now holds on to a total of 1,666,208 shares of LIN Media, representing 3.06% of the company�� shares outstanding.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: Prospect Global Resources Inc (PGRX)

Prospect Global Resources Inc. (Prospect), incorporated on July 22, 2008, is an exploration and development of a potash deposit located in the Holbrook Basin of eastern Arizona, which it refers to as the Holbrook Project. The Holbrook Project consists of permits and leases on 147 mineral estate sections in the Holbrook Basin of eastern Arizona, along the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau.

The Company holds interest and control the Holbrook Project through its wholly owned subsidiary, AWP. Through AWP, the Company holds potash exploration permits on 38 Arizona state sections, own the mineral rights on eight private sections and hold leases for the mineral rights on 101 private sections which, in total, cover approximately 90,000 acres.

The Holbrook Project

The Company�� Holbrook Project consists of permits and leases on 147 mineral estate sections spanning approximately 90,000 acres in the Holbrook Basin of eastern Arizona. The Holbrook Project is surrounded by the Navajo Reservation to the north and north-east, some Apache and Hopi Reservation grounds to the south, and the Petrified Forest National Park to the west. The Holbrook Basin is a 5,000 square mile kidney-shaped sedimentary basin in east-central Arizona located along the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau. The potash beds in the Holbrook Basin are hosted within the Permian Supai Salt Formation. The mineralized zones are located at relatively shallow depths, generally less than 1,600 feet.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: Zoltek Companies Inc (ZOLT)

Zoltek Companies, Inc. is a holding company, which operates through wholly owned subsidiaries, Zoltek Corporation, Zoltek Zrt., Zoltek de Mexico SA de CV, Zoltek de Occidente SA de CV, Engineering Technology Corporation (Entec Composite Machines), Zoltek Properties, Inc., and Zoltek Automotive, LLC. Zoltek Corporation (Zoltek) develops, manufactures and markets carbon fibers and technical fibers in the United States. The Company is an applied technology and advanced materials company. It commercialization of carbon fiber through composites used in a range of commercial products, which it sells under the Panex trade name. In addition to manufacturing carbon fiber, it produces an intermediate product, a stabilized and oxidized acrylic fiber used in flame- and heat-resistant applications, which it sells under the Pyron trade name. During fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), its net sales to Vestas Wind Systems, a wind turbine manufacturer represented % of its net sales. In October 2011, Zoltek purchased a building in St. Peters, Missouri to house its prepreg operations.

Zoltek Zrt. is a Hungarian subsidiary that manufactures and markets carbon fibers and technical fibers and manufactures acrylic fiber precursor raw material used in production of carbon fibers and technical fibers. Zoltek de Mexico SA de CV and Zoltek de Occidente SA de CV are Mexican subsidiaries that manufacture carbon fiber and precursor raw material. Entec Composite Machines manufactures and markets filament winding and pultrusion equipment used in the production composite parts. The Company�� sales markets are in Europe and the United States. The Company has manufacturing plants in Nyergesujfalu, Hungary, Guadalajara, Mexico, Abilene, Texas and St. Charles, Missouri. Its Texas plant houses carbon fiber manufacturing lines and value-added processing capabilities. Its Missouri plant is engaged in the production of technical fibers for aircraft brake and other friction applications and also produces limited! amounts of carbon fibers. In addition, it has facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah where it designs and builds composite manufacturing equipment and produce resin pre-impregnated carbon fibers, called prepregs. It performs certain downstream processing, such as weaving, knitting, blending with other fibers, chopping and milling and preparation of pre-form, pre-cut stacks of fabric. In addition, its Salt Lake City-based Entec Composite Machines subsidiary designs and builds composite manufacturing equipment and markets the equipment along with manufacturing technology and materials. It also provides composite design and engineering for development of applications for carbon fiber reinforced composites.

The Company competes with Hexcel Corporation, Cytec Industries, Toray Group, Toho Tenax, Mitsubishi Chemical and SGL Carbon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Shares of world-leading carbon fiber manufacturer�Zoltek� (NASDAQ: ZOLT  ) �have been pushed to new highs after a frantic attempt by Quinpario Partners to acquire a large position in the company. Despite being turned away by management, the fund does make valid points about the company's general lack of progress given its global scope and potential. Investors in this business built around a game-changing material may be worrying whether shares are about to fall back to earth. In the following video, Fool.com contributor Maxx Chatsko gives at least one reason for investors to think that shares can hold their current levels -- or even trek higher.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  3. Zoltek (NASDAQ: ZOLT  )
  Zoltek was an interesting investment at the beginning of the year for futurist investors. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of carbon fiber in the world. In fact, its lightweight and high-strength carbon fiber is used almost exclusively in the largest wind turbine blades around the world and played a major role in America's 20-fold improvement in breezy energy capacity since 2000. This material of the future has many other uses and potential uses as well, but Zoltek has never really gained the confidence of the market in any big way: Its market cap was hovering near $300 million at the start of the year.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Toray Industries Inc.(3402.TO), the global market leader in carbon fiber, agreed to buy smaller rival Zoltek Cos.(ZOLT) in a deal valued at $584 million. The Japanese synthetic-fiber maker offered $16.75 a share, a 9.5% discount to Thurday’s close. Zoltek has struggled amid what it has called a cyclical downturn in the wind energy market. Zoltek shares dropped 10% to $16.58 in light premarket trading.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: Calgon Carbon Corp (CCC)

Calgon Carbon Corporation is a provider of products, services, and solutions for purifying water and air. The Company operates in three reportable segments: Activated Carbon and Service, Equipment, and Consumer. The Activated Carbon and Service segment manufactures granular and powdered activated carbon for use in applications to primarily remove organic compounds from water, air and other liquids and gases. The service aspect of the segment consists of reactivation and the leasing, monitoring and maintenance of carbon adsorption equipment. The Equipment segment provides solutions to customers��air and water purification problems through the design, fabrication, installation, and sale of equipment systems that utilize a combination of the Company�� enabling technologies: carbon adsorption, ultraviolet light (UV), Ballast Water Treatment (BWT), and advanced ion exchange separation (ISEP). The Consumer segment primarily consists of the manufacture and sale of carbon cloth. On March 31, 2011 the Company completed the acquisition of Calgon Carbon Japan KK (CCJ).

Activated Carbon and Service

The sale of activated carbon is the principle component of the Activated Carbon and Service business segment. Activated carbon is a porous material that removes organic compounds from liquids and gases by a process known as adsorption. In adsorption, unwanted organic molecules contained in a liquid or gas are attracted and bound to the surface of the pores of the activated carbon as the liquid or gas is passed through. The primary raw material used in the production of the Company�� activated carbons is bituminous coal which is crushed, sized and then processed in low temperature kilns followed by high temperature furnaces. The Company also markets activated carbons from other raw materials, including coconut shell and wood. The Company produces and sells a range of activated, impregnated or acid washed carbons in granular, powdered or pellet form. Granular activated carbon (GAC) particl! es are irregular in shape and generally used in fixed filter beds for continuous flow purification processes.

Another component of the Activated Carbon and Service business segment are the optional services associated with supplying the Company�� products and systems required for purification, separation, concentration, taste and odor control. The Company offers a variety of treatment services at customer facilities, including carbon supply, equipment leasing, installation and demobilization, transportation and spent carbon reactivation. Other services include feasibility testing, process design, performance monitoring and maintenance of Company-owned equipment. The central component of the Company�� service business is reactivation of spent carbon and re-supply. The Company provides reactivation/recycling services in packages ranging from a 55 gallon drum to truckload quantities.

Equipment

Along with providing activated carbon products, the Company has developed a portfolio of standardized, pre-engineered, adsorption systems capable of treating liquid flows from 1 gallons per minute to 1,400 gallons per minute, which can be delivered and installed at treatment sites. These self-contained adsorption systems are used for vapor phase applications, such as volatile organic compound (VOC) control, air stripper off-gases, and landfill gas emissions. Liquid phase equipment systems are used for applications of potable water, process purification, wastewater treatment, groundwater remediation and de-chlorination. The Company produces a range of odor control equipment, which typically utilizes catalytic activated carbon to control odors at municipal wastewater treatment facilities and pumping stations. The Company�� variety of equipment systems treats the odors that emanate from municipal wastewater treatment facilities and the sewage collection systems that bring the waste to the treatment plant.

The ISEP (Ionic Separator) continuous ion exchange units ! are used ! for the purification and recovery of many products in the food, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. The ISEP Continuous Separator units perform ion exchange separations using countercurrent processing. The ISEP and CSEP (chromatographic separator) systems are used at over 300 installations worldwide in more than 40 applications in industrial settings, as well as in environmental applications, including perchlorate and nitrate removal from drinking water. The Hyde GUARDIAN System was developed as a chemical-free, International Maritime Organization (IMO) type approved, ballast water management solution. The system is designed to meet the needs of ship owners to install treatment system.

Consumer

The primary product offered in the Consumer segment is carbon cloth. Carbon cloth, which is activated carbon in cloth form, is manufactured in the United Kingdom and sold to the medical, military, and specialty markets. Zorflex Activated Carbon Cloth can be used in numerous additional applications, including sensor protection; filters for ostomy bags; wound dressings; conservation of artifacts, and respiratory masks.

The Company competes with Norit, N.V., Mead/Westvaco Corporation, Siemens Water Technologies, Trojan Technologies, Inc., Xylem, Wedeco Ideal Horizons, Panasia, Alfa Lavel Tumba AB, Hyde Marine, Inc. and Wartsila.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Computacenter Plc (CCC) slipped 4.5 percent to 543 pence, its biggest drop since June. UBS AG lowered the technology-services provider to neutral from buy, citing its valuation. The shares have climbed to 13.18 times estimated earnings from 11.81 times at the end of last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Top 5 Chemical Stocks To Own For 2015: Bacanora Minerals Ltd (BCN)

Bacanora Minerals Ltd. (Bacanora) is an exploration-stage company. The Company is a mining company engaged in exploration for mineral deposits in Mexico. The Company�� mineral properties include Tubutama Borate, Magdalena Borate and Sonora Lithium. The Company�� exploration activities include Borate Properties and Lithium Property. Mineramex Limited is the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary, whose assets consist of 99.9% interest of Minera Sonora Borax, S.A. de C.V. (MSB) and 60% interest of Minerales Industriales Tubutama, S.A. de C.V. (MIT). Tubutama Borate project consists of six mining concessions with a total area of 1,661 hectares. The concessions are located 15 kilometers from the town of Tubutama, and they are 100% owned by MIT. The Magdalena Borate project consists of seven concessions, with a total area of 15,508 hectares. The concessions are located 15 kilometers from the city of Magdalena and the city of Santa Ana, and are 100% owned by MSB.

What the $636 Million Lottery Winners Should Do (and Not Do)

The Mega Millions lottery reached a second-best level ever of $636 million for the December 17, 2013 drawing. It now appears that there are two winning tickets. One was reported to be sold in San Jose, Calif., and one was sold in Georgia.

This Mega Millions lottery had seen more than 20 drawings with no jackpot winner. The prior record for the Mega Millions was $656 million, in March of 2012, and was split among three winners in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

The real question is simple, yet complicated: What should the lotto winners do right now? 24/7 Wall St. has created a simple plan of what lotto winners should do (and not do) if they win empire-making money of this magnitude.

Few people will ever win a lottery of any size in their lives. The good news about our lotto winning plan is that it pertains to anyone who suddenly comes into money. This includes those who win big judgments, who unexpectedly inherit large sums of money, who have an unexpected cash surge, athletes who get huge initial signing bonuses or endorsements, and others who get wealth quickly. Our instant wealth tools work almost universally.

How ironic is it that winning the lotto also comes with some serious pitfalls? We will have to see what happens down the road for these two who appear to have won $318 million or so.

Many lottery winners have ended up bankrupt in just a few short years after becoming vastly wealthy. We do not want that to happen to you. Many athletes and wealthy entertainers also went belly up. This is just not necessary and can easily be avoided if handled properly from the start.

The 24/7 Wall St. 12-step program for lotto winners is intended to be the first-step to protecting yourself and your newly won empire. We have evaluated what to do and not to do for tax purposes and financial and personal security, as well as what not go splurge on, and many other things.

Lottery winnings have made many millionaires. Again, they have also created many stories of an instant rise and a rapid fall. There is even one that may have ended in a murder. If you are lucky enough to have won this lottery, or any lottery in the past (or future), please do not become one of the bad statistics.

Source: PA Lottery Mega Million

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The global beverage giant Diageo (DEO) has teamed with the international rap star Diddy to purchase DeLeon, a luxury brand of tequila produced in the Mexican town of Purisima del Rincon. Diddy (a.k.a. Sean Combs) and Diageo are hoping to replicate the success of their Ciroc vodka venture, which resulted in a 40-fold increase in sales as Diddy fronted for Diageo's label.

For long term investors, Diageo offers a cocktail of earnings, sales, and dividend growth.

Based in London, Diageo is the world's biggest distiller. It sells such well-known brands as Guiness, Ketel One, Johnie Walker and Captain Morgan in more than 180 countries.

Both sales and earnings growth are improving for Diageo. Over the past five years, sales growth was 7.2%. On a quarterly basis, sales growth is now at 16.9%.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Tsingyuan Brewery Ltd (BEER.PK)

Tsingyuan Brewery Ltd., formerly Sabre Industrial, Inc., incorporated on July 25, 1996, is a manufacturer and distributor of brewer's malt and beer throughout northern and eastern China. The Company has two business lines: brewer's malt and beer production.

The brewer's malt is shipped to brewers in 10 provinces across China. The beer products are distributed throughout six provinces. The Company utilizes the German brewing techniques and uses barley, water and hops. Tsingyuan Brewery Ltd. promotes nine products under its brand names Qinglin, Qingyi, and Qingyuan.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Tsingyuan Brewery Ltd (BEER)

Tsingyuan Brewery Ltd., formerly Sabre Industrial, Inc., incorporated on July 25, 1996, is a manufacturer and distributor of brewer's malt and beer throughout northern and eastern China. The Company has two business lines: brewer's malt and beer production.

The brewer's malt is shipped to brewers in 10 provinces across China. The beer products are distributed throughout six provinces. The Company utilizes the German brewing techniques and uses barley, water and hops. Tsingyuan Brewery Ltd. promotes nine products under its brand names Qinglin, Qingyi, and Qingyuan.

Top Warren Buffett Companies To Own In Right Now: Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV (FMX)

Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), incorporated on May 30, 1936, is a holding company. The Company conducts its operations through principal holding companies, each of which it refers to as a principal sub-holding company. These companies are Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (Coca-Cola FEMSA), which engages in the production, distribution and marketing of soft drinks, and FEMSA Comercio, S.A. de C.V. (FEMSA Comercio), which operates convenience stores. The Company�� convenience store chain OXXO operated a total of 7,492 stores as of March 31, 2010. Compania Internacional de Bebidas, S.A. de C.V. (CIBSA) owns a 53.7% interest in Coca-Cola FEMSA. On April 30, 2010, FEMSA announced the closing of the transaction, pursuant to which FEMSA agreed to exchange 100% of its beer operations conducted by FEMSA Cerveza for a 20% economic interest in the Heineken Group. In February 2009, Coca-Cola FEMSA acquired with The Coca-Cola Company the Brisa bottled water business in Colombia from Bavaria, a subsidiary of SABMiller. Coca-Cola FEMSA acquired the production assets and the rights to distribute in the territory, and The Coca-Cola Company obtained the Brisa brand.

Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V.

Coca-Cola FEMSA is a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. Coca-Cola FEMSA operates in various territories, including Mexico, a substantial portion of central Mexico (including Mexico City and the states of Michoacan and Guanajuato) and southeast Mexico (including the Gulf region); Central America, including Guatemala (Guatemala City and surrounding areas), Nicaragua (nationwide), Costa Rica (nationwide) and Panama (nationwide); Colombia; Venezuela; Argentina, including Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, and Brazil, including the area of greater Sao Paulo, Campinas, Santos, the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the state of Minas Gerais and part of the state of Goias.

Coca-Cola FEMSA produces, markets and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages, own brands and b! rands licensed from the Company. The Coca-Cola trademark beverages include sparkling beverages (colas and flavored sparkling beverages), water, and still beverages (including juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and isotonics). Out of the more than 100 brands and line extensions of beverages sold and distributed by Coca-Cola FEMSA, its most important brand, Coca-Cola, together with its line extensions, Coca-Cola light, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola light caffeine free, accounted for 61.4% of total sales volume during the year ended December 31, 2009. Coca-Cola FEMSA�� next largest brands, Ciel (a water brand from Mexico), Fanta (and its line extensions), Sprite (and its line extensions), ValleFrut and Hit, accounted for 10.5%, 5.8%, 2.6%, 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively, of total sales volume in 2009. Coca-Cola FEMSA uses the term line extensions to refer to the different flavors in which it offers its brands.

Coca-Cola FEMSA produces, markets and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in each of its territories in containers authorized by The Coca-Cola Company, which consist of a variety of returnable and non-returnable presentations in the form of glass bottles, cans and plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephtalate (PET). Coca-Cola FEMSA uses the term presentation to refer to the packaging unit in which it sells its products. Presentation sizes for its Coca-Cola trademark beverages range from a 6.5-ounce personal size to a 3-liter multiple serving size. For all of its products excluding water, Coca-Cola FEMSA considers a multiple serving size as equal toor larger than one liter. In addition, it sells some Coca-Cola trademark beverage syrups in containers designed for soda fountain use, which it refers to as fountain. It also sells bottled water products in bulk sizes, which refers to presentations equal to or larger than five liters, which have a much lower average price per unit case than its other beverage products.

In Mexico, Coca-Cola FEMSA�� product portfolio consis! ts of Coc! a-Cola trademark beverages, and includes Mundet trademark beverages licensed from FEMSA in some Mexican territories. Coca-Cola FEMSA�� product sales in Latincentro consist predominantly of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. Per capita consumption of its sparkling beverages products in Colombia and Central America was 92 and 146 eight-ounce servings, respectively, in 2009. Its product portfolio in Venezuela consists of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. Sparkling beverages per capita consumption of its products in Venezuela was 174 eight-ounce servings during 2009. Coca-Cola FEMSA�� product portfolio in Mercosur consists mainly of Coca-Cola trademark beverages, and the Kaiser beer brand in Brazil, which Coca-Cola FEMSA sells and distributes on behalf of FEMSA Cerveza. Sparkling beverages per capita consumption of its products in Brazil and Argentina was 214 and 359 eight-ounce servings, respectively, in 2009.

The Company competes with Pepsi Beverage Company, Grupo Embotelladores Unidos, S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Jumex, Groupe Danone, Cadbury Schweppes, Big Cola, Consorcio AGA, S.A. de C.V., Postobon, Florida Ice and Farm Co. S.A., Cerveceria Nacional, S.A., Pepsi-Cola Venezuela, C.A., AmBev and Quilmes Industrial S.A.

FEMSA Comercio, S.A. de C.V.

FEMSA Comercio operates a chain of convenience stores in Mexico, under the trade name OXXO. OXXO stores are concentrated in the northern part of Mexico, but also have a presence in central Mexico and the Gulf coast. FEMSA Comercio is the largest single customer of FEMSA Cerveza and of the Coca-Cola system in Mexico. During 2009, a typical OXXO store carried 1,954 different store keeping units (SKUs) in 31 main product categories.

The Company competes with 7-Eleven, Super Extra, Super City, Circle-K and AM/PM.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Martin]

  South Africa, China, Mexico and Brazil collectively make up 68% of ECON�� holdings. The top three holdings are Naspers LTD (NPSNY) at 10%, AmBev (ABV) at 8% and FEMSA (FMX) at 5.6%.

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX), better known as FEMSA, isn't another ascending triangle trade this week, unfortunately for shareholders. Instead, FEMSA is currently forming the bearish opposite of the pattern in Wells Fargo and Citi: a descending triangle.

  The descending triangle is formed by downtrending resistance above shares and a horizontal support level to the downside. In this case, that price floor comes in just below $90. The lower highs that form resistance in FMX signal that buying pressure is waning above the $100 level as long-suffering sellers opt to take gains near the high-end of this stock's recent range. Once that glut of demand at $90 gets taken out, a lot more downside looks likely for FMX.

  But now, MTB is forming a rounding bottom, a bullish setup that indicates a gradual shift in control of shares from sellers to buyers. The rounding bottom pattern looks exactly like it sounds, and even though MTB's pattern is actually at the top of its recent range, the trading implications are exactly the same. A breakout above $118 is the signal that the pattern is completed and it's time to be a buyer.

  With high short interest in MTB right now, a short squeeze could add some fuel to the fire on a breakout. Support looks reasonably strong at $110 -- that's the spot to keep your stop.

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB de CV (FMX)

  As of the close of the third quarter there were ten guru owners of Fomento Economico Mexicano. These gurus held a combined weighting of 1.99%. During the third quarter, there were four gurus making buys and seven making sells of their stake in FMX.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: KO is a member of the S&P 500, a Dividend Aristocrat, a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index and a Dividend Champion. The company's peer group includes: Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) with a 3.2% yield, Pepsico Inc (PEP) with a 2.6% yield and Fomento Economico ADR (FMX) with a 1.7% yield.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Molson Coors Brewing Company(TAP)

Molson Coors Brewing Company brews, markets, sells, and distributes beer brands. It sells its products in Canada, under the Coors Light, Molson, Rickard's Red, Carling, Pilsner, Keystone Light, Creemore Springs, and Granville Island brands. The company also brews or distributes products under license from third parties, which include Heineken, Amstel Light, Murphy's, Asahi, Asahi Select, Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Chill, Milwaukee's Best, Milwaukee's Best Dry, and Foster's. In addition, it imports, distributes, and markets the Corona, Coronita, Negra Modelo, and Pacifico brands, through a joint venture agreement with Grupo Modelo. Further, the company sells various brands in the United States, which include Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, Miller Genuine Draft, MGD 64, Miller Chill, Sparks, Miller High Life, Miller High Life Light, Keystone Light, Icehouse, Mickey's, Milwaukee's Best, Milwaukee's Best Light, Old English 800, Blue Moon, Henry Weinhard 's, George Killian's Irish Red, Leinenkugel's, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Coors Non-Alcoholic, and Sharp's. Additionally, it sells various brands in the United Kingdom comprising Carling, C2, Coors Light, Worthington's, White Shield, Caffrey's, Kasteel Cru, and Blue Moon, as well as various regional ale brands. The company also sells the Grolsch brands through a joint venture with Royal Grolsch N.V. and the Cobra brands through a joint venture called Cobra Beer Partnership Ltd.; and distributes brands sold under license, including Corona, Coronita, Negra Modelo, Pacfico, Singha, and Magners Draught Cider. In addition, it markets and sells Zima, Si'hai, Coors Gold, and Coors Extra brands to various international markets. The company was formerly known as Adolph Coors Company and changed its name to Molson Coors Brewing Company as a result of its merger with Molson Inc. in February 2005. Molson Coors Brewing Company was founded in 1873 and is headquartere d in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rex Moore]

  The craft brewing industry saw 15% volume growth in 2012, while the big guys -- led by Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD  ) , SABMiller, and Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP  ) -- are watching their megabrands lose market share.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Attitude Drinks Inc (ATTD)

Attitude Drinks Incorporated (Attitude), incorporated on May 10, 1988, is a brand-development company. The Company focuses on the non-alcoholic single serving beverage business, developing and marketing of milk based products in two segments: sports recovery and functional dairy. The Company does not directly manufacture its products but instead outsources the manufacturing process to third party packers.

Attitude has developed its second product, which is branded as Phase III Recovery is a milk-based protein drink which is available in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The Company�� co-packer for its dairy based product is O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative, Inc. in Batavia, New York. This product contains 35 grams of protein that are inherent in filtered milk. The product is packaged as a retort-processed shelf stable dairy-based 100% milk-based sports recovery drink in both chocolate and vanilla flavors.

The Company competes with The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsico Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Attitude Drinks Inc (OTCMKTS: ATTD), Axiologix, Inc (OTCMKTS: AXLX) and Unisource Corporation (OTCMKTS: USRC) have all been getting some attention lately in investment emails or investor alerts thanks in part to paid promotions. And while there is nothing wrong with properly disclosed paid promotions or investor relations activity, such activity can backfire on unwary investors or traders. With that in mind, here is a closer look at all three small cap stocks to help you decide whether they are truly hot or not:

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: DNA Brands Inc (DNAX)

DNA Brands, Inc. (DNA), incorporated on May 23, 2007, produces, markets and sells a line of four carbonated blends of DNA Energy Drinks, as well as a line of meat snacks made up of two beef jerky flavors and four flavors of beef sticks. These drinks are sold in 16 ounce cans. The beef jerky is packaged in a three ounce sealable pouch and the beef stick is one ounce stick form. Its product flavors include DNA Energy Drink, DNA Beef Jerky and DNA Shred Stix.DNA Energy Drink provides citrus, green, citrus sugar free and cranberry raspberry sugar free flavors DNA Beef Jerk provides original and teriyaki flavors. DNA Shred Stix flavors includes original, pizza, jalapeno and taco.

In Florida, distribution is handled by Grass Roots Beverage Company, Inc. (Grass Roots), its wholly owned subsidiary and select Anheuser Bush distributors. In Southern California distribution is covered by Energized Distribution, Inc. CJW Distributing, a Miller Brewing operation, is responsible for the Wisconsin (Midwest) area.

The Company competes with Jack Link��.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Alkaline Water Company Inc (WTER)

The Alkaline Water Company Inc., formerly Global Lines Inc, incorporated on June 6, 2011, is a developer of electrolysis beverage process, packaged and branded as Alkaline84. Alkaline84 is the Company's flagship product designed to encourage daily consumption of Alkaline Water through a consumer oriented bulk delivery system. The Company is engaged in the development of a national retail bulk distribution network delivering Electrochemically Activated Water (ECA) to consumers everywhere. The Company is focused on the business of distributing and marketing the retail sale of its packaged Alkaline84 branded beverage products.

Alkaline84 is available in two sizes: three liters and one gallon. Alkaline84 is a pH balanced bottled alkaline drinking water enhanced with 84 trace minerals and electrolytes. Alkaline84 is available for consumer sales at a number of major retail locations across the southwestern United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Look out Primo Water Corporation (NASDAQ:PRMW), there's a serious threat nipping out your heels, and there way of "doing bottled water" may be a heck of a lot easier for consumers to swallow than your way. The name of that budding competition? Alkaline Water Company Inc. (OTCBB:WTER). In fact, WTER became just a little more competitive on Tuesday thanks to widening its reach.... again.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Marani Brands Inc (MRIB.PK)

Marani Brands, Inc. (Marani), incorporated on May 30, 2001, is engaged in the importation and sale of alcoholic beverage products, primarily Marani Vodka, its flagship product. The Company�� primary business is the business of Margrit Enterprises International, Inc. (MEI), which is in the distribution of wine and spirit products manufactured in Armenia. Marani Vodka is made from winter wheat harvested in Armenia, distilled three times, aged in oak barrels lined with honey and skimmed dried milk, then filtered 25 times. Bottling of the product occurs at the Eraskh distillery in Armenia. On April 4, 2008, the Company, FFBI Merger Sub Corp. and MEI executed, and on April 7, 2008, the parties closed, a three party Merger Agreement.

The Company purchases all of its products from a single supplier, Eraskh Winery, Ltd., under an exclusive distribution agreement with Eraskh, an Armenian manufacturer of wine and other spirits. The new bottles for Marani Vodka are being manufactured in France by Saver Glass Company and China by Universal Group Co., Ltd. and shipped to Armenia to be filled at Eraskh. The Company�� product is being distributed by Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (SWS), in Southern California, in conjuction with PLCB Pennsylvania and Nevada. SWS is an alcoholic beverage distributor in the United States. The Company has established additional distributors, such as QV Distributors in Arizona and Wein-Baur in Illinois.

The Company competes with Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi and Brown-Forman.

Top 10 Beverage Stocks To Own Right Now: Marani Brands Inc (MRIB)

Marani Brands, Inc. (Marani), incorporated on May 30, 2001, is engaged in the importation and sale of alcoholic beverage products, primarily Marani Vodka, its flagship product. The Company�� primary business is the business of Margrit Enterprises International, Inc. (MEI), which is in the distribution of wine and spirit products manufactured in Armenia. Marani Vodka is made from winter wheat harvested in Armenia, distilled three times, aged in oak barrels lined with honey and skimmed dried milk, then filtered 25 times. Bottling of the product occurs at the Eraskh distillery in Armenia. On April 4, 2008, the Company, FFBI Merger Sub Corp. and MEI executed, and on April 7, 2008, the parties closed, a three party Merger Agreement.

The Company purchases all of its products from a single supplier, Eraskh Winery, Ltd., under an exclusive distribution agreement with Eraskh, an Armenian manufacturer of wine and other spirits. The new bottles for Marani Vodka are being manufactured in France by Saver Glass Company and China by Universal Group Co., Ltd. and shipped to Armenia to be filled at Eraskh. The Company�� product is being distributed by Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (SWS), in Southern California, in conjuction with PLCB Pennsylvania and Nevada. SWS is an alcoholic beverage distributor in the United States. The Company has established additional distributors, such as QV Distributors in Arizona and Wein-Baur in Illinois.

The Company competes with Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi and Brown-Forman.

J.C. Penney Shares Fall Below $5

The last time J.C. Penney Co.'s(JCP) stock price traded this low, the New York Mets were an expansion team.

Shares of the struggling department-store chain dropped 14% on Tuesday and fell below $5, a level it hasn’t closed below on a split-adjusted basis since October 1962.

The latest decline comes after J.C. Penney reported a slim holiday sales gain, making only the barest progress in climbing out of its deep hole. J.C. Penney said comparable-store sales rose about 2% in the fourth quarter, the first time since the second quarter of 2011 that the company reported growth in the closely watched figure.

The quarterly sales gain “is a step in the right direction (but) the slope of the improvement continues to disappoint,’ said analysts at Sterne Agee, adding that Penney’s “sales trend need to improve materially better…and quickly.”

10 Best Value Stocks To Own Right Now

J.C. Penney shares have been mired in a steep downtrend for years. Shares traded above $40 two years ago and as high as $87 in 2007. The company, which was an original member of the S&P 500 going back to its start in 1957, was booted out of the index last year. It currently sports a market capitalization of about $1.5 billion, according to FactSet.

“J.C. Penney needs the improvement to be much better than currently tracking and it is becoming increasingly critical that the company starts to see meaningful improvement if it is to survive as currently constituted,” Sterne Agee says.

As an aside, the Mets finished that 1962 season with a woeful 120 losses. The team rebounded to win its first World Series seven years later.

If only J.C. Penney could stage such a turnaround.

–Kevin Kingsbury and Ben Fox Rubin contributed to this report.

LULU: Leave Lululemon Stock Out in The Cold

Lululemon athletica (LULU) was once the darling of Wall Street investors and soccer mom’s everywhere but a customer service fiasco surrounding its most popular yoga pants, a change in CEO and a warning about fourth quarter earnings have left shares reeling. This Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) is expected to see just 2.4% earnings growth in fiscal 2013.

Lululemon operates retail stores which sell yoga-inspired clothes and accessories in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. It sells one of the most popular women’s yoga pants on the market.

Warned on the Fourth Quarter

On Jan 13, lululemon surprised Wall Street by warning on its fourth quarter which doesn’t end until Feb 2. Comparable-store sales are expected to be in the negative low-to-mid single digit range. Previously, the company had guided comparable-store sales are likely being flat.

Earnings guidance was also lowered to a range of 71 cents per share to 73 cents per share from 78 cents per share to 80 cents per share.

The company blamed a significant decline in traffic and sales trends in the beginning of January. That was just as the first Polar Vortex was hitting the middle and east coasts of both the U.S. and Canada, where a significant number of Lululemon stores are located.

Since then, a second polar vortex has hit the same region. It seems unlikely that Lululemon will see better-than-expected sales this quarter.

Earnings Estimates Cut

Given the warning, it’s not surprising that analysts moved to cut their Lululemon stock estimates for the quarter as well as the full year. But analysts also cut 2014 estimates as well.

The fiscal 2013 Zacks Consensus has fallen to $1.89 from $1.95 just 30 days ago. That is earnings growth of just 2.4% compared to 2012.

While analysts are cutting their fiscal 2014 estimates as well, they do see a rebound in earnings growth. They expect EPS growth of 17.3%.

Shares Sink

Lululemon shares were trading with a forward P/E as high as 40x in early 2013. But shares have taken a beating since the recall of defective yoga pants last fall, the change in the CEO, and the PR fiascos around the yoga pants that have plagued the company, including the founder and former Chairman blaming some women’s body types for the problems with the pants.

Shares are at 2-year lows and now trade with a forward P/E of just 24. But Lululemon isn’t expected to report earnings until March. So it could still be a while until investors have a good update on the company.

Retail is in a world of pain right now. The industry ranks in the bottom 10% of the Zacks Rank Industries. But if you MUST buy a retailer right now, consider Finish Line (FINL). It is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and is expected to see double digit earnings growth this year and next.

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Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of the Insider Trader and Value Investor services. You can follow her on twitter at @TraceyRyniec.

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It's Cyber Monday: Here's What to Expect

Alamy Consumers are expected to take to the Web to get the best deals delivered in time for Christmas on Monday in what is expected to be the busiest online shopping day of the year, but it may not be all good news for retailers. Analysts warn that the latest retail data show average spending over the Thanksgiving weekend is falling. This year, more than 131 million Americans are expected to go online for the shopping extravaganza nicknamed "Cyber Monday," according to data published by the National Retail Federation, up from 129 million in 2012. Consumers making the most of online deals-and the intense competition between retailers in the lead-up to Christmas -- have also proved a boon for delivery firms, with courier FedEx (FDX) expecting to ship 22 million packages worldwide Monday. One leading retail analyst said there was "lots and lots of impetus behind Cyber Monday." "Everyone's just been paid, it's the final pay check that they can feasibly use to order online to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas and a lot of people have generally been in the stores for general Christmas shopping anyway," Bryan Roberts, retail insights director at Kantar Retail, told CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange" on Monday. "That's on top of global newspapers being full of recommendations of decent gifts for friends and family." Roberts expected over 110 million visits Monday to e-commerce websites, following a record amount of shoppers over the Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S. Since "Black Friday" last week (the day following Thanksgiving in the U.S. that traditionally kicks off the Christmas shopping season) the NRF estimates that $57.4 billion was spent by 141 million unique shoppers this Thanksgiving weekend. Spending over the weekend is expected to have declined 2.9 percent, however, an NRF survey of 4,500 shoppers revealed. Dana Telsey, chief executive of the consulting brokerage firm Telsey Advisory Group, told CNBC that the spending decline was in no small part due to retailers aggressively marketing deals before the Thanksgiving weekend had started. "You had the promotions and advertising for it all starting way before last Thursday or Friday of Thanksgiving. Many of the deals started last Monday and Tuesday and I think just many of the consumers got washed out over the weekend." Kantor's Roberts also remarked that although more people were shopping online, he expected the "Cyber Monday" trend of a large bout of e-commerce to dissipate over time. "A lot of e-commerce businesses or multichannel retailers have really improved their offer and made it more efficient -- you no longer need three weeks to guarantee delivery before Christmas as many retailers offer same or next-day delivery." As a result of better delivery choices, Roberts and other analysts believe next Monday could also be a mini "Cyber Monday" as shoppers became more relaxed about delivery fulfillment. "Black Friday" is the latest American export to influence shoppers on the other side of the Atlantic too, analysts have noted. Global research group Experian expects visits to U.K. retail websites to reach 113 million on Cyber Monday, too.

Rambus: A Good Close to 2013 with a Cautious Outlook This Year

Hot Internet Companies To Invest In 2014

Technology licensing company Rambus (RMBS) displayed good momentum in its fourth-quarter results. However, uncertainty looms as the company forecasted a growth rate of just 6.5% — significantly lower than last year's 14.0%. This could reflect uncertainty in the company's LED business and the semiconductor industry as a whole. Let's take a brief look at the highlights for the quarter.

The Quarter in Brief

Rambus' fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) doubled year over year to $0.14, but was slightly down sequentially. The year- over-year improvement was largely driven by a 27.8% growth in revenue.

Revenue for the last quarter stood at $73.4 million, up 27.9% from the year-ago quarter. This was primarily driven by the growth in memory technology licensing, coupled with impressive performance of its security technology licensing business. During the quarter, Rambus also signed new licensing agreements with tech giant Samsung Electronics, Micron Technology (MU), STMicroelectronics (STM), LSI Semiconductor (LSI) and SK Hynix. However, the company's LED lighting business failed to make any significant contribution.

The operating expense of the technology solutions company rose 5% sequentially to $67.2 million. This was the result of a non-recurring impairment charge of $9.7 million, and the restructuring charge that amounted to $2.2 million. However, in comparison to last year's fourth quarter, the operating expense increase over 9%. The change is due to increase in the cost of sales of its lighting products, impairment and restructring expenses. But adjusted operating expenses dropped 2.3% year over year to $44.2 million. This was due to lower headcount, legal and consulting expenses. But the drop was slightly offset by higher commission expenses.

On a GAAP basis, Rambus posted a loss per share of $0.09, an improvement of $0.05 from the year-ago quarter. Despite higher revenue and lower opex, the net loss was on account of higher interest expenses, provision for taxes and a onetime impairment charge due to the adoption of a revised business strategy.

Although the company did away with legal challenges concerning Garmin and STMicroelectronics, there are still some litigations that are draining money out of Rambus' pocket.

Legal Settlements 

Rambus continued efforts to defend its patent technology portfolio and has initiated legal proceedings against those responsible for infringement. However, the sheer time, money and effort consumed by lengthy legal proceedings have taken its toll. In the past, Rambus lost money in fines and penalties which consequently suppressed its financial performance considerably.

But even though it did lose money, the fear of legal fines have prompted many tech companies to stay safe and enter into licensing agreements with Rambus.

In fact, last quarter's revenue growth also came from such licensing agreements with Micron, SK Hynix, LSI and STMicroelectronics.

Looking Ahead

Rambus projected an approximate 6.5% year over year growth in its total customer licensing income including revenue for fiscal 2014. The company expects more business in this space, though there remains a certain degree of uncertainty.

The company has seen good demand for its systems security technology from the payment processing industry in addition to its recent agreement with Samsung which will consequently boost Rambus' success in this field. As per the agreement, in addition to memory-chip manufacturing design, Samsung will also use Rambus' security technology in its smart phones, tablets and set-top boxes in the next 10 years. Besides this, the company also expects to tap opportunities with increasing use of set-top boxes, anti-counterfeiting applications and mobile devices.

Parting Thoughts

Rambus' growing exposure in the systems security space seems encouraging due to its potential of attracting a stable revenue stream. However, lack of momentum in its LED business could keep it under pressure.

Despite expecting new licensing agreements, Rambus has signaled caution with respect to its fiscal year 2014 customer licensing income and revenue growth projections. But with the new design technologies such as R+, DDR3, LPDDR3 coupled with demand growth in systems security technologies, Rambus is expected to retain its growth story in the coming quarters.

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