CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Stockpickr) -- In my trading, (short- to intermediate-term), I am guided almost wholly by technical analysis. I'm a charts man. And in my investing (longer-term), I pick my stocks using fundamental analysis, then rely on the charts to dictate my entry and exit points.
A couple of months ago, I became fundamentally very interested in the company Digital Ally (DGLY), which produces digital video imaging, audio recording and related storage products for use in law enforcement and security applications in the U.S. and internationally. Law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. are beginning to adopt Digital Ally's products on an increasingly massive scale, and it is becoming ever more evident that these products will soon be considered basic equipment for all police departments.
Competitor Taser International (TASR) has a head start on Digital Ally and is already a big player in this field, due to the popularity of the usually non-lethal weapon from which the company derives its name. But just as nature abhors a vacuum, the market abhors a monopoly -- and this is where Digital Ally comes in. With municipal governments coming increasingly under the gun with respect to their budgets, they will be forced to seek the highest-quality products for the lowest possible prices. I believe Digital Ally is the hands-down winner in both categories and that its products will become the standard for use by police forces in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Top 10 Defense Stocks To Own Right Now: Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX)
Market Vectors Steel ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the price and yield performance of the NYSE Arca Steel Index (STEEL or the Index) by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates STEEL. STEEL, calculated by the NYSE Alternext, is a modified market capitalization-weighted index consisting of publicly traded companies predominantly involved in the production of steel products or mining and processing of iron ore. The Index includes companies primarily involved in a variety of activities related to steel production, including the operation of manufacturing mills and fabrication of steel products. Companies eligible for inclusion in Index should be engaged in solar power and related products and services, deriving at least 66% of revenues from it with market cap exceeding $100 million, and should have three-month trading volume equal to or greater than $1 million per day. Its investment advisor is Van Eck Associates Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
In our late October report on X, we noted the Company was “scratching the surface” on operational improvement, and we expected shares to edge higher over the near term. While X shares have appreciated by 16% since that report vs. the S&P 500 of +4% and the [Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX)] of +3%, we believe shares have more room to run based on our positive carbon hot-rolled steel pricing revisions for 2014: meaningful raw material cost tailwinds (coal, scrap, iron ore); low Street EPS and EBITDA expectations for 2014-2015; an ever-increasing interest rate environment (benefits for pension exposure); more evidence of European macro stability; and above-average likelihood of incremental operational efficiency announcements such as a joint venture or tolling agreement with Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI).
- [By John Udovich]
On Monday, Goldman Sachs upgraded the whole steel sector from Cautious to Neutral and specifically upgraded small cap and mid cap steel stocks AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS), United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) and Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy with price targets of $6, $30 and $22, respectively, but should you go for one of these individual steel stocks or for the Market Vectors Steel ETF (NYSEARCA: SLX)? To begin with, Goldman Sachs says that the�supply-demand fundamentals for steel are starting to look more appealing as some supply has been taken out plus they have a very bearish view on input costs (as in iron ore)���which bodes well for steel producers in the long run. Moreover, recently filed trade cases could provide some tailwind���if they are successful.�Of course a rising tide can lift all ships, but Goldman Sachs suggests that you go for the following�small cap or mid cap steel stocks:�
Top 5 Quality Companies To Watch For 2014: RLI Corp. (RLI)
RLI Corp., through its subsidiaries, underwrites property and casualty insurance primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Casualty, Property, and Surety. The Casualty segment provides general liability services consisting of coverage for third party liability of commercial insurers, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile; commercial and personal umbrella coverage; and commercial transportation that include automobile liability and physical damage insurance to local, intermediate, and long haul truckers, public transportation risks, and equipment dealers, as well as incidental and related insurance coverage. It also offers professional liability coverages, such as directors? and officers? liability insurance, employment practices liability, and other miscellaneous professional liability coverage; and specialty program coverages, such as commercial property, general liability, inland marine, and crime, as well as deduc tible buy-back. The Property segment offers property coverage that consists primarily of excess and surplus lines and specialty insurance, such as fire and earthquake. It also provides insurance for commercial and industrial risks, such as office buildings, apartments, condominiums, and certain industrial and mercantile structures, as well as writes boiler and machinery coverage; marine coverage, including hull, cargo, and protection and indemnity; homeowners and dwelling fire insurance; and property facultative reinsurance for insurance companies. The Surety segment specializes in writing small-to-large commercial and small contract surety coverages, as well as for the energy, petrochemical, and refining industries. It offers miscellaneous bonds, such as license and permit, notary, and court bonds; and fidelity and crime coverage for commercial insured and select financial institutions. RLI Corp. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
For the past several years, Berkshire has contrasted its own cost-free float provided by profitable underwriting against the industry�� (unimpressive) tendency to lose money on underwriting while generating net returns from investment income. So far, so good. Less edifying, though, is the repeated contrast of Berkshire�� track record of profitability to State Farm��…even though, as a mutual company, State Farm�� profitability goals are inherently different from for-profit insurers like Berkshire. It�� true that through year-end 2013, Berkshire�� underwriters have ��ow operated at an underwriting profit for eleven consecutive years,��but so have ACE (ACE), American Financial (AFG),� AmTrust Financial (AFSI), Arch Capital (ACGL), Chubb (CB), HCC (HCC), Progressive (PGR), RLI (RLI), and W.R. Berkley (WRB), any or all of whom provide a more meaningful comparison than contrasting Berkshire�� results to a company that�� not out to produce a profit in the first place.
- [By Neil Macneale]
The top-rated stock among split announcements is RLI Corp. (RLI). I had never heard of this company, and I'm pleased to make its acquaintance.
Top 5 Quality Companies To Watch For 2014: ICF International Inc. (ICFI)
ICF International Inc. provides management, technology, and policy professional services to government, commercial, and international clients. It primarily offers advisory services, which include needs and market assessments, policy analysis, strategy and concept development, organizational assessment and strategy, enterprise architecture, and program design; and implementation services to manage technological, organizational, and management solutions for clients, including information technology solutions, project and program management, project delivery, strategic communications, and training. The company also provides evaluation and improvement services consisting of program evaluations, continuous improvement initiatives, performance management, benchmarking, and return-on-investment analyses. It serves energy, environment, and transportation; health, education, and social programs; and homeland security and defense. The company was formerly known as ICF Consulting Gro up Holdings, LLC and changed its name to ICF International, Inc. in 2006. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Leonard]
Key takeaways
ICF International (ICFI) trades at an attractive multiple due to concerns that lower government spending (~three quarters of its business) will negatively affect results.However recent contract wins and an expected strong 2H mitigate these concerns.Moreover, a successful acquisition strategy reduced its dependence on government spending and resulted in significant EBITDA growth, high free cash flow and an almost 50% debt reduction.Company overview
Top 5 Quality Companies To Watch For 2014: Imation Corp (IMN)
Imation Corp. (Imation) is a global scalable storage and data security company. The Company�� portfolio includes tiered storage and security offerings for business and products designed to manage audio and video information in the home. The Company�� global brand portfolio includes the Imation brand, the Memorex brand, the XtremeMac and MXI Security brands. Imation is also the exclusive licensee of the TDK Life on Record brand. Its three product categories include traditional storage, secure and scalable storage, and audio and video information. It operates in four geographic segments: Americas, Europe, North Asia and South Asia. On February 28, 2011, it acquired all of the assets of Encryptx Corporation. On June 4, 2011, it acquired the assets of MXI Security, from Memory Experts International Inc. On October 4, 2011 it acquired the secure data storage hardware assets of IronKey Systems Inc. In December 2011, it acquired the data deduplication technology from Nine Technology.
The Americas segment includes North America, Central America and South America. The Europe segment includes Europe and parts of Africa. North Asia segment includes Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. The South Asia segment includes Australia, Singapore, India, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
Imation brand products include magnetic tape media, recordable compact discs (CDs), digital versatile Discs (DVDs) and Blu-ray discs, flash products and hard disk drives. The Imation brand includes the DataGuard Data Protection Appliances, InfiniVault Storage appliances and removable disk technology (RDX) removable hard disk storage systems. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. Imation brand products are sold throughout the worldwide and target the commercial user and individual consumer. Imation Defender products include secure storage flash drives and external hard drives. TDK Life on Record brand products include recordable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray d! iscs, flash drives, tape cartridges, headphones and computer speakers which are sold to commercial customers and individual consumers. TDK Life on Record brand products is sold throughout the world.
XtremeMac brand products include cases, chargers and audio solutions to protect, power and play Apple iPad, iPod, iPhone and other devices. XtremeMac products are developed for Apple enthusiasts and are available worldwide. Its MXI Security brand includes secure storage flash drives and external hard drives, as well as software solutions to help manage portable security devices on the network.
Traditional Storage
The Company�� optical media products consist of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray recordable media. It sells Blu-ray discs, which are used primarily for recording high-definition video content. Its recordable optical media products are sold through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels and sourced from manufacturers primarily in Taiwan and India. Optical storage capacities range from 650 megabyte CD-R (recordable) and CD-RW (rewritable) optical discs to 9.4 gigabyte double-sided DVD optical discs and Blu-ray discs with 25 gigabyte to 100 gigabyte of capacity. Its optical media is sold throughout the world under brands it owns or controls, including Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record and under a distribution agreement for the Hewlett Packard brand.
The Company�� magnetic tape media products are used for back-up, business and operational continuity planning, disaster recovery, near-line data storage and retrieval and for mass and archival storage. Other traditional storage products include primarily optical drives and audio and video tape media.
Secure and Scalable Storage
Secure storage products and software include universal serial bus (USB) flash drives and external hard drives designed to meet the security standards to protect data at rest with Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) validation, pa! ssword an! d biometric authentication, including biometric USB drives, encrypted and biometric hard disk drives, secure portable desktop solutions and software solutions. It also sells standard USB flash drives and external hard disk drives throughout the world under its Imation, Memorex and TDK Life on Record brands. It sources these products from manufacturers primarily in Asia and the United States and sell them through a variety of retail and commercial distribution channels around the world. Scalable storage products include data protection appliances, such as DataGuard network attached storage backup appliances and InfiniVault active archive appliances.
Audio and Video Information
The Company�� audio and video information products include Apple iPad, iPod and iPhone accessories, headphones, CD players, alarm clocks, portable boom boxes, moving picture experts group layer-3 audio (MP3) players, and speakers sold under the Memorex, TDK Life on Record and XtremeMac brands. It designs products to meet user needs and source these products from manufacturers throughout Asia.
The Company competes with Maxell, JVC, Sony, Verbatim, Fuji, HP, SanDisk, Lexar, PNY and Kingston.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Geoff Gannon] g>4. Tuesday Morning (TUES)
5. Pacific Biosciences (PACB)
6. Maxygen (MAXY)
7. Westell (WSTL)
8. Volt Information Sciences (VISI)
9. Yasheng Group (YHGG)I don�� love that list. I like the 14 past picks in the Ben Graham Net-Net Newsletter�� model portfolio much better. The newsletter only owns 1 of those 9 net-nets. Remember, we have 9 net-nets out of the 14 picked for the newsletter that are trading below where we picked them. So, obviously I like those 9 net-nets a lot better than these 9 net-nets.
Like I said, I wouldn�� encourage you to buy those nine net-nets shown here ��even if you��e looking to put a lot of money into net-nets. Instead you should look at your favorite net-nets ��or the net-nets in the Ben Graham: Net-Net Newsletter ��and use them as a buy list you are constantly placing orders from month after month.
Building a diversified collection of net-net through many months of purchasing is a better way to invest a lot of money in net-nets than trying to focus on the biggest net-nets.
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Check out the Buffe - [By John Udovich]
As cyber theft and hacking continues to grow, mir or small cap stocks like Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK), Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) and Staffing 360 Solutions Inc (OTCBB: STAF)�are some overlooked, indirect or just plain interesting plays on cybersecurity that investors might want to take note of:
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