Pitfall of working for Amazon: Mental illness?

It's just about that most wonderful time of the year: for holiday shoppers, and for Amazon, which CNN last month reported would be hiring 70,000 seasonal workers to beef up the staffing at its more than 40 U.S. fulfillment centers.

Last year, thousands of these workers were converted to full-time employees, making it a good gig if you can get it, right?

Not according to a BBC investigation, which had an undercover reporter work the night shift in a U.K. Amazon warehouse. He showed what he filmed to Michael Marmot, a leading job stress expert.

Marmot's conclusion: The working conditions were "all the bad stuff at once." He continued: "The characteristics of this type of job, the evidence shows increased risk of mental illness and physical illness."

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The 23-year-old reporter worked as a "picker"; a handset would flag an item for him to retrieve and place on a trolley in the 800,000-square-foot space. He was given 33 seconds per product, with his handset counting down the clock each time; it beeped if he made an error, and also sent data to his managers.

The reporter said that in one 10.5-hour night shift, he walked "or hobbled" almost 11 miles, noting afterward, "I'm absolutely shattered."

Amazon described the picking job as "similar to jobs in many other industries and does not increase the risk of mental and physical illness," and noted that new hires are told some positions can be physically demanding.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that German workers at two Amazon centers are today striking for better pay. (Who isn't likely to complain about Amazon? Its top reviewers, who get major freebies.)

Newser is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the Web. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Vanguard: Boomer Retiree Wave Won’t Crash Market

A newly released Vanguard research paper offers a battery of reasons why investors should not heed the oft-stated worry that the demographic bulge of boomers will bring down equity returns as they retire.

The longstanding fear is fueled by a perception that the surge in equity returns — in the 1990s particularly — reflected boomers’ rise to economic prominence, having reached their peak earnings and savings during that period of huge stock market gains.

The flip side of that market folk wisdom is that baby boomers, who began turning 65 in 2011, will now start liquidating their equity holdings on a vast scale, thus forcing a vast stock market crash.

The Vanguard study says this presumption is wrong, and starts by citing a 2006 study by the Government Accountability Office showing that demographic variables, which lie at the heart of this fear, account for less than 6% of stock market return variability.

The first critical fault with this demographic trope is that boomers, though retiring at a rate of 8,000 a day, are not retiring at the same time. Indeed, the baby boom between 1946 and 1964 implies an 18-year span of retirement, thus spreading out the presumed impact of equity sales.

However, Vanguard thinks this period is longer still since industry statistics show that investors typically wait till age 70.5 before taking IRA withdrawals to comply with required minimum distribution rules, thus elongating the relevant time frame by 5.5 years (from age 65).

A second factor militating against a boomer-forced market crash is that pre-retiree equity ownership has hovered near a 48% average, and even as that figure has moved up or down, equity downturns have not ensued as a result of pre-retirees retiring.

Vanguard cites the concentration of assets among a wealthy segment of boomers as a third reason investors should not fear a demographic tsunami. The top 20% of boomers owns 96% of all equities.

“The portfolio goals of these baby boomers may well be oriented toward estate planning and intergenerational wealth transfers,” implying a long-term vision for most equity assets and less turnover that might otherwise be supposed, the Vanguard paper says.

Vanguard also considers the asset allocation of retirees and finds that equities make up a sizable portion (44%) of the retirees’ portfolio, so there does not appear to be a wave of stock selling for the over-65 set.

Finally, the research paper reframes the supply-demand equation that provokes worries of a stock dive as the population ages. U.S. stocks apparently depend less and less on U.S. stock ownership as the foreign demand for equities persistently rises, from $6 billion in net foreign purchases in 1980 to $109 billion in 2012.

"Continued globalization is a reminder that U.S. investors are not the only buyers—thus dampening the hypothetical impact of a domestically driven equity sell-off based on baby boomers retiring,” the research paper states.

Compounding all these findings, Vanguard sees no long-term relationship between U.S. stock returns and the over-65 percentage of the population. The paper than confirms this lack of relationship through a regression analysis of a broader set of 45 developed and emerging economies over various time periods; age and stock returns showed no meaningful link.

---

Check out 5 Reasons Clients Make Bad Investing Decisions on ThinkAdvisor.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is Rising… Again (Thanks to NVDA or Jim Cramer?)

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NYSE: AMD) appears to have bottomed out last Friday after its latest earnings report as the stock has gained some 7.9% since then – perhaps due in part to the NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) earnings report that came out around that time or maybe even due to Jim Cramer now getting off the AMD bullish bandwagon. As a reminder, the last AMD earnings report (see: Time to be Bullish, Bearish or Just Realistic? Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) Third Quarter Earnings Report) seems to have tapered the expectations of both the bulls and the bears who have become more realistic about the stock's potential and performance. I should also mention that we have had Advanced Micro Devices in our SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) portfolio since last July and we have had an up and down ride – usually because of earnings reports (we are down 8.5% or so as of today).

With that said, the stock has become more bullish over the past few trading days in part because of the following news:

NVIDIA Corporation Rises After Earnings. Chip competitor NVIDIA Corporation rose around 7% last Friday after reporting earnings and shares have been rising ever since. While revenue fell 12% to $1.05 billion and roughly in-line with Wall Street's expectations (depending upon who you ask), sales of Tegra (a chip for mobile phones and the basis of Shield, a portable gaming machine the company is building and selling itself) helped to offset weaker sales of chips for laptops. In other words and just like AMD, NVIDIA Corporation is also trying to diversify itself away from the PC. NVIDIA Corporation also announced a 13% increase in its quarterly dividend and authorized an additional $1 billion for its stock repurchase program – which is also helping the stock to rise. NVIDIA Corporation and AMD Fight for "Bragging Rights." A recent article by a Forbes contributor summed up how important the fight between AMD and NVIDIA Corporation is over having the best graphics chips when the writer wrote: 

"The battle at the high end of the 3D graphics stack is all about bragging rights. NVIDIA and AMD don't build warehouses full of these expensive GPUs but the halo effect of having the fastest, most feature-rich graphics architecture on the market at any given time, is an important stake in the ground for corporate flags to wave upon. That technology is also what more affordable midrange and mainstream cards are based on, so those features and performance metrics trickle down from the top as well."

So pay close attention to any reviews you see out there about AMD's or NVIDIA's chips.

New Line of Credit. On Tuesday, AMD announced it had entered into a loan and security agreement for a principal amount up to $500 million with a group of lenders and Bank of America, N.A. The company expects to end the fourth quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities worth approximately $1.2 billion and remain committed to maintaining ongoing balances of approximately $1.1 billion. The new secured revolving line of credit will provide the company with greater financial flexibility for its continued transformation. Cramer Calls AMD a "One Trick Pony." For what his opinion might be worth (and many thinks its not always worth that much or just do the opposite of what he says!), CNBC's Mad Money host Jim Cramer is off the AMD buy bandwagon, calling the stock a "one trick pony" on Monday and adding that there are better opportunities out there. Cramer's new love appears to be Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) as it sounds like he is getting back on the Apple bandwagon – maybe in the hopes of a ratings boost from all those Apple fans out there…  Share Performance. Advanced Micro Devices is up 47.5% since the start of the year, up 74.4% over the past year and up 12% over the past five years:

Finally, here is the latest technical chart for AMD:

Given the trading activity over the past few days, Advanced Micro Devices might just be a pony that has learned some new and profitable tricks for investors.

SmallCap Network Elite Opportunity (SCN EO) has an open position in AMD. To find out what other open positions SCN EO currently has, and to learn why so many traders and investors are relying on this premium subscription service, click here to find out more.

Don't freak out about Facebook's 'teen problem'

Investors sent shares Facebook lower after the company discussed teenagers' use of the site.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Investors punished Facebook's shares Wednesday after the company admitted young teens aren't using the site as much, but Wall Street analysts think the reaction is way overblown.

"We did see a decrease in [teenage] daily users [during the quarter], especially younger teens," Facebook chief financial officer David Ebersman said during the company's third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. The comments were surprising given that just last quarter, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said reports of declining teen usage were "just not true."

Investors weren't pleased, erasing a big 15% gain they had given Facebook's stock before the company disclosed the teen usage problem. But stock analysts downplayed the issue.

That's because measuring Facebook activity on a daily basis isn't the best way to capture trends on the social network. Instead, analysts look at monthly active users for a more accurate picture -- and Ebersman said that teens are still checking in with Facebook each month at a steady rate.

Related story: Which social network is best for your business?

  Zuckerberg's plan to connect the world

J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth stressed that any declining usage appears to be among a small, specific group.

"We think the lower daily usage is currently limited to a small portion of younger teens, likely ages 13-15, that may be using additional services such as Facebook-owned Instagram, Snapchat, and Whats App," Anmuth wrote.

What's more, Facebook has the ability to recaptu! re those young users. The company is reportedly working on an update to its messaging app, and he thinks Facebook is investing in improving those types of products "to address teenage usage specifically."

Given that potential and Facebook's overall financial strength, Anmuth recommended that clients buy Facebook (FB, Fortune 500)while the stock is down.

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Victor Anthony called the stock pullback "excessive."

Facebook's stock rebounded a bit midday Thursday, with shares rising 3% after falling by as much as 5% earlier in the day.

Investors had also punished the stock after Facebook said it isn't planning to ramp up the number of ads in users' news feeds.

But Anthony approved of Facebook's decision, calling it an effort "to ensure a quality user experience" -- after all, if users become overwhelmed with ads and stop using the site, that isn't good for either the company or the advertisers.

Overall, Anthony called the company's financial results "impressive" and pointed out that they were "meaningfully above" Wall Street's already high expectations. He raised his price target on the stock to $63 from $60.

5 Biotech Stocks Under $10 for Your Watch List

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- At Stockpickr, we track daily portfolios of stocks that are the biggest percentage gainers and the biggest percentage losers.

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade for Big Gains

Stocks that are making large moves like these are favorites among short-term traders because they can jump into these names and try to capture some of that massive volatility. Stocks that are making big-percentage moves either up or down are usually in play because their sector is becoming attractive or they have a major fundamental catalyst such as a recent earnings release. Sometimes stocks making big moves have been hit with an analyst upgrade or an analyst downgrade.

Regardless of the reason behind it, when a stock makes a large-percentage move, it is often just the start of a new major trend -- a trend that can lead to huge profits. If you time your trade correctly, combining technical indicators with fundamental trends, discipline and sound money management, you will be well on your way to investment success.

>>5 Sin Stocks to Protect Your Portfolio

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at a several stocks under $10 that are making large moves to the upside today.

Chelsea Therapeutics

Chelsea Therapeutics (CHTP) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquisition, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of a variety of human diseases. This stock closed up 1.7% to $2.96 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.92-$3.01

52-Week Range: $0.73-$3.30

Thursday's Volume: 982,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 943,154

>>5 Hated Earnings Stocks You Should Hate

From a technical perspective, CHTP spiked modestly higher here right off some near-term support at $2.90 with above-average volume. This move briefly pushed shares of CHTP above its 50-day moving average of $2.97, before the stock closed just below that level at $2.96. This move is now starting to push shares of CHTP within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if CHTP manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.07 to $3.18 and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $3.30 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CHTP as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $2.80 or at $2.70 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 943,154 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CHTP will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory above $3.30, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are its next major overhead resistance levels at $4.20 to $4.40, or even $5.

Synta Pharmaceuticals

Synta Pharmaceuticals (SNTA) is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovering, developing an commercializing small-molecule drugs to extend and enhance the lives of patients with severe medical conditions such as cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. This stock closed up 2.7% to $6.84 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $6.63-$6.90

52-Week Range: $3.76-$11.88

Thursday's Volume: 1.18 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.58 million

>>3 Hot Stocks on Traders' Radars

From a technical perspective, SNTA rose modestly higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $6.39 with decent upside volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last three months, with shares moving between $5.55 on the downside and $7.85 on the upside. Shares of SNTA are now starting to trend within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That breakout will hit if SNTA manages to clear some near-term overhead resistance levels at $7.10 to $7.30, and then once it clears its 200-day moving average of $7.54 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SNTA as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $6.39 or above $6 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.58 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SNTA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $7.85 to $8.25. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $9 into range for shares of SNTA.

Xoma

Xoma (XOMA) is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and manufacture of therapeutic antibodies and other agents designed to treat inflammatory, autoimmune, infectious and oncological diseases. This stock closed up 3.4% to $4.84 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $4.66-$4.86

52-Week Range: $2.37-$5.54

Thursday's Volume: 1.13 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.20 million

>> 4 Big Stocks to Trade (or Not)

From a technical perspective, XOMA spiked higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $4.61 with decent upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of XOMA within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if XOMA manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance at $4.91 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in XOMA as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $4.61 or above more key near-term support at $4.30 and then once it sustains a move or close above $4.91 with volume that hits near or above 1.20 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then XOMA will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $5.54. Any high-volume move above that level will then give XOMA a chance to tag $6 to $6.50.

Dyax

Dyax (DYAX) is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of biopharmaceuticals for unmet medical needs. This stock closed up 4.2% to $6.80 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $6.45-$6.82

52-Week Range: $2.26-$7.28

Thursday's Volume: 1.09 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 915,237

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

From a technical perspective, DYAX ripped higher here right above some near-term support at $6.22 with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last month, with shares moving between $6.13 on the downside and $7.28 on the upside. This move on Thursday is quickly pushing shares of DYAX within range of triggering a major breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent range. That breakout will hit if DYAX manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $7.07 to its 52-week high at $7.28 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DYAX as long as it's trending above some near-term support at $6.22 or above its 50-day at $5.68 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 915,237 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then DYAX will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $10 to $12.

Aveo Pharmaceuticals

Aveo Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) is a biopharmaceutical company involved in discovering, developing and commercializing novel cancer therapeutics. This stock closed up 5% to $2.29 in Thursday's trading session.

Thursday's Range: $2.12-$2.35

52-Week Range: $2.01-$8.94

Thursday's Volume: 1.41 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 516,802

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy Now

From a technical perspective, AVEO jumped higher here right off its 50-day moving average of $2.14 with heavy upside volume. This move pushed shares of AVEO into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $2.23. Shares of AVEO are now quickly moving within range of triggering an even bigger breakout trade. That trade will hit if AVEO manages to clear some more near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.36 to $2.37 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in AVEO as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $2.14 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 516,802 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then AVEO will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2.83 to $3.08. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give AVEO a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from May that started just above $5.50.

To see more stocks that are making notable moves higher today, check out the Stocks Under $10 Moving Higher portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>4 Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

>>Do You Own These Blue-Chips? Sell Them!

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Does Southwest Airlines Belong in Your Portfolio?

With shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) trading around $21, is LUV an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let's analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Southwest Airlines is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States. Consumers and companies across the nation are now looking to travel at an increasing rates, and since air travel is quicker and is becoming less expensive, it is becoming a common transportation method for many. As costs decrease and flights become more efficient, look for business and retail customers to fly at rising rates. Southwest Airlines stands to see soaring profits as consumers and businesses look to travel more than ever.

Southwest Airlines is expanding beyond the continental United States with flights to the Caribbean beginning July 1. The airline began selling tickets on Monday for flights to Aruba, the Bahamas, and Jamaica from Atlanta, Baltimore, and Orlando. Those routes are currently flown by AirTran Airways, which Southwest bought in 2011. Southwest carries more passengers in the United States than any airline, but among the largest U.S. carriers, it alone doesn’t fly beyond the nation’s borders. Southwest has been talking about going international for years, but it’s been held back by technological limits to its reservations system, which it has been upgrading.

T = Technicals on the Stock Chart Are Strong

Southwest Airlines stock has been exploding to the upside in the past couple of years. The stock is currently trading near highs for the year and looks set to continue. Analyzing the price trend and its strength can be done using key simple moving averages. What are the key moving averages? The 50-day (pink), 100-day (blue), and 200-day (yellow) simple moving averages. As seen in the daily price chart below, Southwest Airlines is trading above its rising key averages, which signals neutral to bullish price action in the near-term.

Source: Thinkorswim

Taking a look at the implied volatility (red) and implied volatility skew levels of Southwest Airlines options may help determine if investors are bullish, neutral, or bearish.

	Implied Volatility (IV)	30-Day IV Percentile	90-Day IV Percentile
Southwest Airlines options	28.41%	83%	81%

What does this mean? This means that investors or traders are buying a very significant amount of call and put options contracts as compared to the last 30 and 90 trading days.

	Put IV Skew	Call IV Skew
February Options	Flat	Average
March Options	Flat	Average

As of Tuesday, there is average demand from call buyers or sellers and low demand by put buyers or high demand by put sellers, all neutral to bullish over the next two months. To summarize, investors are buying a very significant amount of call and put option contracts and are leaning neutral to bullish over the next two months.

On the next page, let’s take a look at the earnings and revenue growth rates and the conclusion.

E = Earnings Are Mixed Quarter Over Quarter

Rising stock prices are often strongly correlated with rising earnings and revenue growth rates. Also, the last four quarterly earnings announcement reactions help gauge investor sentiment on Southwest Airlines’s stock. What do the last four quarterly earnings and revenue growth (Y-O-Y) figures for Southwest Airlines look like and more importantly, how did the markets like these numbers?

	2013 Q4	2013 Q3	2013 Q2	2013 Q1
Earnings Growth (Y-O-Y)	6.11%	161.54%	-19.85%	-17.97%
Revenue Growth (Y-O-Y)	1.45%	5.48%	0.86%	11.27%
Earnings Reaction	-1.88%	3.71%	-0.14%	0%

Southwest Airlines has seen mixed earnings and increasing revenue figures over the last four quarters. From these numbers, the markets have been pleased with Southwest Airlines’s recent earnings announcements.

P = Average Relative Performance Versus Peers and Sector

How has Southwest Airlines stock done relative to its peers – Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) — and sector?

	Southwest Airlines	Delta Air Lines	American Airlines	JetBlue Airways	Sector
Year-to-Date Return	12.42%	13%	24.55%	1.41%	13.84%

Southwest Airlines has been an average relative performer, year to date.

Conclusion

Southwest Airlines provides air travel services to consumers and companies across the nation. The company is expanding beyond the continental United States with flights to the Caribbean beginning July 1. The stock has been moving higher in recent years and is now trading near highs. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been increasing, which has left investors pleased with recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Southwest Airlines has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Southwest Airlines to continue to OUTPERFORM.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now

The Nissan Armada gets only 13 miles a gallon, has terrible scores on the reliability survey and costs $1.20 a mile to operate.

It's that record that earned the big SUV and nine other vehicles spots on Consumer Reports' list of worst automotive values. While the magazine combed through its reviews and surveys to pick the nation's best, it also reserved a special place at the bottom for the worst in each automotive category.

Besides Armada, Nissan also gets another worst with the Altima sedan with a 3.5-liter engine in the midsize car category. All of the lowest of the low were culled from among 200 different models.

Consumer Reports' point is that a cheap car isn't necessarily a good value. It notes that a Nissan Versa costs about $1,500 less than rival subcompact Honda Fit. But the Fit "fun to drive, cheaper to own, more reliable and provides almost twice the value," says Automotive Editor Rik Paul in a statement.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)

Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  However, one of today's losers continues to be haunted by its earnings announced earlier in the week. Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) have fallen 3.1% today to rank among the worst Dow laggards after yesterday's announcement that it missed analyst EPS estimates by $0.03, reporting earnings of only $0.20 per share. The miss was a big loss for B of A's stock, which dragged down the entire financial sector yesterday. While the company has done a good job improving its capital position and cutting costs since the recession -- efforts that led the stock to double last year -- it's still facing declining revenue from its mortgage and trading businesses.

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Since reporting earnings Wednesday morning, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) lost 6.5% through trading yesterday.�The initial response to B of A's earnings was largely negative due to reported revenue that missed expectations -- even though continued improvements in the bank's operations resulted in quadrupled earnings. The bank opened 1% higher this morning, giving some hope to the possibility of regaining some of the traction it's lost in the past two days, but quickly fell within minutes of the opening bell. As of 10:15 a.m. EDT, Bank of America is sitting at a 0.8% gain.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: WebMediaBrands Inc(WEBM)

WebMediaBrands Inc., an Internet media company, provides content, education, and career services to media and creative professionals through a portfolio of vertical online properties, communities, and trade shows. The company operates mediabistro.com, a blog network that provides content, education, community, and career resources about media industry verticals, including new media, social media, Facebook, TV news, sports news, advertising, public relations, publishing, design, mobile, and the semantic Web. Its mediabistro.com also includes a job board for media and business professionals focusing on various job categories, such as social media, online/new media, publishing, public relations/marketing, advertising, sales, design, and television. The company also operates a network of online properties, including AdsoftheWorld, DynamicGraphics, LiquidTreat, BrandsoftheWorld, Graphics.com, StepInsideDesign, Creativebits, and GraphicsDesignForum that provide content, educatio n, community, career, and other resources for creative and design professionals. In addition, it offers community, membership, and e-commerce offerings comprising a freelance listing service, a marketplace for designing and purchasing logos, and premium membership services. Further, the company provides online and in-person courses, panels, certificate programs, and video subscription libraries for media and creative professionals. Additionally, it organizes various trade shows that include Semantic Technology Conference, Monetizing Social Media, Social Media Optimization Conference, Social Gaming Summit, and Virtual Goods Summit. The company was formerly known as Jupitermedia Corporation and changed its name to WebMediaBrands Inc. in February 2009. WebMediaBrands Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in New York, New York.

Top Small Cap Stocks To Own Right Now: Capstone Turbine Corporation(CPST)

Capstone Turbine Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and services turbine generator sets and related parts for use in stationary distributed power generation applications. Its stationary distributed power generation applications include cogeneration combined heat and power (CHP), integrated (CHP), resource recovery, and secure power, as well as combined cooling, heat, and power; and its products are used as battery charging generators for hybrid electric vehicle applications. The company primarily offers microturbine units, subassemblies, and components. It also provides various accessories, including rotary gas compressors with digital controls, heat recovery modules for CHP applications, dual mode controllers that allow automatic transition between grid connect and stand-alone modes, batteries with digital controls for stand-alone/dual-mode operations, power servers for multipacked installations, and protocol converters for Internet access, as well as frames, ex haust ducting, and installation hardware. Further, it remanufactures microturbine engines; and provides after-market parts and services, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, and factory and on-site training services. The company?s microturbines can be fueled by various sources, including natural gas, propane, sour gas, landfill or digester gas, kerosene, diesel, and biodiesel. It primarily sells its products directly to end users, as well as through distributors in North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Russian Federation, and South America. Capstone Turbine Corporation was founded in 1988 and is based in Chatsworth, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe]

  What:�Shares of Capstone Turbine (NASDAQ: CPST  ) skyrocketed 13.59% as the company announced that it had signed a major supplier deal with private real estate and investment firm Related Companies. Shares of Capstone haven't been this high in over a year.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Horizon Lines Inc.(HRZ)

Horizon Lines, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and integrated logistics services. It ships a range of consumer and industrial items, such as refrigerated and non-refrigerated foodstuffs, household goods, auto parts, building materials, and other materials used in manufacturing. The company offers container shipping services to ports within the continental United States, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Micronesia. Its integrated logistics services comprise rail, truck brokerage, warehousing, distribution, expedited logistics, and non-vessel operating common carrier operations. Horizon Lines, Inc. also offers terminal services. The company operates terminals in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico; contracts for terminal services in seven ports in the continental United States; and the ports in Guam, Yantian, and Xiamen, China, as well as Kaohsiung, Taiwan. In addition, it offers inland transportation services. As of Dec ember 20, 2009, the company owned or leased approximately 20 vessels and 18,500 cargo containers. Horizon Lines, Inc. serves consumer and industrial products companies, as well as various agencies of the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense and the U.S. Postal Service. The company was founded in 1956 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: First Busey Corporation(BUSE)

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It accepts noninterest-bearing demand, interest-bearing transaction, savings, money market, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes commercial, agricultural, and real estate loans; individual, consumer, installment, first mortgage, and second mortgage loans; and commercial real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans. It also provides money transfer, safe deposit, fiduciary, automated banking, and automated fund transfer services. In addition, the company provides asset management, brokerage, and fiduciary services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and trust and estate advisory services to individuals; investment management, business succession planning, an d employee retirement plan services to businesses; and investment management, investment strategy consulting, and fiduciary services to foundations. Further, it offers pay processing solutions, such as walk-in payments processing for payments delivered by customers to retail pay agents; online bill payment solutions for payments made by customers on a billing company?s Website; customer service payments for payments accepted over the telephone; direct debit services; electronic concentration of payments delivered by the automated clearing house network; money management software and credit card networks; and lockbox remittance processing of payments delivered by mail. The company has 33 locations in Illinois, 7 locations in southwest Florida, and 1 location in Indianapolis, Indiana. First Busey Corporation was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: SMTC Corporation(SMTX)

SMTC Corporation provides advanced electronics manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide. The company?s services include product design and engineering services, printed circuit board assembly production, enclosure fabrication, systems integration, testing, and configuration services. It also provides enclosure and precision metal fabrication, cable assembly, interconnect, and engineering design services. The company offers its integrated contract manufacturing services to OEMs and technology companies primarily in the industrial, computing and networking, communications, consumer, and medical market segments. SMTC Corporation was founded in 1985 and is based in Markham, Canada.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Sprott Resource Lending Corp.(SILU)

Sprott Resource Lending Corp., a natural resource lender, provides bridge and mezzanine financing to precious and base metal mining, exploration, and development companies, as well as energy companies worldwide. The company was formerly known as Quest Capital Corp. and changed its name to Sprott Resource Lending Corp. in September 2010. Sprott Resource Lending Corp. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Local.com Corporation(LOCM)

Local.com Corporation operates as an Internet search advertising company that enables businesses and consumers to find each other and connect locally. Its Owned and Operated business unit manages its flagship online property Local.com and a proprietary network of approximately 20,000 local Websites that reach approximately 15 million monthly unique visitors. The company places various display, performance, and subscription advertisement products on its Local.com and proprietary network. Its Network business unit operates a private label local syndication network of approximately 1,000 U.S. regional media Websites; 80,000 third-party local Websites; and its own organic feed of local businesses plus third-party advertising feeds that focus primarily on local consumers to a distribution network of hundreds of Websites. The company?s Sales and Ad Services business unit provides approximately 45,000 direct monthly subscribers with Web hosting or Web listing products. The compan y was formerly known as Interchange Corporation and changed its name to Local.com Corporation in November 2006. Local.com Corporation was founded in 1999 and is headquarters in Irvine, California.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: LifePoint Hospitals Inc.(LPNT)

LifePoint Hospitals Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates general acute care hospitals in non-urban communities in the United States. The company?s hospitals provide a range of medical and surgical services comprising general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, rehabilitation services, and pediatric services, as well as specialized services, such as open-heart surgery, skilled nursing, psychiatric care, and neuro-surgery. Its hospitals also offer outpatient services, including one-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, imaging, sports medicine, and lithotripsy. As of December 31, 2009, LifePoint Hospitals owned or leased 47 hospitals with a total of 5,552 licensed beds in 17 states. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. (NasdaqNM:LPNT) operates independently of HCA Inc. as of May 11, 1999.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  The fun wasn't just limited to the big three hospital operators. Lifepoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT  ) stock jumped 5% on the CMS news, reflecting a $109 million market cap expansion. Likewise, Vanguard Health Systems (NYSE: VHS  ) shares climbed 5%, bumping its market cap up by�$55 million.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: CVS Corporation(CVS)

CVS Caremark Corporation operates as a pharmacy services company in the United States. The company?s Pharmacy Services segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management services, including mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy services, plan design and administration, formulary management, and claims processing; and drug benefits to eligible beneficiaries under the Federal Government?s Medicare Part D program. This segment primarily serves employers, insurance companies, unions, government employee groups, managed care organizations and other sponsors of health benefit plans, and individuals. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 44 retail specialty pharmacy stores, 18 specialty mail order pharmacies, and 4 mail service pharmacies located in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. This segment operates business under the CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services, Caremark, CVS Caremark, CarePlus CVS/pharmacy, CarePlus, RxAmerica, Accordant, and TheraCom names. The company?s Retail Pharmacy segment sells prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards, and convenience foods through its pharmacy retail stores and online, as well as offers film and photo finishing, and health care services. This segment operated 7,182 retail drugstores located in 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia; and 560 retail health care clinics in 26 states and the District of Columbia under the MinuteClinic name. It has a strategic alliance with Alere, L.L.C. for the management of disease management program offerings that cover chronic diseases, such as asthma, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease. CVS Caremark Corporation was founded in 1892 and is based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS) reported on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire infusion services and nutrition business Coram LLC for $2.1 billion.

  CVS will purchase Coram from Apria Healthcare Group Inc in a deal that will likely close in the first quarter of 2014. CVS said that this acquisition is expected to add $1.4 billion to revenue in the first year and 3 to 5 cents per share in 2015. This purchase is in-line with the company strategy of focusing on core businesses that will drive growth.

  Jon Roberts, President of CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services said in a statement: “Bringing together CVS Caremark’s unique range of specialty pharmacy services with Coram’s infusion capabilities will expand our competitive offerings in the specialty arena. Infusion will be a valuable component of our broad specialty pharmacy offering going forward. Our comprehensive services will enable us to streamline care management for patients as well as their physicians, leading to better health outcomes while avoiding unnecessary costs.”

  CVS Caremark shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Wednesday. The stock is up 27% YTD.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: UnitedHealth Group Incorporated(UNH)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated provides healthcare services in the United States. Its Health Benefits segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; and non-employer based insurance options for purchase by individuals. It also provides health and well-being services for individuals aged 50 and older; and for services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals, as well as health plans for the beneficiaries of acute and long-term care Medicaid plans. This segment offers its services through a network of 730,000 physicians and other health care professionals, and 5,300 hospitals. Its OptumHealth segment provides health, financial, and ancillary services and products that assist consumers through personalized health management solutions; benefit administration, and clinical and network management; health-based financi al services; behavioral solutions; and specialty benefits, such as dental, vision, life, critical illness, short-term disability, and stop-loss product offerings. The company?s Ingenix segment offers database and data management services, software products, publications, consulting and actuarial services, business process outsourcing services, and pharmaceutical data consulting and research services. Its Prescription Solutions segment provides integrated pharmacy benefit management services comprising retail network pharmacy contracting and management, claims processing, mail order pharmacy services, specialty pharmacy, benefit design consultation, rebate contracting and management, drug utilization review, formulary management programs, disease therapy management, and adherence programs to employer groups, union trusts, managed care organizations, Medicare-contracted plans, Medicaid plans, and third party administrators. The company was founded in 1974 and is based in Minne tonka, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But the Dow had several pockets of strength today. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) picked up 1.8% after the company got an upgrade from a Wall Street analyst. But UnitedHealth presents a couple of interesting opportunities for investors. First, although some aren't certain whether Obamacare will help or hurt insurance companies, it doesn't seem to have hurt UnitedHealth substantially at this point. Perhaps more importantly, the company's drive to look abroad for growth opportunities in Brazil could make UnitedHealth less vulnerable to Obamacare and other political action concerning health insurance.

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Biggest winner�
  So far in trading, the biggest winner is UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) , with a 5.16% gain after solid second-quarter earnings beat analyst estimates handily. The health care company also beat top-line expectations and updated its forward guidance, which has helped investors get a boost this morning. Though funding reductions in Medicare and retirement business put pressure on UnitedHealth's net margins, the company is expecting to see consistent enrollment, which boosted the second-quarter results, continue throughout the year.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) is the biggest decliner on the Dow, falling 3.4% after reporting earnings. Revenue rose 11% in the first quarter to $30.34 billion, but net income fell 14% to $1.19 billion, or $1.16 per share. Those numbers weren't wildly out of line with expectations, but when management said full-year revenue would be $122 billion, well below a previous estimate of $123 billion to $124 billion, the sell-off was on.�

• [By Keith Speights]

  Granted, public pressure probably would have ended rescission even without the legislation. Actually, WellPoint (NYSE: WLP  ) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH  ) yielded to heavy criticism and changed policies to do away with the practice even before Obamacare was implemented.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Cardero Resource Corporation(CDY)

Cardero Resource Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Mexico, Peru, Argentina, the United States, and Canada. The company holds a 75% interest in the Carbon Creek deposit, a metallurgical coal development project located in the Peace River Coal Field of northeast British Columbia, Canada. It also has an option to acquire 100% interest in the Pampa El Toro project, an iron sands deposit, located in southern Peru; option to acquire up to an 85% interest in the Longnose property in St. Louis county, northeastern Minnesota; and 100% leasehold interest in the Titac property, located in St. Louis county, northeastern Minnesota. The company was formerly known as Sun Devil Gold Corp. and changed its name to Cardero Resource Corp. in May 1999. Cardero Resource Corp. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Advance Auto Parts Inc(AAP)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items. It operates in two segments, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and Autopart International (AI). The AAP segment operates stores, which primarily offer auto parts, including alternators, batteries, chassis parts, clutches, engines and engine parts, radiators, starters, transmissions, and water pumps; accessories comprising floor mats, mirrors, vent shades, MP3 and cell phone accessories, and seat and steering wheel covers; chemicals consisting of antifreeze, freon, fuel additives, and car washes and waxes; and oil and other automotive petroleum products. This segment also provides battery and wiper installation, battery charging, check engine light reading, electrical system testing, video clinics and project brochures, loaner tool programs, and oil and battery recycling services; and sells its products through online. The AI segm ent operates stores that offer replacement parts for domestic and imported cars, and light trucks to customers in northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, as well as to warehouse distributors and jobbers in North America. As of January 1, 2011, the company operated 3,369 AAP stores, including 3,343 stores located in the northeastern, southeastern, and Midwestern regions of the United States under the Advance Auto Parts and Advance Discount Auto Parts trade names; 26 stores situated in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands under the Advance Auto Parts and Western Auto trade names; and 194 stores under the Autopart International trade name in the United States. It serves do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, or commercial customers. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Roanoke, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brad Thomas]

  Like many of the other Triple-Net REITs, Agree operates its investment platform with a variety of free-standing net lease tenants including many household names such as Walgreens (WAG), CVS (CVS), Staples, Chase Bank, AutoZone (AZO), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Lowe's (LOW), McDonald's (MCD), Family Dollar (FDO), Harris Teeter, Dollar General (DG), and Wawa. As shown below, Agree has a majority (88%) of nationally-recognized tenants, including many investment grade retailers (62.6%).

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Wednesday’s session are Mattel Inc.(MAT), Stanley Black & Decker Inc.(SWK) and Advance Auto Parts Inc.(AAP)

• [By CanadianValue]

  At the end of 2011, Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and O��eilly Automotive (ORLY) were the fifth- and tenth-largest positions in the Fund, respectively, and together constituted 6.2% of our assets. Auto parts retail is a difficult business for all but the most efficient players. An auto parts retailer must carry literally thousands of hard parts for hundreds of models of cars. Not many people walk in the door needing an alternator for a 1994 Ford, but the person who does is probably experiencing a crisis. The retailer who can manage a substantial investment in slow-turning parts inventory is able to earn a high margin on sales.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Sirius XM Radio Inc.(SIRI)

Sirius XM Radio Inc. provides satellite radio services in the United States and Canada. It broadcasts a programming lineup of approximately 135 channels of commercial-free music, sports, news and information, talk and entertainment, traffic, and weather on subscription fee basis through two satellite radio systems in the United States; and holds an interest in the satellite radio services offered in Canada. The company also simulcasts music and selected non-music channels over the Internet; and offers applications to allow consumers to access its Internet services on mobile devices. As of December 31, 2010, it had 20,190,964 subscribers. In addition, the company designs, establishes specifications, sources or specifies parts and components, and manages various aspects of the logistics and production of satellite radios; licenses its technology to various electronics manufacturers to develop, manufacture, and distribute radios under various brands; and imports radios distri buted through its Websites. The company?s satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers, retailers, and its Websites. Further, it provides music services for commercial establishments; a satellite television service to offer music channels as part of certain programming packages on the DISH Network satellite television service; music and comedy channels to mobile phone users through mobile phone carriers; Backseat TV, a service offering television content designed primarily for children in the backseat of vehicles; Travel Link, a suite of data services that include graphical weather, fuel prices, sports schedules and scores, and movie listings; and real-time traffic and weather services. The company was formerly known as Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and changed its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. in August 2008. Sirius XM Radio Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  To be fair, the year-over-year comparisons of the top and bottom line were positive last quarter. A stock’s value is largely dictated by expectations, however, and now the market realizes it might have been expecting too much from KB Home. That could prove to be a drag on KBH stock for several months.

  Stocks to Avoid #4: Sirius XM (SIRI)

  Sirius XM (SIRI) has been an amazing and fun-to-watch success story, inventing an industry that didn’t exist a decade ago, and growing its user base to its current following of about 25 million subscribers. The company’s revenue has grown accordingly, and SIRI is on pace to generate $3.8 billion this year.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Things never get dull for the country's lone satellite-radio provider. Shares of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) moved sharply higher this week, closing 7.7% higher to hit $3.36. The general market moved higher, but Sirius XM's gain was better than Nasdaq's 3% pop.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Things never get dull for the country's lone satellite-radio provider. Shares of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) moved sharply lower on the week, shedding 3.7% to hit $3.15. The media darling's drop was roughly twice as bad as the more modest declines for the Dow and the Nasdaq.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Shares of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI  ) hit yet another five-year high earlier this week, but you wouldn't know if from the shorts that just can't seem to give up their bearish dreams.

Top 5 Cheap Stocks To Own Right Now: Global Payments Inc.(GPN)

Global Payments Inc. provides electronic transaction processing services for merchants, independent sales organizations (ISO), financial institutions, government agencies, and multi-national corporations located in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards; business-to-business purchasing cards; gift cards; and electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification, and recovery, including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also offers proprietary software products to establish revolving check cashing limits for the casinos? customers in the gaming industry. In addition, it sells, installs, and services automated teller machine and point of sale terminals; and provides card issuing services, including card management and card personalization. The company markets its products directly, as well as through ISOs, retail outlets, tra de associations, alliance bank relationships, and financial institutions. Global Payments Inc. has a joint venture with La Caixa Group to provide merchant acquiring services to merchants in Spain. Global Payments Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Global Payments Inc. (GPN) �advanced 4.8% to $67.50 on moderate volume after the company raised its earnings outlook for the year to a range of $4.03 to $4.10 a share. Analysts were forecasting $4.04 a share.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Wednesday

  Earnings Expected From: Uniferst (NYSE: UNF), Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), RPM International (NYSE: RPM), Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) Economic Releases Expected: German trade balance, German factory orders, Australian retail sales

  Thursday

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015

Small cap upscale apparel retailer Vince Holding Corp (NYSE: VNCE) recently had a spectacular IPO and while there aren�� any ETFs that track the luxury or upscale apparel or retail segments, the performance of large cap Michael Kors Holdings Ltd (NYSE: KORS), the last major apparel retail group to debut in the US IPO market, and Francesca's Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: FRAN), which debuted some months before KORS,�offer investors�good performance benchmarks for investors. But is Vince Holding Corp a bargain deal for investors?

What is Vince Holding Corp?

Founded in 2002, Vince Holding Corp began with a collection of stylish women�� knits and cashmere sweaters but has since grown to include a men�� collection in 2007; expanded denim, leather and outerwear lines in 2010; and women�� footwear, which was launched through a licensing partnership in 2012. Vince Holding Corp says the Vince brand is ��ynonymous with a clean, timeless aesthetic, sophisticated design and superior quality��plus it�� a ��rominent fashion brand known for its modern effortless style and everyday luxury essentials.��Today, Vince Holding Corp offers a broad range of women�� and men�� ready-to-wear items (including signature cashmere sweaters, leather jackets, luxe leggings, dresses, silk and woven tops, denim and footwear) in over 2,100 stores across 43 countries and operates 21 full-price retail locations, 6 outlet stores and�an e-commerce site called�Vince.com.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the development and operation of agricultural logistics and trade centers in northeast China. It also involves in purchasing, processing, assembling, merchandising, and distributing pearls and jewelry products. The company markets its pearls and jewelry products to wholesale distributors and mass merchandisers in Europe, the United States, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia. In addition, it develops, sells, and leases residential and commercial properties in Hong Kong and the People?s Republic of China. The company is based in Tsimshatsui, Hong Kong.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Katie Brennan]

  Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) added 0.9 percent to C$104.93 and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rose 1.7 percent to C$131.73.

  Niko Resources surged 3.4 percent to $8.64 after the company entered an agreement for a $60 million loan that will be funded by a group of institutional investors. Net proceeds from the loan will be used to fund working capital requirements.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: KongZhong Corporation(KONG)

KongZhong Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless interactive entertainment, media, and community services to mobile phone users in the People's Republic of China. It also involves in the development, distribution, and marketing of consumer wireless value-added services, including wireless application protocol, multimedia messaging services, short messaging services, interactive voice response services, and color ring back tones. In addition, it offers interactive entertainment services, such as mobile games, pictures, karaoke, electronic books, mobile phone personalization features, entertainment news, chat, and message boards; and through Kong.net offer news, community services, games, and other interactive media and entertainment services; and sells advertising space in the form of text-link, banner, and button advertisements. Further, the company develops and publishes mobile games, including downloadable mobile games and online mobile games cons isting of action, role-playing, and leisure games. As of December 31, 2009, it had a library of approximately 300 internally developed mobile games. Additionally, it develops online games; and provides consulting and technology services, as well as media and net book services. The company was formerly known as Communication Over The Air Inc. and changed its name to KongZhong Corporation in March 2004. KongZhong Corporation was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One under-$10 wireless services player that looks poised for a big spike higher is KongZhong (KONG), which is a provider of WVAS and mobile games to mobile phone users and a wireless media company providing news, content, community and mobile advertising services through its wireless Internet sites in the PRC. This stock is off to a hot start in 2013, with shares up sharply by 53%.

  If you take a look at the chart for KongZhong, you'll notice that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last two months, with shares plunging lower from its high of $14.92 to its recent low of $7.78 a share. During that downtrend, shares of KONG have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of KONG into oversold territory, since its current relative strength index reading is 30.21. Shares of KONG are now starting to spike higher off its recent low of $7.78 a share and off its 200-day moving average of $7.95 a share. This spike could be signaling that the downside volatility for KONG is over in the short-term and the stock is ready to trend higher.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in KONG if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $8.50 a 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 519,857 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then KONG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $10 to its 50-day moving average at $11.33 a share.

  Traders can look to buy KONG off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support at $7.78 a share. One can also buy KONG off strength once it takes out $8.50 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Kongzhong (Nasdaq: KONG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Insurance Companies To Invest In 2014: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

ATA Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides computer-based testing services in the People?s Republic of China. It offers services for the creation and delivery of computer-based tests utilizing its test delivery platform, proprietary testing technologies, and testing services; and provides logistical support services relating to test administration. The company?s computer-based testing services are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology (IT) services, banking, securities, teaching, and insurance. Its e-testing platform integrates various aspects of the test delivery process for computer-based tests ranging from test form compilation to test scoring, and results analysis. ATA also provides career-oriented educational services, such as single course programs, degree major course programs, and pre-occupational training programs focusing on preparing students to pass IT and other vocational certification tests; test preparation and training programs and services to test candidates preparing to take professional certification tests in securities, futures, banking, insurance and teaching industries; online test preparation and training platform for the securities and banking industries; and test preparation software for the teaching industry. In addition, the company offers HR select employee assessment solution, an online system that utilizes its proprietary software and an inventory of test titles to help employers improve the efficiency and accuracy of their employee recruitment process. As of March 31, 2010, it had contractual relationships with 1,988 ATA authorized test centers. The company serves Chinese governmental agencies, professional associations, IT vendors, and Chinese educational institutions, as well as individual test preparation services. ATA Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Panera Bread Company(PNRA)

Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. Its bakery-cafes offer fresh baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products, as well as provide catering services. The company also manufactures and supplies dough and other products to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of March 29, 2011, it owned and franchised 1,467 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  Putting a premium on premium
  The Placed survey "Dining Out in America, Part 2: The Impact of New Menu Items, Value, and Nutrition" studied where consumers who'd pay extra money for healthy menu options were most likely to dine. Nutrition-conscious consumers were 31% more likely to pay a premium to eat healthier at Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG  ) , which topped the list. Also near the top of the list were Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX  ) , where consumers were 19% and 16%, respectively, more likely to seek out these offerings.

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Companies are always trying to build for the future: Sometimes it works, other times things don't work out quite as planned. From a tech giant having to rebrand a popular service to one of the more notorious IPO duds of last year bouncing back, here's a rundown of this week's best and worst results from the business world. SodaStream (SODA) -- Winner Naysayers have been saying for years that SodaStream's soda-making appliance is a fad, but the Israeli company just keeps on growing, and it came through with better-than-expected results on Wednesday. Revenue rose 29 percent with double-digit growth across its soda makers, carbonator refills, and soda flavors. In other words, the systems are being used. Earnings grew even faster. SodaStream had 7.4 million shares sold short as of July 15 -- a strong measure of the bearish outlook among investors regarding the stock. That represents a whopping 35 percent of SodaStream's 21.4 million fully diluted shares outstanding, though it's down markedly from the nearly 10 million shares that were sold short this time last year. Those bears have been burned by SodaStreams healthy run in recent months. And, further tweaking the skeptics, SodaStream capped off its report by boosting its revenue and profit outlooks for all of 2013. Microsoft (MSFT) -- Loser All of the tech giants have their own Dropbox clone, vying for a slice of the inevitably gargantuan cloud-hosted file storage market. "We aim to make SkyDrive the place for all your documents, notes, photos, videos and other files," Microsoft began in an April press release touting its own solution. Sorry, Microsoft: You're going to have compile a new name. The world's largest software company lost a trademark fight with British Sky Broadcasting over the Sky name. Sensing defeat, Microsoft has decided not to pursue an appeal and BSkyB will give the Windows watcher a reasonable amount of time to rebrand the service. You would think a t

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Rackspace Hosting Inc(RAX)

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. operates in the hosting and cloud computing industry. It provides information technology (IT) as a service, managing Web-based IT systems for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises worldwide. The company?s service suite includes dedicated hosting comprising customer management portal and other management tools that manage data center, network, hardware devices, and operating system software; and cloud computing that enables customers to provide and manage a pool of computing resources, as well as delivery of computing resources to business when they need them. It offers cloud servers, cloud files, and cloud sites, as well as cloud applications, such as email, collaboration, and file back-ups; and hybrid hosting that provides a combination of dedicated hosting and cloud computing services. The company also offers customer support services. It sells its service suite through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners, an d online ordering. The company was formerly known as Rackspace.com, Inc. and changed its name to Rackspace Hosting, Inc. in June 2008. Rackspace Hosting, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]

  Alamy The market may have rallied remarkably this year, but there are plenty of stocks that never got the memo. Dozens of stocks are hitting fresh 52-week lows these days, and some of them aren't as bad as their low stock prices would seem to suggest. Last week, I took a look at five stocks that didn't deserve to be hitting new 52-week highs. Now it's time to flip things around and look at five stocks that hit new 52-week lows last week that are prime candidates to bounce back. Dice Holdings (DHX) 52-Week Range: $6.83-$10.43 Dice operates several industry-specific career and employment websites, including the namesake Dice.com for tech jobs, ClearanceJobs.com for jobs that require security clearance, and Rigzone.com for jobs in the oil industry. It's a novel approach to helping folks in specific sectors network, and naturally this is magnetic to potential employers. The success of LinkedIn (LNKD) may have taken some of the shine off Dice, but the company's still finding ways to grow. Analysts see revenue climbing at a slightly better than 6 percent clip this year and again in 2014. Kinder Morgan (KMI) 52-Week Range: $32.30-$41.49 Kinder Morgan watches over the country's largest network of natural gas pipelines. Thanks to its reputation as a cleaner energy source than coal or petroleum (and the massive upsurge in U.S. production thanks to the fracking boom), natural gas is a growing source of domestic energy. Even commercial vehicles are starting to be powered by liquefied natural gas. Kinder Morgan is growing, but it has missed Wall Street's profit targets in each of the three past quarters. That's been enough to scare off some investors. However, the falling share price has also made Kinder Morgan's healthy dividend that much more compelling. The stock's yield of 4.6 percent is too rich to ignore here. Liquidity Services (LQDT) 52-Week Range: $20.37-$44.40 Liquidity Services prides itself as a problem solver. It runs a marketplace for items that need to b

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (NYSE: RAX) is supposed to be a winner from the small and mid-sized businesses moving to the cloud rather than in-house, but its earnings report early in the week showed that profits were down 40%. A rise in revenue was not assisted because higher expenses and operating costs are hurting here. Investors are getting used to disappointment here. A small gain of 1.3% to $42.21 on Friday was dwarfed by the losses earlier in the week as this was a $49.31 stock before earnings. That makes for another 14% post-earnings loss and now has the stock down by almost half from its 52-week high. Something has to give in here one way or another as well, because Rackspace still trades at 57-times expected 2014 earnings.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Rackspace (NYSE: RAX  ) got slammed in early May after missing analyst estimates. The miss was relatively minor, and normally shouldn't concern investors, but it was management's comments that did the damage.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Hot Topic Inc.(HOTT)

Hot Topic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. The company operates Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts, as well as an e-space music discovery concept, ShockHound. Its Hot Topic stores sell music/pop culture-licensed merchandise, including tee shirts, hats, posters, stickers, patches, postcards, books, novelty accessories, CDs, and DVDs; and music/pop culture-influenced merchandise comprising women?s and men?s apparel and accessories, such as woven and knit tops, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, shoes, costume jewelry, body jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, leather accessories, and gift items for young men and women primarily between the ages of 12 and 22. The company?s Torrid stores sells casual and dressy jeans and pants, fashion and novelty tops, sweaters, skirts, jackets, dresses, hosiery, shoes, intimate apparel, and fashion accessories for various lifestyles for plus-size females primarily betw een the ages of 15 and 29. As of July 30, 2011, it operated 636 Hot Topic stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada; 145 Torrid stores; and Internet stores, hottopic.com and torrid.com. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in City of Industry, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  In May True Religion (TRGL) announced a buyout offer from TowerBrook Capital for $826 million. Also in May, Rue21 decided to sell itself to Apax Partners for $2.2 billion. Before that, in March, Hot Topic (HOTT) announced that Sycamore Partners was buying out it out for $600 million.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: OCZ Technology Group Inc(OCZ)

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes computer components for computing devices and systems worldwide. It primarily offers solid state drives, flash memory storage, memory modules, thermal management solutions, AC/DC switching power supply units, and computer gaming solutions. The company?s products are used in industrial equipment and computer systems; computer and computer gaming solutions; mission critical servers and high end workstations; personal computer (PC) upgrades to extend the useable life of existing PCs; high performance computing and scientific computing; video and music editing; home theatre PCs and digital home convergence products; and digital photography and digital image manipulation computers. OCZ Technology Group, Inc. offers its products to retailers, on-line retailers, original equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, and distributors. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The not-so-great and wonderful OCZ
  There was no company-specific news that caused solid-state-drive maker OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ  ) to fall almost 8% Wednesday. But an article that appeared on Seeking Alpha �questioning whether the company had six months or less to live before it filed for bankruptcy seemed to coincide with its fall.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for infectious diseases. The company focuses on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C; and the development of antibacterials for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Its drug candidates for the treatment of chronic HCV include ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor, which is in phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV; ACH-2684, a pangenotypic protease inhibitor, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV infection; and NS5A inhibitors for the treatment of chronic HCV infection, including ACH-2928, which is to enter a phase I clinical trial, as well as various additional NS5A inhibitors in preclinical development. Its pipeline of product candidates also includes ACH-702 and ACH-2881 for drug resistant bacterial infections; elvucitabine for HIV infection; and AC H-1095 for HCV infection. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  In terms of clinical updates, hepatitis-C-focused biotech Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACHN  ) announced updated midstage results for its lead compound, ACH-3102, on Tuesday. In trials of genotype-1b treatment naive patients, ACH-3102 plus a ribavirin delivered a 75% success rate in end-of-treatment virologic response. The problem with these results is that not only is Achillion far behind its all-oral peers in terms of development, but its 75% success rate trailed that of Gilead Sciences' Sofosbuvir, which delivered 100% success rates in some of its late-stage trials featuring genotype-1 patients.

• [By Grace L. Williams]

  We took a look at Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN) after two directors bought 40,000 shares for $394,800. Dennis Liotta bought 20,000 shares for $158,100 and Jason Fisherman bought 20,000 shares for $155,000. InsiderScore gave Liotta a nod, writing, ��iotta has been a smart buyer at Achillion in the past. He bought the same number of shares here, this time at a price 28% higher, which is the highest price he has paid for shares.��/p>

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: bebe stores inc.(BEBE)

bebe stores, inc. engages in the design, development, and production of women?s apparel and accessories. Its products include a range of separates, tops, dresses, active wear, and accessories in career, evening, casual, and active lifestyle categories. The company markets its products under the bebe, BEBE SPORT, bbsp, and 2b bebe brand names targeting 21 to 34-year-old woman. As of July 2, 2011, it operated 252 retail stores, and an online store at bebe.com in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Japan, and Canada, as well as 60 international licensee operated stores in south east Asia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, Mexico, and Turkey. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Women's fashion leader bebe (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) has a new face on its board of directors. The specialty retailer announced Monday it has named Narry Singh to join the board, noting his contributions in the world of digital entertainment.

• [By CRWE]

  bebe stores, inc. (Nasdaq:BEBE) reported that its Board of Directors declared bebe�� quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share. The dividend is payable on December 4, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 20, 2012

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) were back in style today, gaining as much as 11% after receiving an upgrade from Janney Capital from Neutral to Buy.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both industrialist Aixtron (NASDAQ: AIXG  ) and fashionista bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on...

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: InterDigital Inc.(IDCC)

Interdigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. InterDigital?s solutions are incorporated in various products comprising mobile devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, notebook computers, and wireless personal digital assistants; wireless infrastructure equipment, such as base stations; and components, dongles, and modules for wireless devices. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as onshore and in the shallow waters offshore the Gulf Coast Basin. As of December 31, 2009, the company had estimated proved reserves of 1,931 thousand barrels of oil and 167,361 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. It owned working interests in 9 net producing oil wells and 277 net producing gas wells. PetroQuest Energy was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  PetroQuest Energy Inc. (NYSE: PQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

  Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Sky-mobi Limited(MOBI)

Sky-mobi Limited engages in the operation of a mobile application store in the People?s Republic of China. It works with handset companies to pre-install its Maopao mobile application store on handsets and with content developers to provide users with applications and content titles. The users of its Maopao store could browse, download, and purchase a range of applications and content, such as single-player games, mobile music, and books. The company?s Maopao store enables mobile applications and content to be downloaded and run on various mobile handsets with hardware and operating system configurations. It also operates a mobile social network community, the Maopao Community, where it offers localized mobile social games, as well as applications and content with social network functions to its registered members. The company owns proprietary mobile application technology in the cloud computing, the MRP format, and SDK development environment. As of March 31, 2011, it had entered into cooperation agreements with approximately 523 handset companies to pre-install Maopao. The company was formerly known as Profit Star Limited and changed its name to Sky-Mobi Limited in October 2010. Sky-mobi Limited was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Hangzhou, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Sky-mobi (MOBI), which, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of a mobile application platform embedded on mobile phones to provide mobile application store and services in the People�s Republic of China. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up a whopping 88%.

  If you look at the chart for Sky-mobi, you'll notice that this stock recently formed a triple bottom chart pattern at $3.31, $3.28 and $3.40 a share. That bottoming pattern occurred over the last two months. Shares of MOBI have now started to uptrend and flirt with its 50-day moving average of $3.76 a share. That move is quickly pushing MOBI within range of triggering a big breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MOBI if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $3.71 to $3.83 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 145,934 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MOBI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $4.96 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give MOBI a chance to tag its next major overhead resistance levels at $5.55 to $6.13 a share.

  Traders can look to buy MOBI off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $3.40 to $3.28 a share. One can also buy MOBI off strength once it takes out that breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: OmniVision Technologies Inc.(OVTI)

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor image-sensor devices. The company offers CameraChip image sensors, which are single-chip solutions that integrate various functions, such as image capture, image processing, color processing, signal conversion, and output of a processed image or video stream for use in various consumer and commercial mass-market applications; and CameraCube imaging devices that are image sensors with integrated wafer-level optics. It also provides companion chips used to connect its image sensors to various interfaces, including the universal serial bus and other industry standard interfaces; and companion digital signal processors that perform compression in standardized still photo and digital video formats. In addition, the company designs and develops software drivers for Linux, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows, as well as for embedded operating systems, such as Blackberry OS, Palm OS, Symbian, Windows CE, Windows Embedded, and Windows Mobile. Its products are used in mobile phones, notebooks, Webcams, digital still and video cameras, commercial and security and surveillance, and automotive and medical applications, as well as in entertainment devices. The company sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers, as well as indirectly through distributors worldwide. OmniVision Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM  ) and OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) are the two camera suppliers, and HTC is reportedly no longer considered a "tier one" manufacturer so it doesn't get priority any more. That implies that one of these image sensor specialists was giving HTC the cold shoulder in favor of bigger names.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI) shares tumbled 6.32 percent to $14.98 after the company issued downbeat third-quarter forecast.

  Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) was down, falling 7.90 percent to $51.16 after the company's CEO Edward Lampert cut his stake in the company to 48.4% from 55.4%.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) fit the bill? Let's take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Tuesday

  Earnings Expected From: Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNFI), OmniVision Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) Economic Releases Expected: Chinese HSBC Services PMI, Australian GDP, Brazilian GDP, eurozone PPI, British construction PMI.

  Wednesday

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: Voyager Oil & Gas Inc.(VOG)

Voyager Oil & Gas, Inc. engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the United States. It primarily focuses on oil shale resource prospects in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, and Wyoming. As of May 17, 2011, the company controlled approximately 141,500 net acres in the five primary prospect areas comprising 28,000 net acres targeting the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota and Montana; 14,200 net acres targeting the Niobrara formation in Colorado and Wyoming; 800 net acres targeting a Red River prospect in Montana; 33,500 net acres in a joint venture targeting the Heath Shale formation in Musselshell, Petroleum, Garfield, and Fergus counties of Montana; and 65,000 net acres in a joint venture in the Tiger Ridge gas field in Blaine, Hill, and Chouteau counties of Montana. It supplies energy and fuel for industrial, commercial, and individual consumers. The company is based in Billings, Montana.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Own For 2015: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

FuelCell Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation primarily in South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The company offers proprietary carbonate Direct FuelCell Power Plants that electrochemically produce electricity from hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas and biogas. Its fuel cells operate on a range of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable biogas, propane, methanol, coal gas, and coal mine methane. The company also develops carbonate fuel cells, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology, and other fuel cell technologies. It provides its products to universities; manufacturers; mission critical institutions, such as correction facilities and government installations; hotels; and natural gas letdown stations, as well as to customers who use renewable biogas for fuel, including municipal water treatment facilities, br eweries, and food processors. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  FuelCell Energy Inc.'s(FCEL) fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed as the power-equipment maker reported broad sales growth across all segments and wider gross margins. But the loss was still steeper than expected, sending shares down 11% to $1.65 premarket.