Hot Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014

VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) is putting the petal to the metal today. Shares of the technology company are up more than 2.5% as we type. Piper Jaffray believes today is just a start and VMware is headed even higher.

Piper analyst, Mark R. Murphy upgraded his opinion on the stock to a "Buy" recommendation from "Neutral" with a symmetrical price target of $111 ��upside potential of 12.6% to target.

VMware is the provider of virtualization infrastructure solutions utilized by organizations to help transform the way they build, deliver and consume information technology (IT) resources. The Company's solutions enable organizations to aggregate multiple servers, storage infrastructure and networks together into shared pools of capacity that can be allocated dynamically, securely and reliably to applications as needed, increasing hardware utilization and reducing spending.

Top 5 Recreation Stocks To Own Right Now: First Financial Corporation Indiana(THFF)

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. Its deposit products include interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand deposits, savings accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposit. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; residential loans; and consumer loans. It also provides mortgage lending; lease financing; trust account and depositor services; and insurance services, such as property and casualty insurance, surety bonds, employee benefit plans, life insurance, and annuities. The company operates 54 branches in west-central Indiana and east-central Illinois. First Financial Corporation was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  What do Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:PSEC), Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE), and First Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:THFF) have in common? Not much, on the surface. In fact, were it not for something very specific to one particular person (me), they'd have nothing in common at all. This week though, THFF, ASTE, and PSEC all have at least one thing in common, and that's the fact that they're all going into my mental/hypothetical portfolio.

Hot Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014: Insmed Inc.(INSM)

Insmed Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of inhaled pharmaceuticals for the site-specific treatment of serious lung diseases. The company primarily focuses on the development of inhaled antibiotic therapy delivered via proprietary advanced pulmonary liposome technology in areas of high unmet need in lung diseases. Its lead product candidate includes ARIKACE, an inhaled antibiotic supported by positive phase 2 results for treating serious lung infections due to susceptible bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company's investigational new drug application to conduct a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of ARIKACE in nontuberculous mycobacteria lung infections. Insmed Incorporated was founded in 1999 and is based in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Insmed (NASDAQ: INSM) gained 8.21 percent to $14.11 after the company closed enrollment of Phase 2 clinical trial of ARIKACE.

  Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) dropped 21.41 percent to $5.58 after the company announced its plans to sell $200 million in shares.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Monday morning, the healthcare sector proved to be a source of strength for the market. Leading the sector was strength from Nordion (NYSE: NDZ) and Insmed (NASDAQ: INSM).

• [By CRWE]

  Insmed Incorporated (Nasdaq:INSM), a biopharmaceutical company, recently reported that it has begun screening patients for its U.S. phase 2 clinical trial, Treatment with ARIKACE to Realize Greater Efficacy Trial (TARGET-NTM), of ARIKACE庐 (liposomal amikacin for inhalation) in patients with non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease.

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Insmed (NASDAQ: INSM  ) , a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on inhaled therapies for diseases of the lung, jumped as much as 18% after a pair of brokerage firms boosted their price targets on the company.

Hot Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014: H&E Equipment Services Inc.(HEES)

H&E Equipment Services, Inc. operates as an integrated equipment services company. The company rents, sells, and provides parts and service support for hi-lift or aerial work platform equipment, crane, earthmoving equipment, and industrial lift truck categories. It offers heavy construction and industrial equipment for rent on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. As of December 31, 2011, the company?s fleet consisted of 17,538 pieces of equipment. It also sells new heavy construction and industrial equipment in various categories. In addition, the company sells used equipment from its rental fleet, as well as inventoried equipment that is acquired through trade-ins from its customers and selective purchases; and new and used parts. Further, it provides maintenance and repair services; and ongoing preventative maintenance services and warranty repairs, as well as offers ancillary equipment support activities, including transportation, hauling, parts shipping, and loss damag e waivers. The company provides its services to industrial and commercial companies, construction contractors, manufacturers, public utilities, municipalities, and maintenance contractors, as well as for other industrial accounts. As of February 28, 2012, it operated a network of 65 full-service facilities, serving approximately 29,800 customers across 22 states in the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The company markets its equipment rental services, and new and used equipment through its sales force. H&E Equipment Services, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Margins matter. The more H&E Equipment Services (Nasdaq: HEES  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong H&E Equipment Services's competitive position could be.

• [By Peter Graham]

  The Q2 2014 earnings report for equipment rental stock United Rentals, Inc (NYSE: URI), a peer or competitor of Essex Rental Corp (NASDAQ: ESSX) and H&E Equipment Services, Inc (NASDAQ: HEES), is scheduled for after the market closes on Wednesday. Aside from the United Rentals earnings report, it should be said that the Essex Rental Corp reported Q4 2013 earnings on May 7th while the estimated release date for the H&E Equipment Services, Inc Q2 2014 earnings report is August 4th. However, United Rentals��shares rose after its last earnings report plus analysts have issued bullish research notes since then.

Hot Information Technology Companies To Own For 2014: American Vanguard Corp (AVD)

American Vanguard Corporation, incorporated on January 2, 1969, operates as a holding company. The Company is primarily a chemical manufacturer that develops and markets products for agricultural and commercial uses. The Company manufactures and formulates chemicals for crops, human and animal protection. The Company conducts its business through its subsidiaries, AMVAC Chemical Corporation (AMVAC), GemChem, Inc. (GemChem), 2110 Davie Corporation (DAVIE), Quimica Amvac de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (AMVAC M), AMVAC de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima (AMVAC CR), AMVAC Switzerland GmbH (AMVAC S), AMVAC do Brasil Representacoes Ltda (AMVAC B), AMVAC Chemical UK Ltd. (AMVAC UK), AMVAC CV (AMVAC CV), AMVAC Netherlands BV (AMVAC BV), and Envance Technologies, LLC (Envance). In July 2012, the Company completed the restructuring of the International Sales & Marketing function of its principal operating subsidiary, AMVAC Chemical Corporation. On November 30, 2012, AMVAC and TyraTech, Inc. formed Envance Technologies, LLC, in which the Company owns 60% of the equity interest. In July 2012, the Company formed AMVAC CV and AMVAC BV.

AMVAC is a chemical manufacturer that develops and markets products for agricultural and commercial uses. It manufactures and formulates chemicals for crops, human and animal health protection. These chemicals, which include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, molluscicides, growth regulators, and soil fumigants, are marketed in liquid, powder, and granular forms. AMVAC owns and/or operates the Company�� domestic manufacturing facilities and is also the parent company for all its foreign companies. DAVIE owns real estate for corporate use.

GemChem is a national chemical distributor. GemChem, in addition to purchasing key raw materials for the Company, also sells into the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and nutritional markets. GemChem is a wholly owned subsidiary of AVD.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Investors in American Vanguard (NYSE: AVD  ) will be receiving dividends twice as frequently as in the past. The company announced Monday that is has launched quarterly distributions with a $0.05-per-share payout, to be paid July 19 to shareholders of record as of July 5.

• [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 American Vanguard (NYSE: AVD  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Just as Monsanto is enjoying a surge in sales of Roundup, pesticide makers are witnessing greater sales of pesticides to combat these superbugs. Revenues at Sygenta (NYSE: SYT  ) rose 1.5% to $4.2 billion, FMC's (NYSE: FMC  ) sales were 5% higher, and American Vanguard's (NYSE: AVD  ) surged 39% last quarter. The three companies account for three-quarters of all ground pesticides sold in the United States.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  What: Shares of specialty chemical maker American Vanguard (NYSE: AVD  ) jumped 10% today after the company released earnings.

  So what: First-quarter revenue jumped 39% to $121.5 million and adjusted earnings per share nearly doubled to $0.59. Analysts only expected $115.4 million in revenue and earnings of $0.46 per share so the company easily beat on both the top and bottom line. �