5 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2016

5 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2016: WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Fund (EES)

WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Index (the Index). The Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of earnings-generating companies within the small-capitalization segment of the United States stock market. The Index consists of the companies in the bottom 25% of the market capitalization of the WisdomTree Earnings Index after the 500 largest companies have been removed. Companies must be incorporated and listed in the United States, and must have generated positive cumulative earnings over their most recent four fiscal quarters prior to the Index measurement date. The Index is earnings-weighted in December to reflect the proportionate share of the aggregate earnings each component company has generated. Companies with greater earnings generally have larger weights in the Index. Its investment advisor is WisdomTree Asset Manage ment, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Philip Springer]

  WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings Fund (EES) follows earnings generated by companies in the small-cap universe of the US stock market.

  Furthermore, the fund looks to weight by earnings, giving bigger weights to firms that earn more, irrespective of market capitalization.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/5-best-clean-energy-stocks-to-invest-in-2016-3.html

Hot Retail Stocks To Watch For 2016

Hot Retail Stocks To Watch For 2016 : Inchcape PLC (INCH)

Inchcape plc is a global premium automotive distributor and retailer. The Company provides a professional and financed route to market for automotive manufacturers across five continents. Inchcape acts as a vehicle and parts distributor in 22 of its 26 markets. In these markets, the Company has responsibility for managing the value chain on behalf of a focused portfolio of premium and luxury brand partners. The Companys responsibilities as a distributor include specifying vehicles to meet local market requirements, organizing logistics from the factory gate through to the retail center, appointing and performance managing the retail network and acting as the national marketer of the brand. The Company derives over two third of its profit from Asia Pacific and emerging markets. Its markets include Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, Chile, Ethiopia, Australia and the United Kingdom. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Inchcape Plc (INCH) surged 9.9 percent to 645 pence, the highest level since June 2008. The largest publicly traded U.K. car retailer and wholesaler reported first-half adjusted pretax earnings increased 11 percent. The company also announced share buybacks of 100 million pounds in the next year.

source from Top Penny Stocks For 2015:http://www.seekpennystocks.com/hot-retail-stocks-to-watch-for-2016.html

Top Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now

Top Performing Companies To Watch In Right Now: Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc (SGYP)

Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on February 11, 1992, is a biopharmaceutical company focused primarily on the development of drugs to treat gastrointestinal (GI), disorders and diseases. The Company's lead product candidate is plecanatide, a guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C), receptor agonist, to treat GI disorders, primarily chronic constipation (CC), and constipation-predominant-irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C). It is also developing SP-333, the second generation GC-C receptor agonist for the treatment of gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases, such as ulcerative colitis (UC). The Company's active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and the final formulated drug products are manufactured for it by third party contractors.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company was developing plecanatide, a synthetic hexadecapeptide designed to mimic the actions of the GI hormone uroguanylin, for the treatment of CC and IBS-C. Plecanatide is an agonist of GC-C receptor. A s of December 31, 2011, the Company was dosing patients in an 800-patient Phase II/III clinical trial of plecanatide to treat. It is also developing a second generation GC-C receptor analog, SP-333, which is in pre-clinical development for the treatment of gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases. SP-333 is a synthetic analog of uroguanylin, a natriuretic hormone.

The Company competes with Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Forest Laboratories, Inc., Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Shire Plc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) reported a drop in its third-quarter profit. Time Warner Cable's quarterly profit fell to $532 million, or $1.84 per share, from $808 million, or $2.60 per share,! in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here. Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SGYP) today announced the start of a phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SP-333, its second-generation GC-C agonist and once-daily oral treatment, in adult patients with opioid-induced constipation (OIC). To read the full news, click here. Cigna (NYSE: CI) reported a 19% rise in its third-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year earnings outlook. To read the full news, click here. Charm Communications (NASDAQ: CHRM) announced today that the special committee of the Company's board of directors, consisting of independent directors Mr. Zhan Wang, Mr. Andrew J. Rickards and Mr. Gang Chen, has retained China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited as its financial advisor and Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP as its legal advisor. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Bank of America US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

• [By Sean Williams]

  Finally, Synergy Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SGYP  ) may have had the wildest week of them all. Synergy's share price spiked 16% on Tuesday as an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald raised her peak sales estimate for plecanatide, the company's midstage drug for chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, to $1.58 billion from $1.05 billion, as clinical data has been stronger than expected. However, the company didn't return the favor to shareholders by -- the very next day, mind you – announcing a secondary offering of 16.375 million shares. The downside of clinical-stage companies is the always apparent risk of dilution. Shares have lost 25% since their Tuesday close.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-performing-companies-to-watch-in-right-now-3.html

Top 5 Life Sciences Stocks To Watch For 2016

Top 5 Life Sciences Stocks To Watch For 2016: Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (EMF)

Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (the Fund) is a diversified, closed-end investment company. The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of its net assets in emerging country equity securities. It makes investments in China, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey, Russia, Thailand, India, Taiwan, Hungary and South Africa. The Fund invests in sectors, such as metals and mining, commercial banks, diversified financial services, semiconductors and semiconductor equipment, wireless telecommunication services, and oil, gas and consumable fuels.

Templeton Asset Management Ltd. (TAML) serves as the Funds investment manager. Its administrative manager is Franklin Templeton Services, LLC. The Fund may invest in the Franklin Institutional Fiduciary Trust Money Market Portfolio (the Sweep Money Fund), an open-end investment company managed by Franklin Advisers, Inc. (an affiliate of TAML).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By George Putnam, Editor, New Generation Research, Inc.]

  Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (EMF) is also actively managed. Currently, the fund is Asian-centric with about 71% of assets from Asian markets, mostly China and Thailand.

source from Top Stocks To Buy For 2015:http://www.topstocksforum.com/top-5-life-sciences-stocks-to-watch-for-2016.html

Bear of the Day: Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) - Bear of the Day

I last wrote about Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) as a Zacks #5 Rank Strong Sell on April 2, right before they missed earnings estimates by 35%.That was also before I decided to short gold above $1450 an ounce in May to take advantage of what I thought was becoming a bear market for the barbarous relic.Since then, AEM has fallen from $40 a share to as low as $25 in late June when gold fell below $1200. You can access that Bear of the Day report here. Things Could Improve for AEM, But...Here's a summary note from Zacks Research on July 4, with a price target of $29:We are upgrading our recommendation on Agnico-Eagle to Neutral. Profit for the first quarter slid roughly 70% on lower gold prices and production as well as higher cash costs. Adjusted earnings fell well short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues fell by double digits, yet beat expectations.The company backed its production guidance for the full year. Agnico-Eagle maintains a solid exploration budget and is reinvesting in its assets to expand output. Moreover, the company s revised life of mine plan is expected to yield significant free cash flows over the next several years.However, any potential delay associated with the development projects may jeopardize its future production. We are also concerned about high operating costs across a number of mines.Gold Miners Still BuriedI proposed as early as February when gold began its breakdown below $1600 that the miners would continue to remain under pressure as analysts had to keep lowering their earnings estimates.Why would they have to keep doing that? To keep up with the falling price of gold.Joining AEM as a Zacks #5 Rank in one of the lowest-ranked industry groups (244 out of 265), are Randgold (GOLD), Royal Gold (RGLD), Yamana Gold (AUY), Anglogold Ashanti (AU), and Allied Nevada (ANV).While many gold worshippers will be searching for a bottom in the shiny metal at these levels, don't bet on these miners until their earnings outlooks can get out of the dirt.Their fortunes are tied to the curre! nt downtrend and the turn-arounds could take a while.Kevin Cook is a Senior Stock Strategist with Zacks.com

Best India Companies To Buy For 2015

“The January effect is a real and continuing anomaly in stock-market returns, and one that defies easy explanation.”

– Financial Analysts Journal (2006)

With December half over, it’s time to start thinking about the “January Effect.” Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the deeply-flawed “First Five Days of January Indicator” which says that how a stock market performs during the first trading week of January determines how it will perform for the entire calendar year. I briefly mentioned the 5-day January Indicator in a 2011 article entitled What’s Wrong with India’s Stock Market?” As it turned out, the 5-day January Indicator accurately predicted that India’s stock market would continue underperforming for the rest of 2011, but I digress.

Unlike the dubious 5-day January Indicator, the January Effect is an academically-proven stock-market phenomenon where small-cap and underperforming stocks near the end of one calendar year suddenly reverse course and outperform the general stock market in the January of the following calendar year. That this well-publicized phenomenon continues to occur despite being well known is interesting – the efficient market hypothesis argues that such abnormal outperformance should quickly dissipate at the hands of arbitrageurs.

Top 5 Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now: Infosys Technologies Limited(INFY)

Infosys Ltd. provides information technology (IT) and consulting services worldwide. It offers IT services, such as application, architecture, independent validation and testing, information management, infrastructure, packaged application, SOA, systems integration, and knowledge services; product engineering services, manufacturing process and plant solutions, and product lifecycle management services; and consulting services in the areas of information and technology strategies, product innovation, next generation commerce, process excellence, and learning and complex change. The company also provides business process outsourcing solutions in the areas of business platforms, customer service outsourcing, finance and accounting, human resources outsourcing, legal services, sales and fulfillment, and sourcing and procurement outsourcing. In addition, it offers collaborative analytics solutions; digital consumer platform; Finacle universal banking solution; iProwe, a Web ac cessibility assessment product; mConnect, a real-time enterprise middleware; and research and analytical support services. Further, the company offers unified communications and collaboration solution that streamlines business processes between employees, customers, and suppliers; iTransform that helps healthcare organizations accelerate transition to new platforms; and supply chain visibility and collaboration product suite. It serves aerospace and defense, airlines, automotive, banking, capital markets, communication services, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, education, energy, healthcare, high technology, hospitality and leisure, insurance, life sciences, logistics and distribution, publishing, resources, utilities, and retail industries. Infosys Ltd. has a strategic partnership with Alstom SA. The company was formerly known as Infosys Technologies Limited and changed its name to Infosys Ltd. on June 16, 2011. Infosys Ltd. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered i n Bengaluru, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Infosys (NASDAQ: INFY) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $2.01 billion.

  Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Overall, the most popular emerging market ETFs experienced much sharper declines than the less-than-1% drop the Dow posted this week. Vanguard Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: VWO  ) and iShares Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: EEM  ) were both down just under 3% for the week. But when you drill down to look for particular culprits in the emerging markets, you don't have to look very far to find that it was generally a broad-based decline:

  In China, more concerns about a slowdown in the manufacturing industry put pressure on stocks. The Shanghai index didn't move much, but one key ETF tracking the Chinese market sank nearly 4% in response to the news, largely on weakness in telecom giant China Mobile (NYSE: CHL  ) , which plays a commanding role in many emerging market-focused ETFs.
  � Indian stocks suffered from some of the same macroeconomic issues, with the Bombay market's index down about 3% and ETF tracking the market falling 4% to 5%. The Indian finance minister responded to the decline, which many blamed on Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's comments, by saying, "We think that Bernanke's statement has been misunderstood or misinterpreted." Yet that didn't seem to appease investors in outward-directed industries like Infosys (NYSE: INFY  ) , whose IT offerings require health activity levels not just in India but in the U.S. and other customer-heavy countries as well.
  � Stocks in Mexico suffered declines of almost 5%, retracing some ground after an extraordinarily strong stretch of gains on optimism about the country's ability to reinvigorate its economy beyond its core reliance on petroleum and to resolve ongoing conflicts with drug cartels.

  But there were some relatively bright spots in other emerging markets. Brazilian stocks were actually up a bit on the week, as the nation found itself better insulated from all the happenings in Asia related to China and Japan. Russian stocks also remained relatively stable,

Best India Companies To Buy For 2015: Sify Technologies Limited(SIFY)

Sify Technologies Limited provides enterprise and consumer Internet services primarily in India. The company offers various corporate network/data services comprising e-commerce and network connectivity solutions, such as end-to-end services network, application, and security services; voice origination and termination services; co-location and managed hosting services; and system integration services for data centre build, hardware distribution, security solutions, and turnkey projects. It also provides application services, including SLEMS and Microsoft Exchange messaging platforms; I-test for online assessment and LiveWire, which enable management of training processes across the organization; document management system for the management of documents electronically; and Forum, a forward supply chain solution. In addition, the company operates e-Ports that offer browsing, chat, email, gaming, utility bill payment, travel ticketing, hotel booking, mobile recharge, Intern et telephony, and online share trading services; and portals, which provide news, views, reviews, interactions, and services in the areas of movies, sports, finance, food, videos, astrology, online games, shopping, and travel, as well as offers content offerings and broadband services. Further, it provides infrastructure management services, such as network management, datacenter and helpdesk outsourcing, desktop and storage outsourcing, IT security outsourcing, LAN and WAN outsourcing, database and telecom outsourcing, and application monitoring and management services to automotive, chemical, media, and financial enterprises; and virtualization design, integration, and deployment services for servers, storage, networks, and end user clients. Sify has approximately 1,278 e-Ports in 200 towns and cities; and serves 1,06,000 broadband subscribers through 1500 cable TV Operators. The company, formerly known as Sify Limited, was founded in 1995 and is based in Chennai, India. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Technology stocks gained Tuesday, with Ku6 Media Co (NASDAQ: KUTV) leading advancers. Among leading tech stocks, gains came from Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ: RBCN), Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) and Sify Technologies (NASDAQ: SIFY).

Best India Companies To Buy For 2015: Tata Motors Ltd(TTM)

Tata Motors Limited, an automobile company, engages in the manufacture and sale of commercial and passenger vehicles primarily in India. The company offers cars, utility vehicles, trucks, buses and coaches, and defense vehicles, as well as develops electric and hybrid vehicles for personal and public transportation. It also involves in distributing and marketing cars; and financing the vehicles sold by the company. In addition, the company engages in the provision of engineering and automotive solutions, as well as machine tools and factory automation solutions; construction equipment manufacturing; automotive vehicle components manufacturing and supply chain activities; tooling and plastic and electronic components for automotive and computer applications; and automotive retailing and service operations. It offers its products and services through its dealership, sales, services, and spare parts network. The company also markets its commercial and passenger vehicles in Eu rope, Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, South Asia, and South America. The company was formerly known as Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited and changed its name to Tata Motors Limited in July 2003. Tata Motors Limited was founded in 1945 and is based in Mumbai, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Well]

  Pfizer�� Net Income Growth Is Increasing Leading to Increase in Its Operating Margins
  
  Net incomes and operating margins of a company give some insights into its financial health. Pfizer�� net income growth has accelerated this year. In fact, when compared with its direct competitors like Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi, the rate of increase of net income growth trailing twelve months (TTM) is greatest at Pfizer with $10.68 billion followed by Novartis with $9.37 billion while Merck and Sanofi lagged behind with $4.53 billion and $4.05 billion respectively. Really, rather than increasing, there has been a decrease in Merck�� and Sanofi�� net incomes this year which should be a source of concern for investors. A healthy operating margin shows that a company is earning more per dollar of sales and, hence, able to pay for its fixed costs including interest on debt.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  2. Gimme those car keys
  Sniff ... they grow up so fast. Before we know it, little Georgie's going to be ready to sit his royal tuckus in the driver seat. Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM  ) offers a flashback to the days of British colonialism, although this time it's India with the ownership. Although the South Asian automaker is most famous for its Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, Prince George would probably have his eyes set on Tata's Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary.

• [By David Kerr]

  Using the conventional P/E method, if we subtract the $39 billion in cash that Oracle has from the $155 billion market cap, we see that the company�� operations can be purchased for $116 billion. Because Oracle has a net income of $11 billion (TTM), the company is actually trading at a P/E of 10.54 as opposed to the current 14.46. Oracle also has an estimated Forward P/E (1 year) of 10.65.

Best India Companies To Buy For 2015: Stewart Information Services Corporation(STC)

Stewart Information Services Corporation provides title insurance and related information services required for settlement by the real estate and mortgage industries. It operates in two segments, Title Insurance-Related Services and Real Estate Information. The Title Insurance-Related Services segment offers services that include searching for and examining documents, such as deeds, mortgages, wills, divorce decrees, court judgments, liens, paving assessments, and tax records, as well as provides titles insurance for residential and commercial properties, undeveloped acreage, farms, ranches, and water rights. This segment serves attorneys, builders, developers, home buyers and home sellers, lenders, and real estate brokers. The Real Estate Information segment offers products and services, which primarily include lender services, title technology, foreign and domestic government services, mapping, title information, Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 tax-deferred property e xchanges, pre-employment services, and online filing and transaction management. Its customers include mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, mortgage investors, government entities, commercial and residential real estate agents, land developers, builders, title insurance agencies, and others interested in obtaining property information, as well as accountants, attorneys, investors, and employers. The company has operations primarily in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, central Europe, Mexico, central America, and Australia. Stewart Information Services Corporation was founded in 1893 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Tower Group has dropped 40% to $4.43 today, and some other small insurers are also getting dinged this morning. HCI Group (HCI) has fallen 1.8% to $39.36, Stewart Information Services (STC) has declined 0.7% to $31.36 and the Navigators Group (NAVG) has ticked down 0.4% to $56.10.

• [By James Fink]

  My housing pick is Houston-based Stewart Information Services (STC), a 120-year-old real estate business founded in 1893, that is still owned and managed by the founding family.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Tower Group has dropped 12% to $3.88 today at 11:39 a.m., while Stewart Information Services (STC) has dipped 0.1% to $31.16, the�Navigators Group�(NAVG) has fallen 1.4% to $54.78 and HCI Group�(HCI) has gained 1% to $38.16.

Best India Companies To Buy For 2015: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd(RDY)

Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a pharmaceutical company. It produces finished dosage forms, active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, and biotechnology products. The company also conducts research in the areas of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, inflammation, and bacterial infection. In addition, it involves in the contract manufacture generic prescription and over-the-counter products for branded and generic companies in the United States. The company primarily focuses on therapeutic categories of cardiovascular, diabetes management, gastro-intestinal, and pain management. It markets its products in India, the United States, Europe, and the Russian Federation. The company has a co-development and commercialization agreement with Rheoscience A/S for the development and commercialization of Balaglitazone/DRF 2593, a partial PPAR-gamma agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes; an agreement with ClinTec Internatio nal for the development of an anti-cancer compound, DRF 1042; collaboration with the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; and an agreement with Argenta Discovery Limited for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It also has an agreement with 7TM Pharma for drug discovery collaboration on selected drug targets; and an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc to develop and market pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncology, gastroenterology, and pain management. Dr. Reddy?s Laboratories Limited was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, India.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  The company's generic drug segment should also help push emerging market sales. Abbott markets generic pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. only, and while the division isn't growth-oriented -- sales actually fell around 2% for the quarter -- it provides an entry for the company to push into lucrative new markets such as India, where generics make up the large majority of the country's retail market. The company will face tougher competition in this industry, however: Firms such as India-based Dr. Reddy's (NYSE: RDY  ) have also pushed hard into emerging markets lately, and Dr. Reddy's in particular should benefit from its being headquartered in one of the industry's top locales.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Following FDA approval of its abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA,�Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY  ) announced today that it launched its lamotrigine extended-release tablets, the generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal.�

• [By Benjamin Shepherd] We’re now into day 15 of the US government shutdown, as House Republicans stubbornly try to defund Obamacare. No matter what sort of deal is eventually struck, health care costs aren’t likely to come down any time soon. And that’s good news for generic drug makers.
  
  Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) is one of the biggest players in generic drugs, offering more than 200 off-brand medications in the areas of cardiovascular disease, pain management and oncology, among others. In fact, this India-based company has become one of the largest makers of generics in the world, helping to drive more than 20 percent annual compounded earnings growth at the company over the past decade.

Hershey Canada Fined $3.8 Million for Price Fixing

TORONTO (AP) -- Hershey Canada was fined US$3.8 million (CA $4 million) Friday after pleading guilty to its role in fixing the price of chocolate confectionery products in Canada.

Canada's Competition Bureau said the Mississauga, Ontario-based company admitted in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that it conspired, agreed or arranged to fix the price of chocolate confectionery products in Canada in 2007.

The Competition Bureau said Hershey also admitted that in 2007 senior employees communicated with employees at Nestlé Canada, Mars Canada and an independent distributor network to exchange competitively sensitive pricing information about chocolate confectionery products in Canada.

"Price-fixing is a serious criminal offence, regardless of whether it is in the chocolate confectionery market or any other industry," said John Pecman, the Commissioner of Competition. "The collaboration of organizations or individuals is one of our best weapons to bring to light illegal agreements between competitors, which are secretive in nature and very difficult to detect."

The Competition Bureau earlier this month filed criminal charges against Nestle SA's Canada arm, Mars's Canada division and ITWAL Ltd., a network of independent wholesale distributors. Also charged are former Nestle Canada president Robert Leonidas; Sandra Martinez, former president of confectionery for Nestle Canada; and David Glenn Stevens, president and chief executive of ITWAL.

Nestle, Mars and Itwal Ltd. have said they intend to defend themselves against the charges. A trial date is set for Oct. 3.

If convicted, the defendants could face a fine of up to US$9.5 million (CA$10-million) and a prison term of up to five years.

Hershey Canada received leniency under a Competition Bureau program designed to encourage companies to report wrongdoing. The program offers immunity to the first party to disclose an offense or provide evidence, provided it fully cooperates. Subsequent parties that cooperate with an investigation may receive lenient treatment.

Chocolate maker Cadbury Adams Canada first brought the matter to the bureau's attention in 2007 and received immunity from prosecution.

The Competition Bureau, an independent law enforcement agency, recommended to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada that Hershey Canada receive lenient treatment since the company cooperated with the investigation and has agreed to cooperate with any subsequent prosecutions.

Hershey Canada reported communications with competitors related to the price fixing from 2007. The company said neither its current senior management, nor the leaders of parent company, Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY  ) , were involved in fixing prices.

link

Can Lions Gate Continue Its Run?

Since its darker days and fierce shareholder battles in the relatively recent past, film studio Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF  ) has been on a near-vertical tear -- up nearly 150% in the past year alone. In its most recent earnings release, the company again surpassed analyst expectations, fueled by the constant gold mine that is the Twilight franchise. But with the bulk of Twilight profits already on the books, does the company still have room to run? As long as Jennifer Lawrence stays hungry, things should be pretty good for this Hollywood highflier.

Earnings recap 
Film studios are difficult investments, with returns often fueled by speculation of box office smashes. But as evidenced by this past weekend's opening flop of After Earth (a $100  million M. Night Shyamalan-helmed vehicle for Will Smith and Mini Will Smith), there is no exact formula that equates to success in Hollywood.

Regardless, Lions Gate has for many months now been navigating the entertainment waters with a golden compass.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, Lions Gate booked $785 million in revenue, just a few hundred million more than analyst expectations of $447 million. On the bottom of the income statement, the company brought in $0.66 per share, representing a more than $0.20 premium to the Street's predictions.

Twilight home-video sales, and The Hunger Games' first installment on DVD and Blu-ray, were a nice boost to earnings and allow for promotion of upcoming installments of the latter, in addition to new franchises just about to kick off. The company's digital distribution agreements with outlets such as Netflix and Hulu have also proved to be very successful and look to further enhance the Lions Gate name in coming years.

With such a tremendous run-up, though, are investors ill-advised to jump on board? If the past is indicative of the future, this stock could still be headed higher.

Coming soon 
Lions Gate seems to have figured out better than most that appealing to teenagers' flaky yet obsessive reading habits makes for big box-office numbers. The company has just launched the trailer for the first installment in the Ender's Game franchise. Investors (and everyone trying to go to the movies that day) can bet on a major opening for this film, not to mention the residual back-end income. Other franchise sequels coming down the pipeline include The Expendables 3 and a reboot of the totally awesome classic Highlander. 

On the television and digital distribution front, things look strong as well. Lions Gate's biggest TV property, Mad Men, is permanently wrapping next season, but coming soon is a series with megastar George Lopez, with the creator of Home Improvement running the show. Also on tap are two digital-only productions -- a comedy for Hulu, and a highly anticipated series titled Orange Is the New Black as the next freshman-year effort from Netflix. The show is set to debut in July.

Good team, good prospects
Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer has just signed on to remain as the company's chief. Not that he is a one-man train to success, but the company weathered its Carl Icahn-induced storm of a couple of years ago and has bounced back stronger than ever. Coupled with its attractive movie and TV strategies, I find the company to be in as good a condition as ever.

The valuation is rich at nearly 18 times forward earnings, but investors can expect this studio to continue its expansion and bite into the earnings of the megastudios. For a summer blockbuster, investors should take a closer look at Lions Gate Entertainment.

Want a closer look at Netflix as well? You're in luck, because the Motley Fool has released a premium report on the company. Inside, you'll learn about the key opportunities and risks facing Netflix, as well as reasons to buy or sell the stock. The report includes a full year of updates to cover critical new developments, so make sure to click here and claim a copy today.

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Buy For 2016

Top Specialty Retail Companies To Buy For 2016: Ulta Salon Cosmetics and Fragrance Inc (ULTA)

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. (Ulta), incorporated on January 9, 1990, is a beauty retailer, which provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States. During the year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), the Company opened 61 new stores. It operates full-service salons in all of its stores. Its Ulta store format includes an open and modern salon area with approximately eight to 10 stations. The entire salon area is approximately 950 square feet with a concierge desk, skin treatment room, semi-private shampoo and hair color processing areas. Each salon is a full-service salon offering hair cuts, hair coloring and permanent texture, with salons also providing facials and waxing.

The Company offers products in the categories, such as cosmetics, which includes products for the face, eyes, cheeks, lips and nails; haircare, which includes shampoos, conditioners, styling products, and hair accessories; salon styling tools, which includes hair dryers, curling irons and flat irons; skincare and bath and body, which includes products for the face, hands and body; fragrance for both men and women; private label, consisting of Ulta branded cosmetics, skincare, bath and body products and haircare, and other, including candles, home fragrance products and other miscellaneous health and beauty products. The Company has combined its three operating segments: retail stores, salon services and e-commerce, into one reportable segment.

The Company competes with Macy's, Nordstrom, Sephora, Bath & Body Works, CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens, Target, Wal-Mart, Regis Corp., Sally Beauty and JCPenney salons.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

   

   

  Nearest Resistance: $130
Nearest Support: $100

  Catalyst: Q2 Earnings

   

  Shares of beauty supply operator Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) moved up approximately 20% in Friday's session, boosted by positive second quarter earnings numbers. Ulta reported profits for 94 cents per share for the quarter, beating out analysts' best guess profits of 83 cents per share. Even better, the firm expects third quarter revenues on the high end of Wall Street's expectations for both revenue and profits.

   

  The technicals look good in ULTA right now. This stock's big gap higher on Friday broke shares above key round-number resistance at $100, clearing the way for a retest of last year's highs up near $130. For traders who aren't risk-averse, ULTA is buyable here.

   

  Read More: 5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

   

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Shares of ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ: ULTA) got a boost, shooting up 17.9 percent to $114.89 after the company reported upbeat second-quarter results and raised its outlook. The company also unveiled a five-year plan for impressive growth.

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Toward the end of trading Friday, the Dow traded down 0.60 percent to 16,947.43 while the NASDAQ declined 0.75 percent to 4,557.59. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.83 percent to 1,980.97.

  Leading and Lagging Sectors Cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell by just 0.50 percent in trading on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance NASDAQ: (ULTA), up 17.5 percent, and 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ: FLWS), up 4.5 percent. In trading on Friday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.89 percent. Meanwhile, top decliners in the sector included Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais - CEMIG (NYSE: CIG), down 4.7 percent, and CPFL Energia SA (NYSE: CPL), off 4.3 percent. Top Headline Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) reporte! d better-! than-expected fiscal first quarter earnings. The Orlando, Florida-based company reported a quarterly loss of $19.3 million, or $0.14 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $42.2 million, or $0.32 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company earned $0.32 per share. Its sales surged to $1.6 billion versus $1.53 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.30 per share on revenue of $1.6 billion. Equities Trading UP Conversant (NASDAQ: CNVR) shares shot up 30.25 percent to $34.79 after Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) announced its plans to buy Conversant for $35 per share. Shares of ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (NASDAQ: ULTA) got a boost, shooting up 17.69 percent to $114.72 after the company reported upbeat second-quarter results and raised its outlook. The company also unveiled a five-year plan for impressive growth. Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings (NASDAQ: SPWH) shares were also up, gaining 15.89 percent to $7.00 after the company reported stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results. Equities Trading DOWN Shares of Ruckus Wireless (NASDAQ: RKUS) were down 5.19 percent to $14.35. Buckingham
• [By Garrett Cook]

  Cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell by just 0.30 percent in trading on Friday. Top gainers in the sector included ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance NASDAQ: (ULTA), up 18.6 percent, and 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ: FLWS), up 4.6 percent.

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-specialty-retail-companies-to-buy-for-2016.html

Top 5 Internet Stocks For 2015

Popular Posts: 8 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now4 Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now12 Oil and Gas Stocks to Sell Now Recent Posts: 4 Internet and Web Service Stocks to Sell Now 7 Internet and Web Service Stocks to Buy Now 4 Machinery Stocks to Sell Now View All Posts

For the current week, the overall ratings of four internet and web service stocks are worse, according to the Portfolio Graderdatabase. Each of these rates a “D” (“sell”) or “F” overall (“strong sell”).

5 Best Railroad Stocks To Invest In 2016: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, incorporated on June 28, 1999, is an online and mobile commerce company. The Company operates its ecosystem as a platform for third parties. The Company operates Taobao Marketplace, China�� online shopping destination, Tmall, China�� third-party platform for brands and retailers and Juhuasuan, China�� group buying marketplace. In addition to its three China retail marketplaces, the Company operates Alibaba.com, China�� global online wholesale marketplace, 1688.com, its China wholesale marketplace, and AliExpress, its global consumer marketplace, as well as provides cloud computing services. As a platform, the Company provides the fundamental technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help businesses leverage the power of the Internet to establish an online presence and conduct commerce with consumers and businesses. Effective August 01, 2014, Alibaba Investment Ltd, a unit of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, acquired a 10.193% interest n Singapore Post Ltd.

The buyers and sellers discover, select and transact with each other on the Company�� platform. Third-party service providers add value to its platform through service offerings that make it easier for buyers and sellers to do business. The third-party participants in its ecosystem include a payment services provider, logistics providers, retail operational partners, marketing affiliates, independent software vendors and various professional service providers. The Company has developed policies and procedures that maintain the health and sustainability of its marketplaces, including consumer protection programs, marketplace rules, qualification standards for merchants and buyer and seller rating systems. As its ecosystem expands, new jobs are created.

Taobao Affiliate Network is powered by Alimama, its online marketing technology platform. Through this platform, sellers place marketing displays on its marketing affiliates��websites and mobile apps, and sellers pay a performance-b! ased marketing fee primarily based on cost-per-click (CPC), and cost-per-sale (CPS), models. Through China Smart Logistics, the Company provides real-time information to its logistics partners, including key operating metrics, such as distribution center utilization rates, route planning data and order volume forecasts. Independent software vendors (ISVs) provide software tools, as well as systems integration services to sellers.

Tmall is an online platform featuring brands and retailers with each seller having an identifiable online storefront. Users may access Tmall anytime, anywhere through the Tmall Website and the mobile apps and mobile-optimized websites provided by Taobao Marketplace and Tmall. The physical product categories on Tmall include apparel and accessories, electronics and appliances, home furnishings, home appliances, maternity and baby products. Juhuasuan is an online group buying marketplace in China. Juhuasuan offers quality products at discounted prices by aggregating demand from numerous consumers. Juhuasuan mainly does this through flash sales, which make products available at discounted prices for a limited period of time. Juhuasuan offers group buying channels featuring branded and private label products, products made to custom specifications and local services.

AliExpress is a consumer marketplace enables consumers from around the world to buy directly from wholesalers and manufacturers in China. On AliExpress, consumers have access to a variety of products. In addition to the global English-language site, AliExpress operates two local language sites in Russia and Brazil. The product categories on AliExpress.com include apparel and accessories, phones and communications products, beauty and health, computer networking, jewelry and watches. Alibaba.com is an online commerce platform. Sellers on Alibaba.com may pay for an annual Gold Supplier membership to host a premium storefront with product listings on the marketplace.

The Company��! marketin! g technology platform, Alimama, offers sellers on its marketplaces marketing services for both personal computer and mobile devices, which include P4P marketing service and display marketing. Alimama also offers its sellers these marketing services through third parties through the Taobao Affiliate Network. The Taobao Ad Network and Exchange (TANX) automates the buying and selling of billions of advertising impressions on a daily basis by third parties. The Company also offer a data management platform (DMP), connected to TANX. Its DMP allows participants on TANX to evaluate and select online advertising inventory using both behavioral data they provide, as well as data from browsing behavior and shopping history. Its Cloud Computing supports its commerce ecosystem by providing a distributed computing infrastructure to handle the large volume of traffic and data generated on its online marketplaces. Its cloud computing platform offers service offerings, including elastic computing, database services and storage and large scale computing services.

The company offer search functions on all of its Web pages, mobile apps and many of its marketing affiliates��websites and apps to make it easy for buyers to find products and services within its marketplaces. The Company offers Aliwangwang, a personal computer-based instant messenger that supports text, audio and video communication. The Company developed Aliwangwang to facilitate open communication between buyers and sellers on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall. Buyers and sellers use it as a tool for a range of tasks, including negotiation of prices, customer services and delivery notification, in addition to the basic messaging functions. It offer Qianniu , an integrated platform for communication and productivity tools which allows sellers on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall to manage their operations more efficiently.

Alipay, the Company�� related company, provides payment and escrow services for transactions on Taobao Marketplace, Tm! all, 1688! .com and certain of its other sites, as well as to third parties in China. The Company�� small and medium enterprise (SME) loan business provides micro loans to sellers on its wholesale and retail marketplaces through lending vehicles licensed by the local government.

The company competes with Tencent and Baidu.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) made its debut as a publicly traded company in the largest IPO of all time.

  TD Ameritrade reported that it had more orders for shares of Alibaba prior to the stock’s open than orders for Facebook before it began trading for the first time.

• [By reports.droy]

  Yet the facility is used by only 15% of the massive Indian population, which leaves a huge consumer band yet to be tapped. This potential has caught the attention not only of indigenous innovators and entrepreneurs but also the global big wigs like Amazon, Ebay (EBAY) and Alibaba (BABA). Let us take a closer look at the ongoing clash of the titans in this sector��the indigenous Flipkart against the global hero Amazon.

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Give me Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) stock at $70, Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock at $200, and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) at $80.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Stocks delivered again in 2014. Even after a poor start in January and wobbles in October and December, the U.S. market climbed 11.4 percent and ended the year close to record levels. The solid gain pushed the bull run for stocks into its sixth year, the longest such streak since the 1990s. Investors have been encouraged by rising corporate earnings and a strengthening U.S. economy, which helped stocks overcome a brief winter chill in growth and tensions with Russia. The stock market also overcame worries about the impact of the end of the Federal Reserve's stimulus program. Those who stuck out the market's ups and downs were rewarded with double-digit returns for the fifth year out of the last six. "Companies delivered and the ability to produce on the bottom line remained resilient," said Jeff Kleintop, Charles Schwab's chief global investment strategist. "Ultimately, that's what stocks track." All the major stock averages are ending the year with respectable returns. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) has returned 13.7 percent including dividends, after a return of 32 percent in 2013. The stock market also experienced its biggest bout of volatility in more than two years. Stocks plunged as much as 9.8 percent in October on concerns about global growth and worries about the spread of the Ebola virus. The market also managed to climb despite a big drop in oil prices that hit energy companies. Geopolitical tensions flared as Russia seized Crimea, war broke out in eastern Ukraine and the Islamic State group seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. These were some of the biggest themes in the financial markets in 2014: A Resilient Economy The backdrop for the stock market's gains was a gradually strengthening U.S. economy. Hiring and consumer confidence continued to improve. Despite a big contraction in the first quarter caused by an unusually harsh winter, the economy kept growing. The average pace of growth climbed to 2.7 percent by the end

Top 5 Internet Stocks For 2015: IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)

IAC/InterActiveCorp engages in the Internet business in the United States and internationally. The company�s Search segment develops, markets, and distributes various downloadable toolbars; provides search, reference, and content services through its destination search and other Websites, including Ask.com and Dictionary.com; and aggregates and integrates local advertising and content for distribution to publishers on Web and mobile platforms, as well as markets and distributes mobile applications through which it provides search and additional services. Its Match segment offers subscription-based and advertiser-supported online personals services through its Websites comprising Match.com, Chemistry.com, OurTime.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, and OkCupid.com, as well as through mobile applications and Meetic-branded Websites. The company�s ServiceMagic segment offers Market Match service that matches consumers with service professionals; Exact Match service, which enables con sumers to review service professional profiles and select the service professional that meets their specific needs; and 1800Contractor.com, an online directory of service professionals. This segment also offers Website design and hosting services. Its Media and Other segment operates CollegeHumor.com, an online entertainment Website that targets young males; Vimeo, a Website on which users can upload, share, and view video; and Pronto.com, a comparison search engine. This segment also engages in the creation of video content for various distribution platforms; and operates as an Internet retailer of footwear and related apparel and accessories, as well as focuses on multimedia business. The company was formerly known as InterActiveCorp and changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004. IAC/InterActiveCorp was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Kell]

  IAC/InterActiveCorp(IACI). said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 89% as the Internet firm managed to offset a decline in search and media revenue with cost cutting. Revenue missed estimates, sending shares down 5.6% to $65 in light premarket trading.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  IAC isn�� the most loved company on the street, which is evidenced by that 8.80 percent short position. However, IAC continues to deliver on the top and bottom lines. As long as that remains to be the case, IAC is an OUTPERFORM.

Top 5 Internet Stocks For 2015: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)

Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea] and earnings growth (which came in better than expected on the last reported quarter), profit margins and other profitability ratios.

  Additionally, I will evaluate which institutional investors bought the stock in the recent quarters (institutional backup can tell a lot about a stock), and the initiatives that the company is putting in motion in order to ameliorate its sales and margins.

  Earnings

  The first step is analyzing Symantec Corp�� earnings growth. I am looking for companies that are able to expand both their quarterly and annual earnings by more than 15% a year. Last quarter the company generated 13% quarterly EPS growth when compared to the same quarter last year. Thus, I am not encouraged by SYMC�� numbers. Past growth winners (Apple, Baidu, etc.) generated consistent quarterly EPS growth above 15% and I am certainly looking for that level before investing.

  In addition, SYMC generated three-year average annual EPS growth of 10%. This is an important metric to follow in growth stocks because it highlights how well the stock grew in the past years. I like to invest in companies that are growing consistently.

  Revenue

  Let's take a look at SYMC麓s revenue growth. This is a key metric that needs to be analyzed before investing in a company, as it is one of the scarce figures that cannot be modified through accounting tricks and similar dodges.

  The company reported a 5% quarterly revenue drop year over year. On the contrary, I look for companies that generate more than 15% in quarterly growth.

  When betting on a company, an investor wants to see sales grow or improve over time ���nd not just in the last reported quarter. Looking at the company�� financials in comparison to previous years will give participants a much better idea of how well a company is doing. Symantec Corp generated a three-year average annual sales growth rate of 4%.

  A New Strategic Plan

  Accepting the problems in its

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Of course, banks can't know when an attack is merely disruptive, and when it may be covering for criminal activity. Security company Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC  ) has commented that these assaults have become a way for hackers to distract banks while funds are illegally withdrawn. Though most of the thefts have occurred in Europe, where attacks have progressed from website outages to actual bank heists, at least one U.S. bank, Citigroup, disclosed some losses due to cyber thievery earlier this year.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) were down 13.42 percent to $18.10 after the company fired President and Chief Executive Steve Bennett and appointed director Michael Brown as interim president and CEO. UBS downgraded the stock from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $27.00 to $21.00.

Top 5 Internet Stocks For 2015: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Bloomberg via Getty Images William 'Bill' Ackman founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management (left) Daniel Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point: Two activist investors taking big positions in large public companies and demand even bigger changes. Is activist investing a force for good when it comes to shareholders? Recent events, namely the Bill Ackman-J.C. Penney (JCP) debacle, have left investors and analysts tired of the outspoken hedge-funders of the world. There are, of course, plenty of activists whose actions have enhanced not just their funds' portfolios, but those of passive, minority shareholders. They've forced companies to make positive changes -- to restructure, elect new board members, and get back on track toward healthier operations. Then again, others end up like J.C. Penney -- a seemingly lost business, rich with legacy yet left crippled by boardroom drama. That leaves us -- the average consumers and investors -- with a pressing question: Are these megaphoned power players trying to effect change that will benefit all, the company included? Or are they just after results that will juice their own returns? The Age of Activism While many activist investors consider themselves to be molded in the image of a certain Omaha-based super-investor, many of today's hedge fund superstars have taken a very different approach to the craft of identifying mispriced securities. Like the old guard -- raiders like Carl Icahn and Nelson Peltz -- young guns such as Daniel Loeb and Bill Ackman take substantial positions in large public companies and demand change in an approach that is about as far from Warren Buffett's investor behavior as one can get. Their style can be best described as personality-driven activism. The practice is on the rise, too. According to FactSet, 2012 saw 21 activist campaigns in companies with market caps larger than $1 billion. In 2010, the number was 11. In 2003, there were four. While some passive shareholders may

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) shares tumbled 3.03 percent to $40.81 following the open of Alibaba.

  Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) was down, falling 3.73 percent to $40.00 after the company reported downbeat fiscal first-quarter results and unexpectedly shuffled its top management. Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Oracle from Buy to Hold and lowered the target price from $48 to $42.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Yahoo is an Internet bellwether that provides a multitude of services to consumers and companies worldwide. The company has acquired Portland-based social startup Vizify. The stock has been moving higher in recent quarters but is now trading sideways. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been rising and revenues have been decreasing, which has left investors pleased about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its peers and sector, Yahoo has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Yahoo to bounce back.

Home Depot Stock Delivers as the Dow Soars

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is making up for yesterday's drop in a big way today, and Home Depot's (NYSE: HD  ) stock is leading the charge with a strong earnings-backed surge. The blue-chip index has bounced back nicely so far, tallying gains of 91 points, or 0.6%, by 2:20 p.m. EDT. Home Depot is spurring the charge today, gaining 3.1%, but it's hardly alone among stocks trending higher; the majority of the Dow's members are in the green. Here are the stories you need to know about today.

Home Depot surges while Travelers gets blown away
Home Depot investors are having a good day after the home improvement retailer posted earnings that topped analyst projections. The firm's $0.83 per-share first-quarter profit topped expectations of $0.76 by a significant margin, while revenue jumped 7% year over year to also beat Wall Street's expectations handily. The company also increased its full-year guidance for earnings and revenue, with the housing recovery in full swing.

This stock is looking like a near-term winner. While sales related to the destruction left by Hurricane Sandy helped the retailer's quarter, Home Depot grew its gross margin and boosted same-store sales growth by nearly 5%. As the housing market continues to heat up, this company is well-positioned to supply consumers returning to the market. Keep an eye on Lowe's earnings tomorrow, which will show how Home Depot is competing with its top rival.

On the other side of the Dow, Traveler's (NYSE: TRV  ) has fallen 2.2% in the aftermath of Monday's severe tornado  in Oklahoma. Tornadoes in Missouri and Alabama in 2011 hampered the insurer's finances that year, and with yesterday's storm predicted by some to be the most destructive in Oklahoma's history, Traveler's and other property insurers will feel the impact from damage claims. Joplin, Missouri's tornado in 2011 ranks as the country's most-damaging twister in history with an estimated $2.8 billion in economic losses, but this recent storm could surpass it when damage totals are complete.

JPMorgan's (NYSE: JPM  ) having a better day, up 1.8% to rank among the top Dow leaders. CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon has been under pressure by some shareholders to split his two roles, but today the bank's shareholders rejected the proposal and preserved Dimon's dual role. The company's board of directors also survived the shareholder vote after some had called for new voices on the board. JPMorgan's losses in the past year, centered on the multibillion-dollar "London Whale" trading fiasco, have caused some question the company's leadership, but today's vote proved shareholders' faith in Dimon and the board.

Finally, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) shares haven't moved much today, but the company's making a big move with the announcement of its next-generation Xbox One entertainment and gaming console. The Xbox One marks Microsoft's first offering of a new console since the Xbox 360 was unveiled back in 2005. Many gaming-industry analysts have criticized the current console generation's longevity as damaging to video game sales, so competitor Sony's previously announced PlayStation 4 and the new Xbox One have sparked plenty of optimism about a brighter future in the industry. Microsoft plans to launch the Xbox One by the end of the year -- a plan similar to Sony's PS4 launch.

It's been a frustrating path for Microsoft investors, who have watched the company fail to capitalize on the incredible growth in mobile over the past decade. However, the company is looking to make a splash in this booming market. In a new premium report on Microsoft, a Motley Fool analyst explains that while the opportunity is huge, so are the challenges. The report includes regular updates as key events occur, so be sure to claim a copy of this report now by clicking here.

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More Expert Advice from The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock in our brand-new free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 2015

The shorts appear to be trying to crack small cap Tile Shop Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: TTS)���meaning it might be worth taking a realistic look at the stock and any potential problems surrounding it plus the performance of other home improvement retailers or peers like Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE: LL), which is not into tiles, and The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies, Inc (NYSE: LOW) which would be into tiles.

What is Tile Shop Holdings?

Small cap�Tile Shop calls itself�a leading specialty retailer of manufactured and natural stone tiles, setting and maintenance materials and related accessories in the United States. Specifically, the Tile Shop says it offers a wide selection of products, good value and enhanced customer service in a unique showroom setting. As of June 30, The Tile Shop operated 80 stores in 25 states, with stores having an average footprint of 23,000 square feet.

10 Best Beverage Stocks To Watch For 2016: 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 Rich Bieglmeier]

  OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (OVTI) plans to release its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2014 on Tuesday, December 03, 2013, shortly after the market closes.� The Company plans to host a conference call to review the results and management's outlook for future periods at 5 p.m. (ET) that day.

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Briefly in the news
  And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

  OmniVision (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) investors are seeing the big picture. Shares of the image sensor maker moved higher after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Revenue soared 54%, and OmniVision's profit of $0.31 a share blew away the $0.21 analysts were targeting. Nokia (NYSE: NOK  ) is no longer the leading smartphone seller in Finland. Tech tracker IDC reports that Samsung outsold Nokia in its home country this past quarter. So much for the hometown hero. Vringo (NASDAQ: VRNG  ) got another tech giant to pay up, but it won't be much. The company announced a patent-infringement settlement with Mr. Softy in which Vringo will receive $1 million and enter into a licensing deal with the world's largest software company.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Shares of OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) jumped as much as 23% overnight, driven by a rock-solid fourth quarter report. The stock set a fresh 52-week high, but remains far below the $36 high-water mark that was set in 2011 when OmniVision's back side illumination, or BSI, camera chips seemed set to rule the smartphone world.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 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 Monica Gerson]

  Sky-mobi (NASDAQ: MOBI) is projected to report its Q2 results.

  Perfect World Co (NASDAQ: PWRD) is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $150.56 million.

• [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.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 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 Monica Gerson]

  FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ: FCEL) shares gained 16.79% to $4.59 in the pre-market after the company reported Q1 results. FuelCell posted its quarterly net income of $0.02 per share on revenue of $24.2 million.

• [By Green Energy Addict]

  On June 3, 2013 I gave my 5 Bullish Signs ahead of the FuelCell Energy (FCEL) Q2 2013 earnings report. I cited the large backlog as one of the reasons for my bullish views. I gave as my reasoning the following:

• [By John Udovich]

  Despite horrendous losses for investors over the long term, small cap fuel cell stocks FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL) and Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) have both made gains this year. However, which is the better small cap fuel cell stock for investors moving forward or should you just ignore both?

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 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 Jim Jubak]

  This is the part of the cloud market where Google competes��nd where Google cuts prices. The public cloud sector is dominated by Amazon.com (AMZN) with Microsoft (MSFT), Google, IBM (IBM), and Rackspace Hosting (RAX) competing for the Number Two slot.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 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 Nitish]

  PetroQuest Energy, Inc. (PQ) last month announced results for the second quarter of 2014. The following compares certain second quarter 2014 metrics to those of the second quarter of 2013, highlighting the company's continued growth driven by its successful drilling programs in Oklahoma and Texas, its acquisition of certain Gulf of Mexico assets in July 2013 ("Gulf of Mexico Acquisition") and stronger natural gas prices:

• [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.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 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 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 Maria Armental and Anna Prior]

  Bebe Stores Inc.(BEBE) said Chief Executive Steve Birkhold resigned and the board named Jim Wiggett, who has been advising the struggling retailer, as interim CEO. The women’s apparel and accessories retailer plans to begin the search for a permanent successor.

• [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.

Hot Small Cap Companies To Invest In 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.

Why Bank of America Is Up Today

Closing in on the end of the trading day, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) share prices are up 0.33%. They've been on the climb since last Friday, following a dramatic dip in share prices across all the big banks last Wednesday that I have yet to find a good explanation for.

At the risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth, here are a few thoughts as to why B of A and its big-four peers are doing so much better than they were this time last week.

Hale and hearty all around
But first, here's a quick overview of the rest of the big four and the markets:

Citigroup (NYSE: C  ) is up a big 2.61%. JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) is up a healthy 1.21%. And Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) is up a solid 0.63%.

The markets are generally feeling hale and hearty, as well:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.90%. The S&P 500 is up 1.11% And the Nasdaq is up 1.73%.

Defying expectations
So first, the markets are all up. And when the markets are all up, chances are your favorite stocks, like B of A, are going to be up as well. Or is it the other way around? It's a virtuous circle, is the answer, at least for today. On other days, it's a vicious cycle, and the markets and your favorite stocks are all down.

Earnings season is about to start, too. To kick things off in the banking sector, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo both report this Friday. This can affect stocks in two ways: Investors feel frightened at what they might hear, or hopeful.

By what we're seeing with B of A's performance today, as well as with that of the superbank's peers, it seems that investors are looking forward to the prospect of first-quarter earnings reports. Going on that theory, Citi investors must be feeling particularly hopeful, and well they should be: Last quarter's earnings were startlingly good.

But in some ways, B of A's performance this week is defying expectations. Last Friday news broke that a federal judge signed off on a $2.43 billion settlement B of A made with investors over allegations the big bank misled them when it bought Merrill Lynch. Now, the settlement was reached last fall, so it's possible the market vented its fury at the deal then, but still, this news could have been a painful reminder.

Or maybe the markets are hoping that, with this multibillion-dollar judicial signoff, B of A is well on its way to putting the worst of its financial-crisis cleanup behind it. I don't think the bank is there yet, but a lot of investors do.

In the end, remember that the markets work in mysterious ways: One week your favorite stocks are up, and the next they're down. As a Foolish investor, you're in it for the long term. Keep an eye on company fundamentals, and leave the rest to time.

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Check out this Motley Fool premium report -- expertly researched and written by top Foolish banking analysts Anand Chokkavelu and Matt Koppenheffer. ey'll help you lift the veil on the bank's operations, and give you three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell along the way. For immediate access to this eye-opening report, simply click here now. 

This Chipmaker's New Business Direction Can Help It Get Better

Broadcom's (BRCM) is moving in the right direction. This is evident by impressive results that the company posted in the second quarter. Broadcom is now focusing on hitting new levels in the broadband business. With the future looking bright and good earnings growth momentum in tow, Broadcom is seeing good improvements. Let us check the overall business and see how Broadcom could perform.

Is it going on the right track?

Broadcom seems to be on right track. It is making efforts to explore profitable businesses and shut down the businesses incurring losses. It is focusing on various aspects to improve its profitability and narrow the loss. In this respect, Broadcom is aggressively shifting its focus solely toward the broadband business rather than the cellular baseband business, which is continuously incurring losses. Further, the company plans to wind or shut down the cellular operations.

Broadcom has recently announced that it will sell an operation which had been making baseband chips for mobile devices. To improve the profitability, Broadcom is terminating about 2,500 employees to eliminate the nonperforming units. This will enable the company to focus on its core strengths and priorities quickly. It has started to execute this plan to exit and is expecting ongoing customer commitments to decline over the rest of the year.

Where is it focusing?

Broadcom is focusing minutely on the broadband, connectivity and infrastructure markets to improve its position and financial position. It is making impressive innovations to catch customers' attention. In respect to this, Broadcom is driving a new 25-gig Ethernet switch standard. This will help customers manage the exponential growth of traffic in the data center.

In addition, with the growth of automotive segment in the U.S., Broadcom is also seeing many bright opportunities with a booming automotive segment. Moreover, Broadcom is also making a transition to HEVC and Ultra HD with engagements around the global market. Also, Broadcom is seeing good traction and it is gaining considerable market share in PON.

Moving on to the connectivity segment, the company, with its cutting-edge features, is holding a good position in the smartphone and the tablet market. Further, Broadcom is bringing in new low-power connectivity solutions for the growing internet of things market. With this, the company wants to support iBeacon and HomeKit.

Top 10 Internet Stocks For 2016

With such a move, Broadcom is focusing on strengthening and diversifying its business. It is also expecting a better performance by its set top box franchise, which is performing well and showing positive momentum. It has improved by a good 8% in the past, which has happened mainly due to share gains in the emerging markets with the rampup of some exciting features such as multi-stream transcoding and a stronger mix of MoCA-enabled platforms.

Moving ahead, Broadcom is planning to close or consolidate up to 18 company locations and terminating certain contracts. It is planning to further cut about 2,250 jobs and take about $225 million in additional restructuring charges over the next year. This shedding of the baseband-chip business is expected to save about $700 million annually.

Conclusion

Examining the fundamentals, with a trailing P/E of 59.16, Broadcom does appear slightly overvalued. Looking at the facts, it can be understood that the company will need some time to improve. It will take some time to fully transition in to the broadband business. But the decent growth in the earnings also indicates that the stock has enough steam. So it can be a g

Amazon.com is Coming for Your Grocery Store

Amazon.com (AMZN) might be bringing Amazon Fresh to a city near you–and hammering your grocery stock in the process. Deutsche Bank sees tough times for Supervalu (SVU) and Safeway (SWY)  if an when Amazon expands its grocery delivery service beyond its three current test markets, while Kroger (KR) and Whole Foods Markets (WFM) should be able to thrive.

Bloomberg

Deutsche Bank’s Karen Short and team explain:

So, who is most exposed to the Amazon.com competitive threat? To answer this question, we first looked for the U.S. markets that are most structurally economical to an online grocer; that is, markets with: 1) a large population, 2) high population density, and 3) relatively high prices. As identified by Oliver Wyman, the most appealing markets (lowest market share breakeven levels) include NYC (0.3% breakeven share), LA (0.3%), Boston (0.9%), and San Fran (1.0%)…

…we believe the conventional grocers in our universe – namely, Safeway, Supervalu, and SpartanNash (SPTN)—are most at risk from Amazon.com’s expansion. Kroger should fare better due to its very strong price positioning and weighted-average market share positions. In addition, we believe that Kroger may actually end up as a net beneficiary of Amazon.com’s expansion, as grocers with lower market share positions (outside the top 5) are likely to exit/close, leaving more share to top players such as Kroger. The natural/organic specialty players are also better positioned to absorb Amazon.com’s expansion, with Whole Food Markets least at-risk due to its product mix (e.g. prepared foods), differentiated format, strong EBIT margins, and very strong balance sheet.

Morgan Stanley’s Vincent Sinisi says online is “not a major threat to brick and mortar food retailers.” He explains:

Surprisingly, our AlphaWise survey showed that consumers' interest in online ordering (either to be picked-up at store, or delivered to home) is very low…only 12% of consumers surveyed said they would be ‘very likely’ to order groceries online in the next 6 months if the offering were available. This reflects the fact that consumers like to see and choose the food they're purchasing, especially perishables. We believe this dynamic largely insulates traditional food retailers (both conventional like Kroger, and specialty like Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM)) from online competition.

Shares of Amazon.com have gained 0.9% to $327.20 at 3:31 p.m., while Whole Foods Market has risen 0.5% to $39.15, Sprouts Farmers Market has jumped 4.3% to $32.62, Kroger is unchanged at $49.17 and Supervalu is down 1.9% at $7.66.