Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now

After a tumultuous half-decade, the world has gone relatively quiet.

 

Sure, the Chinese economy is slowing, the Federal Reserve is preparing for an end to quantitative easing, and the U.S. government is weighing down the economy with its sequester-driven setbacks. But we haven't seen any catalyzing events, positive or negative, of the sort that can trigger a rapid 1,000-point gain or loss in the Dow Jones industrial average.

Whether it's a tsunami in Japan or a sudden plunge in Europe, market-moving events aren't always foreseeable. These kinds of events caught the markets by surprise, and more surprises probably lie ahead. For example, of the four potential "black swans" I described at the start of this year, one has already come to pass.

Best Gas Utility Stocks To Own For 2015: HCI Group Inc (HCI)

HCI Group Inc, formerly Homeowners Choice, Inc., incorporated in 2006, is a holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, is primarily engaged in the property and casualty insurance business. The Company is authorized to underwrite homeowners' property and casualty insurance in the state of Florida through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. (HCPC). Through HCPC and subsidiaries, primarily Homeowners Choice Managers, Inc. (HCM), Southern Administration, Inc., Claddaugh Casualty Insurance Company, Ltd., and its subsidiary, HCPCI Holdings LLC, the Company provides property and casualty homeowners' insurance, condominium-owners' insurance, and tenants' insurance to individuals owning property in Florida. The Company�� subsidiaries also include TV Investment Holdings LLC, which owns and operates a marina facility located in Florida; Unthink Technologies Private Limited, which is a software development firm. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company organized TV Investment Holdings LLC, HCI Holdings LLC and HCI Technical Resources, Inc. In November 18, 2011, the Company acquired Unthink Technologies Private Ltd. In November 2011, it acquired the Florida policies of HomeWise Insurance Company.

The Company�� subsidiary, HCM provides underwriting policy administration, marketing, accounting and financial services to HCPC, and participates in the negotiation of reinsurance contracts. Southern Administration, Inc. provides policy administration services. Claddaugh Casualty Insurance Company Ltd. provides reinsurance coverage to HCPC. Asof December 31, 2011, the Company has approximately 119,000 policies in force. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation requires the Company to offer renewals on the policies the Company acquires for a period of three years subsequent to the initial expiration of the assumed policies. The policyholders have the option to renew with the Company or they may ask their agent to place their co! verage with another insurance company.

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 Marc Bastow]

  Property and casualty insurance holding company HCI Group (HCI) raised its quarterly dividend 22.2% to 27.5 cents per share, payable Dec. 20 to shareholders of record Nov. 15.
  HCI Dividend Yield:�2.48%

• [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.

Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: Axiall Corp (AXLL)

Axiall Corporation (Axiall), formerly Georgia Gulf Corporation, incorporated on April 16, 1984, is a manufacturer and an international marketer of chlorovinyl and aromatic chemicals and also manufacture and market vinyl-based building and home improvement products. The Company operates in three business segments: Chlorovinyls segment consists of two product groups: Electrovinyls products, which are composed of chlorine, caustic soda, ethylene dichloride (EDC), vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and vinyl resins; and Compound products, which are composed of vinyl compounds, compound additives and plasticizers; Building Products segment consists of two primary product groups: Window and Door Profiles and Mouldings, and Outdoor Building Products, which consists of siding, pipe and pipe fittings and deck, fence and rail products, and Aromatics segment also contains two commodity chemical product groups: cumene; and phenol and acetone. In January 2013, the combined company formed by uniting Georgia Gulf with PPG's former commodity chemicals business is named Axiall Corporation.

Chlorovinyls segment

The chlorovinyls segment consists of an integrated chain of products, which including chlor-alkali and derivative products (chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), vinyl resins, ethylene dichloride, chlorinated solvents, calcium hypochlorite, hydrochloric acid and phosgene derivatives and compound products (vinyl compounds and compound additives and plasticizers). In North America, the Company is one of the producers of VCM, vinyl resins, and vinyl compounds.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, approximately 45%t of its vinyl resins production was sold into the United States and Canadian merchant markets where its vinyl resins were used in a variety of flexible and rigid vinyl end-use applications. During 2012, the largest end-uses of its products were for pipe and pipe fittings, siding, extruded sheet and film and window profiles. Approximately 24% of its pro! duction was sold into the export market, and approximately 31% of its vinyl resins were used internally in the manufacture of its vinyl compounds and vinyl building products. During 2012, the Company used substantially all of its VCM production in the manufacture of vinyl resins in its PVC manufacturing operations. The Company sells all of its caustic soda to customers domestically and overseas in numerous industries, with the pulp and paper, chemical and alumina industries constituting its markets. Other markets for its caustic soda include soap and detergents and the water treatment industries.

Vinyl compounds are highly customized formulations that offer specific end-use properties based on customer-determined manufacturing specifications that enable its customers to utilize them directly in their manufacturing processes to fabricate their finished products. The Company produces flexible and rigid compounds, which are used in many different applications, including wire and cable insulation and jacketing, electrical outlet boxes and pipe fittings, window and furniture profiles and food-grade and general-purpose bottles. It also supplies chlorinated vinyl compounds (CPVC), to the extrusion and injection molding markets, mainly for production of hot water pipe and pipe fittings. The Company produces lubricants, stabilizers, impact modifiers and process aids used in the production of compounds, and which are part of the typical compound formulations. The majority of its additives and plasticizers are consumed internally.

Building Products Segment

The Window and Door Profiles and Mouldings Products have a level of customization based on customer specifications, whereas Outdoor Building Products are based more on industry standards. The Company manufactures and extrude vinyl window profiles, including frames, sashes, trim and other components, as well as vinyl patio door components and fabricated patio doors, which are sold primarily to window and door fabricators. I! ts sales ! are primarily to the custom segment of the vinyl window profile market with the profile design customized to a window fabricator's specific requirements. It manufactures and markets extruded decorative mouldings and millwork. Its decorative trim products are used for interior mouldings, such as crown, base and chair rail. For exterior mouldings, its products are used in applications, such as brick mouldings, and as components used in the fabrication of doors, windows and spas. This product line includes a series of offerings, such as bendable trim and paintable/stainable trim.

The Company�� outdoor building products (OBP) include siding; pipe and pipe fittings; and deck, fence, and rail. It manufactures vinyl siding, and it also offers a range of accessories, including vinyl soffit, aluminum soffit, fascia and trim and molded vent mounts and exterior shutters. These additional product offerings to its existing offerings include rich, dark, color-fast shades, as well as a siding system, which enables siding panels to withstand harsh wind conditions. It manufactures pipe and pipe fittings for the municipal and electrical markets, as well as pipe for plumbing applications. Its municipal pipe and pipe fittings product lines are used in potable water applications, as well as in storm and sewer applications. Its plumbing lines are used in residential and industrial applications to move storm and sanitary wastewater from the building to the municipal sewer at the property line. This product line is focused on at drain, waste and vent applications. Electrical, pipe, conduit and fittings are available in a range of sizes and configurations, to meet the needs of both commercial and residential applications.

The Company manufactures vinyl deck products that are sold by distributors and used primarily by professionally installed market segments. The Company�� deck product lines are positioned as a lower-maintenance alternative to conventional wood products.

Aromatics Seg! ment

The aromatics segment is integrated and consists of cumene and phenol/acetone products. Phenol/acetone products are co-products made from cumene in the same production process. The Company�� aromatic products are primarily commodity based products. It operates cumene plant located in Pasadena, Texas. About 28 % of its cumene was consumed internally, during 2012, to produce phenol and acetone. Cumene is used as an intermediate to make phenol and acetone and specialty chemicals and can be sold as an additive for gasoline blending.

Phenol is sold to a base of customers who are producers of a range of phenolic resins, engineering plastics and specialty chemicals. Phenolic resins are used as adhesives for wood products, such as plywood and Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Engineering plastics are used in compact discs, digital video discs, automobiles, household appliances, electronics and protective coating applications. It also sells phenol for use in insulation, electrical parts, oil additives and chemical intermediates. Acetone is a chemical used primarily in the production of acrylic resins, engineering plastics and industrial solvents. The Company sells the majority of its acetone into the acrylic resins market, where it is used in the manufacture of various plastics and coatings used for signage, automotive parts, household appliances, paints and industrial coatings. Other uses range from solvents for automotive and industrial applications to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  In trading on Thursday, basic materials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.20 percent. Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Axiall (NYSE: AXLL), Materion (NYSE: MTRN), Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) and Joy Global (NYSE: JOY).

Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP)

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., incorporated on February 2, 2001, is a domestic energy delivery company. The Company�� business segments include Electric Transmission and Distribution, Natural Gas Distribution, Competitive Natural Gas Sales and Services, Interstate Pipelines, Field Services and Other Operations. The Company serves metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The company also owns a 58.3% interest in a midstream partnership it jointly controls with OGE Energy Corp. with operations in natural gas and liquids-rich producing areas of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The Company is a public utility holding company. The Company�� indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries include CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC (CenterPoint Houston), which engages in the electric transmission and distribution business in a 5,000-square mile area of the Texas Gulf Coast that includes the city of Houston and CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp. (CERC Corp. and, together with its subsidiaries, CERC), which owns and operates natural gas distribution systems in six states. Subsidiaries of CERC Corp. own interstate natural gas pipelines and gas gathering systems and provide various ancillary services. A wholly owned subsidiary of CERC Corp. offers variable and fixed-price physical natural gas supplies primarily to commercial and industrial customers and electric and gas utilities.

Electric Transmission & Distribution

CenterPoint Houston is a transmission and distribution electric utility that operates wholly within the state of Texas. CenterPoint Houston delivers electricity from power plants to substations, from one substation to another and to retail electric customers taking power at or above 69 kilovolts in locations throughout CenterPoint Houston's certificated service territory. CenterPoint Houston constructs and maintains transmission facilities and provides transmission services under tariffs approved by the Pu! blic Utility Commission of Texas (Texas Utility Commission).

In the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), end users purchase their electricity directly from certificated REPs. CenterPoint Houston delivers electricity for REPs in its certificated service area by carrying lower-voltage power from the substation to the retail electric customer. CenterPoint Houston's distribution network receives electricity from the transmission grid through power distribution substations and delivers electricity to end users through distribution feeders. CenterPoint Houston's operations include construction and maintenance of distribution facilities, metering services, outage response services and call center operations. CenterPoint Houston provides distribution services under tariffs approved by the Texas Utility Commission. Texas Utility Commission rules and market protocols govern the commercial operations of distribution companies and other market participants.

CenterPoint Houston is a member of ERCOT. Within ERCOT, prices for wholesale generation and retail electric sales are unregulated, but services provided by transmission and distribution companies, such as CenterPoint Houston, are regulated by the Texas Utility Commission. ERCOT serves as the regional reliability coordinating council for member electric power systems in of Texas. ERCOT membership is open to consumer groups, investor and municipally-owned electric utilities, rural electric cooperatives, independent generators, power marketers, river authorities and REPs. The ERCOT market includes of the State of Texas, other than a portion of the panhandle, portions of the eastern part of the state bordering Arkansas and Louisiana and the area in and around El Paso.

ERCOT market operates under the reliability standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). These reliability standards are administered by the Texas Regi! onal Enti! ty (TRE), a functionally independent division of ERCOT. The Texas Utility Commission has primary jurisdiction over the ERCOT market to ensure the adequacy and reliability of electricity supply across the state's main interconnected power transmission grid. The ERCOT independent system operator (ERCOT ISO) is responsible for operating the bulk electric power supply system in the ERCOT market. The ERCOT ISO also serves as agent for procuring ancillary services for those members who elect not to provide their own ancillary services.

CenterPoint Houston's electric transmission business, along with those of other owners of transmission facilities in Texas, supports the operation of the ERCOT ISO. The transmission business has planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance responsibility for the portion of the transmission grid and for the load-serving substations it owns, primarily within its certificated area. CenterPoint Houston participates with the ERCOT ISO and other ERCOT utilities to plan, design, obtain regulatory approval for and construct new transmission lines necessary to increase bulk power transfer capability and to remove existing constraints on the ERCOT transmission grid.

CenterPoint Houston's integrated utility business was restructured in accordance with the Texas electric restructuring law and its generating stations were sold to third parties. CenterPoint Houston serves nearly all of the Houston/Galveston metropolitan area. At December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston's customers consisted of approximately 75 REPs, which sell electricity to over two million metered customers in CenterPoint Houston's certificated service area, and municipalities, electric cooperatives and other distribution companies located outside CenterPoint Houston's certificated service area. All of CenterPoint Houston's properties are located in Texas. Its properties consist primarily of high-voltage electric transmission lines and poles, distribution lines, substations, service ce! nters, se! rvice wires and meters.

As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 28,011 pole miles of overhead distribution lines and 3,713 circuit miles of overhead transmission lines, including 373 circuit miles operated at 69,000 volts, 2,124 circuit miles operated at 138,000 volts and 1,216 circuit miles operated at 345,000 volts. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 21,151 circuit miles of underground distribution lines and 26 circuit miles of underground transmission lines, including two circuit miles operated at 69,000 volts and 24 circuit miles operated at 138,000 volts. As of December 31, 2012, CenterPoint Houston owned 233 substation sites having a total installed rated transformer capacity of 54,325 megavolt amperes. CenterPoint Houston operates 14 regional service centers located on a total of 291 acres of land. These service centers consist of office buildings, warehouses and repair facilities that are used in the business of transmitting and distributing electricity.

Natural Gas Distribution

CERC Corp.'s natural gas distribution business (Gas Operations) engages in regulated intrastate natural gas sales to, and natural gas transportation for, approximately 3.3 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The largest metropolitan areas served in each state by Gas Operations are Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Little Rock, Arkansas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Lawton, Oklahoma. Gas Operations also provides unregulated services in Minnesota consisting of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and appliance repair, and sales of HVAC, hearth and water heating equipment. Gas Operations actively engages in commodity price stabilization pursuant to annual gas supply plans presented to and/or filed with each of its state regulatory authorities. Gas Operations uses various third-party storage services or owned natural ga! s storage! facilities to meet peak-day requirements and to manage the daily changes in demand due to changes in weather and may also supplement contracted supplies and storage from time to time with stored liquefied natural gas and propane-air plant production.

Gas Operations owns and operates an underground natural gas storage facility with a capacity of seven billion cubic feet It has a working capacity of two billion cubic feet available for use during a normal heating season and a maximum daily withdrawal rate of 50 million cubic feet . It also owns nine propane-air plants with a total production rate of 200,000 Dekatherms per day and on-site storage facilities for 12 million gallons of propane (one billion cubic feet natural gas equivalent). It owns a liquefied natural gas plant facility with a 12 million-gallon liquefied natural gas storage tank (one billion cubic feet natural gas equivalent) and a production rate of 72,000 Dekatherms per day. Gas Operations has entered into various asset management agreements associated with its utility distribution service in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. As of December 31, 2012, Gas Operations owned approximately 72,000 linear miles of natural gas distribution mains, varying in size from one-half inch to 24 inches in diameter. Generally, in each of the cities, towns and rural areas served by Gas Operations, it owns the underground gas mains and service lines, metering and regulating equipment located on customers' premises and the district regulating equipment necessary for pressure maintenance.

Interstate Pipelines

CERC's pipelines business operates interstate natural gas pipelines with gas transmission lines primarily located in Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. CERC's interstate pipeline operations are primarily conducted by two wholly owned subsidiaries that provide gas transportation and storage services primarily to industrial customers and local distribution companies, includ! ing Cente! rPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company, LLC (CEGT) is an interstate pipeline that provides natural gas transportation, natural gas storage and pipeline services to customers principally in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas and includes the 1.9 billion cubic feet per day pipeline from Carthage, Texas to Perryville, Louisiana, which CEGT operates as a separate line with a fixed fuel rate, and CenterPoint Energy-Mississippi River Transmission, LLC (MRT) is an interstate pipeline that provides natural gas transportation, natural gas storage and pipeline services to customers principally in Arkansas, Illinois and Missouri. CenterPoint Southeastern Pipelines Holding, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CERC, owns a 50% interest in Southeast Supply Header, LLC (SESH). SESH owns a one billion cubic feet per day, 274-mile interstate pipeline that runs from the Perryville Hub in Louisiana to Coden, Alabama.

Field Services

CERC's field services business operates gas gathering, treating and processing facilities and also provides operating and technical services and remote data monitoring and communication services. CERC's field services operations are conducted by a wholly owned subsidiary, CenterPoint Energy Field Services, LLC (CEFS), and subsidiaries of CEFS. CERC's field services business provides natural gas gathering and processing services for certain natural gas fields in the Mid-continent region of the United States that interconnect with CEGT's and MRT's pipelines, as well as other interstate and intrastate pipelines. As of December 31,2012, CERC's field services business gathered an average of approximately 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. In addition, CERC's field services business has the capacity available to treat up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day and process 625 million cubic feet per day of natural gas. CEFS, through its ServiceStar operating division, provides remote data monitoring and communications services to affiliates and third parties. CERC's ! field ser! vices business owns and operates approximately 4,600 miles of gathering lines and processing plants that collect, treat and process natural gas primarily from three regions located in producing fields in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

Other Operations

The Company�� other operations business segment includes office buildings and other real estate. It is used in its business operations and other corporate operations that support all of its business operations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Domestic energy delivery company CenterPoint Energy (CNP) raised its quarterly dividend 14.5% to 23.75 cents per share, payable on Mar. 10 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 14.
  CNP Dividend Yield: 4.05%

Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: Cardtronics Inc.(CATM)

Cardtronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides automated consumer financial services through its network of automated teller machines (ATMs) and multi-function financial services kiosks. As of December 31, 2011, it offered services to approximately 52,900 devices across its portfolio, which included approximately 46,000 devices located in 50 states of the United States, as well as in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; approximately 3,500 devices throughout the United Kingdom; approximately 2,800 devices throughout Mexico; and approximately 600 devices in Canada. The company also deployed approximately 2,200 multi-function financial services kiosks in the United States. Its ATMs and financial services kiosks offer cash dispensing and bank account balance inquiry services, as well as other consumer financial services, including bill payments, check cashing, remote deposit capture, and money transfer services. In addition, the compan y provides various forms of managed service solution, including monitoring, maintenance, cash management, customer service, and transaction processing services. Further, it partners with national financial institutions to brand its ATMs and financial services kiosks with their logos. As of December 31, 2011, the company had approximately 15,400 company-owned ATMs under contract with financial institutions to place their logos on those machines. Additionally, it provides financial institutions with surcharge-free program through its Allpoint network, as well as owns and operates an electronic funds transfer transaction processing platform that provides transaction processing services to its network of ATMs and financial services kiosks, and ATMs owned and operated by third parties. The company was formerly known as Cardtronics Group, Inc. and changed its name to Cardtronics, Inc. in January 2004. Cardtronics, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: MercadoLibre Inc.(MELI)

MercadoLibre, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, hosts online commerce and payments platforms in Latin America. Its services are designed to provide its users with mechanisms to buy, sell, pay for, and collect on e-commerce transactions. The company principally offers MercadoLibre marketplace, an automated online commerce service, which permits businesses and individuals to list items and conduct their sales and purchases online in a fixed-price or auction-based format. Its MercadoLibre marketplace enables registered users to list and purchase motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and other services through online classified listings; and Internet users to browse through various products and services that are listed on its Website and to register with MercadoLibre to list, bid for, and purchase items and services. The company also provides MercadoPago, an integrated online payments solution to facilitate transactions on and off the MercadoLibre marketplace by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online. In addition, it offers MercadoClics advertising program that allows businesses to promote their products and services on the Internet. This program enables users and advertisers to place, display, and/or text advertisements on its Web pages to promote their brands and offerings. Further, the company provides MercadoShops on-line stores solution, a software-as-a-service, which allows users to set-up, manage, and promote their own on-line Webstores. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated online commerce platforms directed towards Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela; online payments solutions directed towards Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and Colombia; and a real estate classified platform that covers various areas in Florida. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Next Monday, MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed kneejerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Mercadolibre (MELI) operates an online trading site for the Latin American markets. This stock closed up 7.1% at $128.50 in Monday's trading session.

  Monday's Volume: 814,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 479,008
  
  Volume % Change: 69%

   

  From a technical perspective, MELI ripped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $117.07 with above-average volume. This move pushed shares of MELI into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $125.30. Shares of MELI are now quickly moving within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if MELI manages to take out some more near-term overhead resistance at $130.74 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MELI as long as it's trending above $125 or $124 and then once it sustains a move or close above $130.74 with volume that's near or above 479,008 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then MELI will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $136.52.

• [By Chris Hill]

  DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV  ) hits a new all-time high, as the satellite-TV provider now has more than 20 million U.S. subscribers. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) hits a two-year high in the wake of a $1.7 billion settlement with mortgage insurer MBIA. MercadoLibre's (NASDAQ: MELI  ) first-quarter revenue rises 23% and shares hit an all-time high. And First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR  ) loses some energy on lower-than-expected earnings. In this installment of�Investor Beat, our analysts talk about four stocks making moves.

Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: Bayer AG (BAYRY)

Bayer AG is a management holding company. The Company�� business operations are organized into three subgroups: HealthCare, CropScience and MaterialScience, supported by the service companies Bayer Business Services, Bayer Technology Services and Currenta. Bayer HealthCare is involved in the research, development and manufacture of health products for people and animals. Bayer CropScience is engaged in the crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. Bayer MaterialScience supplies polymers, and develops solution for a range of applications. In November 2009, Bayer MaterialScience acquired the polymer coatings business from Lombard Medical Technologies PLC. On November 2, 2009, it acquired Athenix Corporation. On October 1, 2009, it acquired two dermatology product lines from SkinMedica, Inc., Carlsbad, California, United States. On June 25, 2009, it acquired the remaining 10% interest in Bayer Polymers (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China. In May 2009, it acquired the remaining 49% interest in Berlimed, s.a., Spain, from Juste s.a. Quimica Farmac茅utica (Juste), and in return sold its 51% interest of Justesa Imagen, s.a., Spain, to Juste. In May 2009, it also sold the Thermoplastics Testing Center, Krefeld, Germany, to Underwriters Laboratories Inc. In March 2010, the Company announced that its Bayer MaterialScience LLC has acquired Artificial Muscle, Inc, a company active in electroactive polymers for the consumer electronics industry.

Bayer HealthCare

The Company researches, develops, manufactures pharmaceutical and medical products. Bayer HealthCare operates in four operating divisions: Animal Health, which is engaged in manufacture of veterinary medicines and grooming products; Bayer Schering Pharma, which is engaged in manufacture of prescription medicines; Consumer Care, which is engaged in the manufacture of over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements, and Medical Care, which is engaged in manufacture of blood glucose monitoring devices and contrast agent injecti! on systems. Its products for farm animals include Baytril. Its products for companion animals include Advantage/Advantix and Baytril. Its drug discovery in the pharmaceuticals segment focuses on the areas of cardiology, oncology,

women�� healthcare and diagnostic imaging.

Bayer CropScience

CropScience maintains a global network of research and development facilities. In the Crop Protection segment it identifies and develops safe and economically sustainable insecticides, fungicides and herbicides and carries its research projects in areas, such as plant health or stress tolerance. As of December 31, 2009, its active ingredient pipeline of Crop Protection contained 20 development projects, of which 10 was at an advanced stage and 10 at an early stage of development, and an additional 45 projects was undergoing early-stage research. Its operations are structured into six business operations units: four regional Crop Protection units plus the Environmental Science and BioScience units. Its insecticides include Confidor/ Admire, Calypso, Decis, Temik and Oberon. Its fungicides include Antracol, Fandango, Flint/Stratego/Sphere/Twist, Folicur and Previcur Energy. Its herbicides include Atlantis, Basta, Betanal, Fenikan, Hoestar, Husar, MaisTer, Puma. Its seed treatment products include Bariton, Gaucho, Lamarador, Poncho and Raxil.

Bayer MaterialScience

The Company supplies materials, such as polycarbonates and polyurethanes and system solutions for a range of everyday uses. It operates in three business units: Polyurethanes, Polycarbonates, and Coatings, Adhesives and Specialties. Its Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties producst include Desmodur, Bayhydur, Dispercoll and Artwalk. Its Polycarbonates include Makrolon, Makrofol / Bayfol, Fantasia and Bayblend. Its Polyurethanes include Multitec, Baydur, Bayflex, Baypreg and Vulkollan. Its Thermoplastic Polyurethanes include Desmopan / Texin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Another big beneficiary from type 1 diabetes is glucose-monitoring device makers. Perhaps the most exciting product in this space is Bayer's (NASDAQOTH: BAYRY  ) Contour Next Link. Bayer has partnered its device with Medtronic (NYSE: MDT  ) in such a way that it'll connect wirelessly to Medtronic's insulin pump, drastically reducing many instances of human error or forgetfulness, and delivering the right dosage of insulin to patients throughout the course of the day.

• [By Sean Williams]

  So what: In midday trading, AVEO and development partner Astellas Pharma reported that the FDA panel had voted 13-1 that Tivozanib had not demonstrated a favorable benefit-to-risk evaluation in treating advanced kidney cancer. AVEO's CEO, Tuan Ha-Ngoc, noted his discouragement with the FDA panels' findings, but plans to work closely with the FDA to improve upon what it felt Tivozanib lacked. If you recall, Tivozanib demonstrated a statistically significant progression-free survival benefit over Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ONXX  ) and Bayer's (NASDAQOTH: BAYRY  ) Nexavar in trials, but fell short of Nexavar in terms of median overall survival, which perplexed many.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  If investors want to find the best German stocks, they should look for the most global firms. Take Bayer (NASDAQOTH: BAYRY  ) , for example. The German chemical and pharmaceutical maker has pivoted toward globalization in order to counteract Europe's crunch, which has slammed hospital budgets and health care spending. Bayer recently picked up a majority stake in California-based birth-control maker Conceptus -- a buy that capitalizes on Bayer's own birth control business -- and the firm's North American business has surged recently, posting a 17% revenue gain in 2012. Meanwhile, Bayer's European sales flattened last year. Geographic diversity will win the day for Germany's top stocks, and Bayer's shares have pulled in double-digit gains year-to-date.

Top Prefered Companies To Buy Right Now: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Among the other material stocks joining Goldcorp among Barclays’ top picks for 2014: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX) and�CF Industries�(CF). Freeport-McMoRan has gained 0.9% to $34.95 and CF Industries has dropped 0.6% to $230.10.

• [By Joshua Bondy]

  Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX  ) is one of the most interesting plays within the copper market. It recently broke the mold when it decided to merge with the oil and gas firm, Plains Exploration & Production. The merger reduces Freeport's dependency on the volatile metal prices, but it also means that management must navigate two very different industries.�

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  In a recent note, Goldman Sachs highlighted 20 companies (excluding financials and utilities) it sees as top contributors to revenue growth for the third quarter. Of those companies, Amazon.com, WellPoint Inc. (WLP) �, McKesson Corp. (MCK) , Boeing, Microsoft, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) �, and United Technologies report in the coming week.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Stocks moving in the Premarket included:

  Walgreen Co.�(NYSE: WAG) gained 0.60 percent in premarket trade after losing 2.86 percent over the past week. Walt Disney Co.�(NYSE: DIS) was up 0.56 percent in premarket trade after falling 1.12 percent on Tuesday. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc�(NYSE: FCX) lost 1.01 percent in premarket trade after falling 9.44 percent over the past five days. Motorola Solutions Inc�(NYSE: MSI) was down 0.85 percent in premarket trade after losing 0.53 percent on Tuesday.

  Earnings