Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014

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Even though Merck doesn’t plan an international marriage to cut its tax bill, its shares are rallying today on solid results in the latest quarter.

Merck�(MRK) stock is up 2% today after�Merck reported second-quarter earnings per share of 85 cents, better than the 81 cents analysts expected, according to Thomson I/B/E/S data.

Here are insights on the conference call that ensued, from�ISI’s biotech and pharmaceutical industry analyst�Mark Schoenbaum,�paraphrased:

Merck wants “bolt-ons” acquisitions (like Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX)) versus big purchases. Moreover, it is not interested in a deal primarily or solely for tax inversion purposes … �[That's not ruling out the possibility of buying a foreign company to avoid U.S. taxes, but the language seems contrary to the foreign-merger possibilities for other healthcare companies, including�Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), Actavis (ACT), Pfizer (PFE), AbbVie (ABBV), Medtronic (MDT) and even�Walgreen (WAG).] Merck sees a “high likelihood” of success for the four-week Hepatitis C regimen from C-SWIFT when presented at a medical conference this fall. (The combo treatment includes Gilead’s Sovaldi, already on the market, and a Merck regimen.) The company sees “lots of opportunities” to possibly accelerate Food & Drug Administration filings for an experimental immuno-oncology drug for lung cancer patients. It’s excited about the expected Aug. 14 FDA decision on insomnia drug Suvorexant. (Wall Street is bearish on commercial prospects.) Merck expects U.S. volume growth for diabetes drug Januvia (which is roughly 25% of earnings) in the second half of 2014.

For healthcare investing ideas and insight on so-called tax inversions, see the Barrons.com Q&A with Andy Acker, manager of the Janus Global Life Sciences Fund (JAGLX): “Undervalued Biotech Stocks Help Fund Beat the Index,” July 29. (Subscription required) One insight from Acker:

Best Gas Utility Stocks To Buy For 2015: Arrowhead Research Corporation(ARWR)

Arrowhead Research Corporation, a clinical stage nanomedicine company, through its subsidiaries, develops therapeutic products at the interface of biology and nanoengineering to cure disease and improve human health. It focuses on the design and development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer and obesity, as well as healing wounded or diseased tissue based on nucleic acid delivery, siRNA chemistry, and tissue targeting intellectual properties. The company?s lead products include CALAA-01, an oncology drug candidate based on the gene silencing RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism; and Adipotide, an anti-obesity peptide that targets and kills the blood vessels that feed white adipose tissue. It also plans to develop its internal preclinical and clinical pipeline, including RONDEL-enabled siRNA drug candidates, Dynamic Polyconjugate (DPC)-enabled drug candidate development, and the non-siRNA-based anti-obesity drug candidate, Adipotide. The company, formerly known as InterActive Group, Inc., was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  Industrials sector surged 0.85 percent, saw Arrowhead Research (NASDAQ: ARWR) as the top gainer. Meanwhile, other gainers in the sector included ION Geophysical (NYSE: IO), with shares up 6.1 percent, and China Distance Education Holdings (NYSE: DL), with shares up 5 percent. In trading on Wednesday, technology shares gained by just 0.28 percent.

• [By John Udovich]

  So far this year, Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NYSEMKT: RNN), Imprimis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IMMY) and Arrowhead Research Corp (NASDAQ: ARWR) are up 186.3%, 157.2% and 142.5%, respectively, since the start of the year���making them the best performing small cap biotech stocks for 2014. But given their lackluster performance over the past few years, what is the secret behind their phenomenal 2014 rise and will they keep rising? For starters, none of these small caps have really produced anything in the way of blockbuster news:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 nanotechnology player that's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Arrowhead Research (ARWR), which forms, acquires and operates subsidiaries commercializing innovative nanotechnologies. This stock has been on fire so far in 2013, with shares up a whopping 284%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Arrowhead Research, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last five months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $1.81 to its recent high of $8.88 a share. During that uptrend, shares of ARWR have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of ARWR took out some near-term overhead resistance levels on Friday at $7.84 to $7.99 a share. That move is now quickly pushing shares of ARWR within range of triggering another big breakout trade.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in ARWR if it manages to break out above Friday's high of $8.37 a share to its 52-week high at $8.88 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 500,600 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then ARWR will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $11 to $12 a share.

  Traders can look to buy ARWR off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right around its 50-day moving average of $7.10 a share. One can also buy ARWR off strength once it starts to clear those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014: iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY)

iShares Lehman 1-3 Year Treasury Bond Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the short-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Lehman Brothers 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury Index (the Index). The Index includes all publicly issued United States Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of between 1 and 3 years, are non-convertible, are denominated in United States dollars, are rated investment grade (Baa3 or better) by Moody�� Investors Service, are fixed rate, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. Excluded from the Index are certain special issues, such as flower bonds, targeted investor notes (TINs), and state and local government bonds (SLGs), and coupon issues that have been stripped from assets already included in the Index.

The Index is a market capitalization-weighted index. The Fund invests in a representative sample of the securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Donald van Deventer]

  Shorter-duration Treasury Exchange-Traded Funds: (SHY), (SHV), (IEI), (BIL), (TUZ), (FIVZ), (DTUL), (VGSH), (DTUS), (DFVS), (DFVL), (SST), (ISTB), (TBZ).

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014: Liberte Investors Inc. (FAC)

First Acceptance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in retailing, servicing, and underwriting non-standard personal automobile insurance and related products. Its primary business involves issuing automobile insurance policies to individuals who are categorized as non-standard based primarily on their inability or unwillingness to obtain insurance coverage from standard carriers due to various factors, including their payment history or need for monthly payment plans, and failure to maintain continuous insurance coverage or driving record. The company also offers optional products that provide ancillary reimbursements and benefits in the event of an automobile accident; and underwrites a tenant homeowner policy that provides contents and liability coverage to renters. In addition, it engages in activities related to the disposition of real estate held for sale. The company distributes its products through retail locations. As of March 31, 2012, it leased and op erated 378 retail locations. First Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1969 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Auto sales continue to rise and that is good news for small cap auto insurers Infinity Property and Casualty Corp (NASDAQ: IPCC), First Acceptance Corporation (NYSE: FAC) and Atlas Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFH) which are focused on niche auto insurance markets.�A Yahoo! Autos blog post�recently noted that in August, automakers sold 1.5 million new vehicles for the highest rate in years. Moreover,�most industry forecasters expect sales to�return to the level they hit before the 2008 recession of 16 million vehicles a year. The blog post then went on to note the three forces driving auto sales:

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014: Amphenol Corporation(APH)

Amphenol Corporation engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of electrical, electronic, and fiber optic connectors; interconnect systems; and coaxial and specialty cables worldwide. Its Interconnect Products and Assemblies segment produces connectors and connector assemblies primarily for the communications, aerospace, industrial, and automotive markets. This segment provides connector and cable assembly products used in communication applications; smart card acceptor and other interconnect devices used in mobile telephones; set top boxes to facilitate reading data from smart cards; fiber optic connectors used in fiber optic signal transmission; backplane and input/output connectors and assemblies used for servers and data storage devices and linking personal computers and peripheral equipment; sculptured flexible circuits used for integrating printed circuit boards; and hinge products used in mobile phone and other mobile communication devices. It also designs a nd produces radio frequency connector products and antennas used in telecommunications, computer and office equipment, instrumentation equipment, local area networks, and automotive electronics. The company?s Cable Products segment produces coaxial cable and connector products used in cable television systems, including full service cable television/telecommunication systems; radio frequency and fiber optic interconnect components for full service cable television/ telecommunication networks; and data cables and specialty cables used to connect internal components in systems with space and component configuration limitations. Amphenol Corporation markets its products directly, as well as through manufacturers? representatives and distributors to original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, cable system operators, and telecommunication companies. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sally Jones] % over 12 months, Amphenol Corporation has a market cap of $12.88 billion and is traded at a P/E of 21.70. The dividend yield is 0.60%.

  The current share price is around $80.94.

  Incorporated in 1987, Amphenol Corporation designs, manufactures and markets electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors, interconnect systems and coaxial and specialty cable. The markets for the global company's products are communication systems for the converging technologies of voice, video and data communications and a wide range of industrial applications including factory automation and motion control systems, medical and industrial instrumentation, and commercial aerospace and military applications, and many more.

  Guru Action: As of June 30, 2013, Columbia Wanger reduced its position by 0.69%, selling 29,000 shares at an average price of $76.60, gaining 7.5%.

  Columbia Wanger is the top guru stakeholder with 4,184,650 shares or 2.63% of shares outstanding.

  Over a phenomenal five-year trading history, the firm averaged a gain of 215% on 828,250 shares bought at an average price of $25.71 per share. Columbia Wanger also gained 56% selling 1,608,300 shares at an average price of $51.91 per share.

  Check out the very active insider selling and seven gurus holding APH.

  Track share pricing, revenue and net income:

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• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Competitor AVX Corp. (AVX) has gained 1.1% to $12.96, while Molex (MOLX) has dropped 0.2% to $29.28 and Amphenol (APH) has ticked up 0.3% to $76.32.

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014: Cabot Microelectronics Corporation(CCMP)

Cabot Microelectronics Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) consumables to the semiconductor industry primarily in the United States, Asia, and Europe. CMP is a polishing process used by integrated circuit (IC) device manufacturers to planarize or flatten the multiple layers of material that are deposited upon silicon wafers in the production of advanced ICs. The company offers CMP slurries, which are liquid solutions composed of high-purity deionized water, proprietary chemical additives, and engineered abrasives that chemically and mechanically interact with the surface material of the IC device at an atomic level; and CMP polishing pads that are engineered polymeric materials designed to distribute and transport the slurry to the surface of the wafer and distribute it evenly across the wafer. Its CMP slurries are used for various polishing applications, including materials that conduct electrical signal s, such as tungsten, copper, tantalum, and aluminum; the dielectric insulating materials that separate conductive layers within logic and memory IC devices; and the disk substrates and magnetic heads used in hard disk drives. The company also designs and produces precision polishing and metrology systems to attain shape and surface finish on various optical components, such as mirrors, lenses, and prisms. It serves producers of logic IC devices and memory IC devices, as well as IC foundries. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Aurora, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Whitney Kisling]

  That alert proved too optimistic and the exchange pushed back the open another 15 minutes. By 3:25 p.m., Nasdaq stocks started ticking again. With the close about 35 minutes away, both the Nasdaq Composite Index (CCMP) and the Nasdaq 100 Index began to rise.

• [By Nikolaj Gammeltoft]

  Not all of Granville�� best calls were in the distant past. On March 11, 2000, the day after the Nasdaq Composite Index (CCMP) jumped to a record 5048.62, Granville wrote that investors in technology stocks ��ill soon be burned.��The index, heavy on computer-related companies, tumbled about 78 percent before bottoming on Oct. 9, 2002.

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  But you can see in several places the consequences of the stampede toward high yield. Here are just a few:

  Closed-end funds Cornerstone Progressive (NYSEMKT: CFP  ) and Pimco High Income (NYSE: PHK  ) both make fixed payments back to fund shareholders on a monthly basis, and their distribution yields are truly extraordinary, at about 17% and 12%, respectively. Those dividends have enticed shareholders to pay $1.30 to $1.40 or more for each $1 of assets in the funds. Yet during most months, a substantial portion of those distribution payments has simply been a return of investor capital rather than true income from the funds' investments. A recent study discussed in The Wall Street Journal found that returns on a portfolio with a combined value and dividend-income strategy outperformed a strategy focused more exclusively on maximizing dividends by an average of 1.7 percentage points per year, a huge edge in long-run returns. In the dividend ETF arena, most funds tend to focus on maximizing yield. Although the popular Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (NYSEMKT: VIG  ) ETF bucks the trend by screening first for consistent dividend growth and only then looking at yield as a factor, many rival ETFs start with high-yielding stocks as their baseline and only then consider other desirable traits. Others focus solely on high-dividend niches of the market, such as iShares FTSE NAREIT Mortgage-Plus (NYSEMKT: REM  ) and its concentration on high-yield mortgage REITs.

  When dividend stocks get too popular, their prices get out of line with both their dividend income and the fundamentals of the businesses that underlie those stocks. In simpler terms, when dividend stocks become bad values, it's time to consider looking elsewhere for a margin of safety.

Top 10 Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2014: Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH)

Enphase Energy, Inc. (Enphase), incorporated in March 20, 2006, designs, develops and sells microinverter systems for the solar photovoltaic industry. The Company sells its microinverter systems primarily to distributors who resell them to solar installers. It also sells directly to installers, as well as through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Company�� microinverter system consists of three components: Enphase microinverter, Envoy communications gateway and Enlighten Web-based software.

Enphase Microinverter

The Company�� Enphase microinverter delivers power conversion at the individual solar module level by introducing a digital architecture that incorporates custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) power electronics devices and an embedded software subsystem. A residential solar installation consists of 5 to 50 microinverters; a small commercial solar installation consists of 50 to 500 microinverters, and medium or larger commercial solar installation consists of 500 to 10,000 microinverters, or more.

Envoy Communications Gateway

The Company�� Envoy communications gateway is installed in the system owner�� home or business and serves as a networking hub that collects data from the microinverter array and sends the information to its hosted data center. One Envoy is typically sold with each solar installation and can support up to 500 Enphase microinverters.

Enlighten Software

The Company�� Enlighten Web-based software collects and analyzes this information to enable system owners to monitor and realize the performance of their solar photovoltaics (PV) system and also provides an online portal designed for installers to enable them to track and manage all of their Enphase enabled projects and monitor and analyze the performance of their installed systems.

The Company competes with SMA Solar Technology AG, Fronius International GmbH, Power-One, Inc., SunPower Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  There's no foolproof way to know the future for Enphase Energy (Nasdaq: ENPH  ) or any other company. However, certain clues may help you see potential stumbles before they happen -- and before your stock craters as a result.

• [By Zacks]

  Other stocks from the sector worth considering are Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH), First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) and Trina Solar Limited (NYSE: TSL).  All these stocks currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) shares moved up 21.73% to $11.81. The volume of Enphase Energy shares traded was 749% higher than normal. Enphase Energy reported a Q2 loss of $0.01 per share.