Top Tech Companies To Buy For 2014

Deals and Financings

Zhejiang Hisun Pharma (SHA: 600267) will raise up to 936 million RMB ($152.6 million) in a convertible bond offering. The company will use the money to build a manufacturing facility that will make finished drugs, in both solid form and injections. Hisun said the construction will move it further away from its traditional focus on APIs to become a pharmaceutical company with a broad range of offerings.

JenaValve Technology, a German company that has developed a transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system to replace sclerotic aortic valves, raised $62.5 million in a Series C venture round. Part of the money will be allocated for China approval of the device. Legend Capital, the Beijing-based VC/PE firm, participated in the round.

Despite its well-publicized problems in China, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is actively moving forward with a plan to form a vaccine collaboration with a China company (see story). The company revealed it is talking to several China vaccine makers, with the goal of forming an R&D/marketing partnership. Christophe Weber, head of GSK's vaccine division, said the conversations have not been affected by the on-going bribery scandal.

Top Supermarket Stocks To Invest In 2015: Silver Spring Networks Inc (SSNI)

Silver Spring Networks, Inc., incorporated on July 3, 2002, provides a networking platform and solutions that enable utilities to transform the power grid infrastructure into the smart grid. The Company�� networking platform provides two-way communications between the utility back office and devices on the power grid. In addition to its networking platform, it offers a suite of solutions that run on top of its network and complementary services, all of which is referred to as its Smart Energy Platform. Its service offerings include professional services to implement its products, managed services and software as a service ( SaaS), to assist utilities with managing the network and solutions, and ongoing customer support. Its Smart Energy Platform consists of hardware, software and services and combines with devices manufactured by third-party partners to form end-to-end smart grid offerings.

The Company�� solutions include advanced metering, which allows utilities to automate a number of manual processes and improve operational efficiencies, offer flexible pricing programs to consumers, and improve customer service with faster outage detection and restoration; distribution automation, which provides utilities with real-time visibility into the health of the grid, enabling better management and control of power distribution assets to improve grid reliability, and demand-side management, which enables utilities to offer consumers a variety of programs and incentives to use energy more efficiently and reduce usage at times of peak demand. The Company markets its Smart Energy Platform directly to utilities around the world. The Company�� network is composed of its hardware, such as access points and relays, its UtilOS network operating system, and GridScape software suite, which together provide utilities the ability to communicate with and control devices connected to the power grid.

The Company also offers a suite of solutions that run on top of its network, including ad! vanced metering, distribution automation, and demand-side management. These solutions include additional hardware, such as its communications modules and bridges, and applications from UtilityIQ and CustomerIQ software. Its solutions combine with devices from the large number of third parties with whom it collaborates to form end-to-end smart grid offerings built on its network. In addition, itoffers a range of services that enable its utility customers to deploy, operate and maintain its networking platform and solutions. These service offerings include professional services to implement its products, managed services and SaaS to assist utilities with managing the network and solutions, and ongoing customer support.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Although small cap smart metering stock Silver Spring Networks Inc (NYSE: SSNI) recently soared on earnings, it also plunged yesterday�after loosing�out on important contract ��meaning it might be time to take a closer look at it along with other smart metering stocks like Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) or Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) to see if they are smart investments.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Silver Spring Networks (NYSE: SSNI) were down 23.66 percent to $17.91 after the company issued downbeat Q4 forecast. Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral and cut the price target from $26.00 to $23.00.

Top Tech Companies To Buy For 2014: Elephant Talk Communications Corp (ETAK)

Elephant Talk Communications Corp., incorporated on September 26, 2011, is a provider of mobile networking software and services. The Company provides operating software, managed services, cloud and Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, an integrated transaction and delivery platform to the mobile telecommunications industry globally. The Company�� products include remote health care, credit card fraud prevention, mobile Internet ID security, secure remote file access management, loyalty and transaction management services and a whole range of other emerging mobile services.

The Company empowers Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) by providing a cloud based mobile communications infrastructure, operating software and managed services, based mostly on company developed and owned software. In addition to the mobile based services, the Company also provides landline services like Carrier Select and Carrier Pre-Select Services, Toll Free and Premium Rate Services to the business market through its fixed line telecom infrastructure and its centrally operated and managed ET Boss and Infitel platform.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you're reading this, then odds are you already know that small caps WidePoint Corporation (NYSEMKT:WYY), CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR), and Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSEMKT:ETAK) are among the recent big winners from the small cap stock realm. ETAK is up 100% since the end of October, largely spurred by encouraging numbers in its third-quarter results. CYTR shares have rallied more than 150% in just the past three days on the heels of an announcement that a cancer drug the biotech company is developing has shown wonderful Phase 2 results. And, WYY has advanced 93% over the past month or so, thanks to Q3's earnings announcement, though the trading public - and then the media - certainly took the ball and ran with it.

Top Tech Companies To Buy For 2014: ImmunoCellular Therapeutics Ltd (IMUC)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., incorporated on March 20, 1987, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in developing immune-based therapies for the treatment of cancers, such as brain, ovarian and other solid tumors. Immunotherapy is an approach to treat cancer in which a patient�� own immune system is stimulated to target tumor antigens, which are molecular signals that the immune system uses to identify foreign bodies. The Company�� products include ICT-107, ICT-140, ICT-120, ICT-109 and DIAAD. ICT-107, the pipeline product, is a Phase II therapeutic dendritic cell (DC) vaccine for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the common and lethal type of brain cancer. ICT-107 is designed to activate a patient�� immune system to target six different tumor-associated antigens. In February 2012, it acquired a world-wide license from the University of Pennsylvania and The John Hopkins University (JHU).

The Company in addition to ICT-107, is also developing other therapeutic DC vaccines: ICT-140 for ovarian cancer and ICT-121 for recurrent GBM. ICT-140 targets seven tumor-associated antigens expressed on ovarian cancer cells. ICT-107 is a DC vaccine that targets six different tumor-associated antigens that are found on patients��tumor cells; four of the six antigens are expressed on CSCs. The therapeutic vaccine is used subsequent to conventional therapy or concomitantly with chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed GBM. ICT-140 is a DC vaccine that targets seven different ovarian cancer antigens. ICT-121 is a DC vaccine that targets CD133 antigens; it has the potential to be a universal cancer vaccine because CD133 is widely expressed on CSCs from a majority of cancers. Data from this small study demonstrated that ICT-109 had a statistically ability to discriminate between cancerous and non-cancerous samples, suggesting the potential to detect pancreatic and lung cancer in plasma and serum study sets. The DIAAD (differential immunization for an! tigen and antibody discovery) platform it acquired from Molecular Discoveries utilizes immunological tolerization to accelerate the discovery of the molecular differences between diseased cells and their normal counterparts. The monoclonal antibodies produced by DIAAD provide the basis for the discovery and development of its potential diagnostic and therapeutic products.

The Company competes with Dendreon, Oncothyreon, Galena, Bavarian Nordic and Immunovaccine, Northwest Biotherapeutics, Prima Biomed, DCPrime, Roche/Genentech, Seattle Genetics, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Immunogen.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (NYSE: IMUC) dropped 11.05% to $1.3699. ImmunoCellular's trailing-twelve-month ROE is -59.80%.

  Posted-In: market losersNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

Top Tech Companies To Buy For 2014: Textura Corp (TXTR)

Textura Corporation, incorporated on September 27, 2007, is a provider of on-demand business collaboration software to the commercial construction industry. The Company�� solutions are focused on facilitating collaboration between owners/developers, general contractors and subcontractors. The Company offers PlanSwift, a take-off and estimating solution used in preparing construction bids, and Contractor Default Claims Management, which supports the process of documenting a subcontractor default insurance claim. Each of its collaboration solutions was designed from inception as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution with on-demand architecture. The Company collaboration solutions each use a single code base and it do not customize its solutions for any of the Company�� clients. In December 2013, Textura Corp closed its acquisition of LATISTA Technologies Inc, the provider of mobile-enabled solutions for construction project collaboration.

The Company�� collaboration solutions offer functionality, data sharing and exchange capabilities, and workflow tools that support several business processes at various stages of the construction project lifecycle, which include Construction Payment Management (CPM) enables the generation, collection, review and routing of invoices and the necessary supporting documentation and legal documents, and initiation of payment of invoices; Submittal Exchange enables the collection, review and routing of project documents; GradeBeam supports the process of obtaining construction bids, including identifying potential bidders, issuing invitations-to-bid and tracking bidding intent; Pre-Qualification Management (PQM) supports contractor risk assessment and qualification, and Greengrade facilitates the management of environmental certification processes. The Company�� on-demand business collaboration software solutions address the several challenges associated with the traditional paper-based and personnel-intensive manual approaches or with technology solut! ions not designed for collaborative processes, and support many of the trends occurring within the commercial construction industry.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Textura Corp. (NYSE: TXTR) was reiterated as Outperform along with a $50 price target at Credit Suisse. The firm said that a negative report from Citron on the company last week that knocked about 20% of its value off has created as buying opportunity. Credit Suisse believes the report is untrue. It said the report was full of profanity and that it sees no merits to any of the work, with the report alluding to incorrect innuendos and false assumptions that suggested management misled investors. After shares saw a more than a 5% gain to $29.54 on Friday, the post-IPO range is $19.68 to $47.25.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  It took four days, but Dow 16,000 finally stuck until the close, with the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finishing the day up 109 points. Particularly strong showings from the financial contingent of the Dow 30 pushed the average up, but their gains were small compared to the larger jumps that Sprint (NYSE: S  ) , Textura (NYSE: TXTR  ) , and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM  ) saw. Let's look at why these three companies did so well today, to see if we can draw hints about other potential winners down the road.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Textura (NYSE: TXTR) tumbled 6.15 percent to $29.38. Textura shares tumbled 17.06 percent yesterday after Citron Research issued a scathing report on the company midway through the morning Thursday.�

• [By David Zeiler]

  6. Textura Corp. (NYSE: TXTR): Textura creates and sells business collaboration software to the commercial construction industry. TXTR went public June 7 at $15 a share and rose 39.6% its first day. The stock currently trades at $40.080, for an increase of 167.2%.