Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014

The best thing about the stock market is that you can make money in�either direction. Historically, stock indexes have tended to trend up over the long term. But when you look at individual stocks, you'll find plenty that lose money over the long haul. According to hedge fund institution Blackstar Funds, even with dividends�included, between 1983 and 2006, 64% of stocks underperformed the Russell 3000, a broad-scope market index.

A large influx of short-sellers shouldn't be a condemning factor to any company, but it could be a red flag from traders that something may not be as cut-and-dried as it appears. Let's look at three companies that have seen a rapid increase in the number of shares sold short and see whether traders are blowing smoke or if their worry has some merit.

Company

Short Increase June 14 to June 28

Short Shares As a % of Float

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE: SIX  )

Top Up And Coming Companies To Own For 2015: Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA)

Tesla Motors, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle powertrain components. It offers Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car. The company markets and sells its vehicles directly to consumers through the phone and Internet, as well as through its network of Tesla stores. It operates 18 Tesla stores located in Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Miami, New York, Newport Beach, San Jose, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Copenhagen, London, Milan, Monaco, Munich, Paris, Tokyo, and Zurich. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  In other words, Plug Power is not Tesla (TSLA). As for FuelCell Energy, its feeling the heat today after reporting earnings in-line with analyst forecasts, in part because of the Citron report, and in part because when your stock has more than doubled in price in less than three months, you better beat earnings.

Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: SLM Corp (ISM)

SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae), incorporated on February 3, 1997, is a holding company. It operates in three business segments: Consumer Lending, Business Services and FFELP Loans. The fourth segment includes Other. The Company�� primary business is to originate, service and collect loans it makes to students and their families to finance the cost of their education. It uses Private Education Loans to mean education loans to students or their families that are non-federal loans and loans not insured or guaranteed under the previously existing Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). It also provides servicing, loan default aversion and defaulted loan collection services for loans owned by other institutions, including the United States Department of Education (ED), as well as processing capabilities to educational institutions and 529 college-savings plan programs. It also operates a consumer savings network that provides financial rewards on everyday purchases to help families save for college. On May 7, 2013, Higher One Holdings, Inc. acquired Sallie Mae�� Campus Solutions business.

The Company is a holder, servicer and collector of loans made under the previously existing FFELP. The majority of its income continues to be derived, directly or indirectly, from its portfolio of FFELP Loans and servicing it provides for FFELP Loans.

Consumer Lending Segment

The Company originates, acquires, finances and services Private Education Loans. In this segment, the Company earns net interest income on the Private Education Loan portfolio, as well as servicing fees, consisting primarily of late fees. The Bank is also a key component of its Upromise Rewards and college-savings product businesses.

Business Services Segment

The Company�� Business Services segment generates the majority of its revenue from servicing its FFELP Loan portfolio and from performing servicing, default aversion and contingency collections work on behalf of Guaranto! rs of FFELP Loans and other institutions. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its FFELP-related revenues accounted for 76% of total Business Services segment revenues. Since 1997, the Company has provided collection services on defaulted student loans to ED. Upromise generates revenue by providing program management services for 529 college-savings plans with assets in 31 college-savings plans in 16 states, as of December 31, 2012. It also generates transaction fees through its Upromise consumer savings network; through December 31, 2012, members have earned rewards by purchasing products at hundreds of online retailers, booking travel, purchasing a home, dining out, buying gas and groceries, using the Upromise World MasterCard, or completing other qualified transactions. It earns a fee for the marketing and administrative services it provides to companies that participate in the Upromise savings network.

FFELP Loans Segment

The Company�� FFELP Loans segment consists of its FFELP Loan portfolio and the underlying debt and capital funding the loans. It seeks to acquire FFELP Loan portfolios.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Much like the first three months of the year, the second quarter served up a mixture of good and bad economic news. On April 3, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) announced its nonmanufacturing index fell to 54.4, a seven month low. Higher taxes and federal budget cuts were purported to blame for the slowdown. Two days later on the first Friday of the month, the Labor Department released disappointing March employment numbers: Employers added only 88,000 new jobs, fewer than any month in the past year (though the number was later revised up to 142,000). The unemployment rate dropped to 7.6%, but only because an estimated almost half million people left the workforce in March. On a more encouraging note, housing starts in March rose 7.0% to an annual rate of 1,036,000 (later revised to 1,005,000) and new home sales climbed 1.5% (revised to 1.3%) to 417,000 annualized (revised to 451,000), the second highest jump in three years. Despite the mixed signals, the U.S. equity market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, rose a modest 1.9% in April.

Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: Catamaran Corp (CTRX)

Catamaran Corporation (Catamaran), formerly SXC Health Solutions Corp., incorporated on June 27, 2007, is a provider of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services and healthcare information technology (HCIT) solutions to the healthcare benefit management industry. The Company�� product offerings and solutions combine a range of applications and PBM services designed to assist its customers in reducing the cost and managing the complexity of their prescription drug programs. The Company�� customers include organizations in the pharmaceutical supply chain, such as pharmacy benefit managers, managed care organizations, self-insured employer groups, unions, third party health care plan administrators, and state and federal government entities. In January 2012, the Company completed its acquisition of HealthTran LLC (HealthTran). On July 2, 2012, the Company acquired Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc. On October 1, 2013, the Company acquired RESTAT, LLC.

The Company�� PBM services, which are marketed under the Catamaran PBM brand, include electronic point-of-sale pharmacy claims management, retail pharmacy network management, mail pharmacy claims management, specialty pharmacy claims management, Medicare Part D services, benefit design consultation, preferred drug management programs, drug review and analysis, consulting services, data access, and reporting and information analysis. The Company's PBM services include owning and operating a network of mail and specialty pharmacies. In addition, the Company is a national provider of drug benefits to its customers under the federal government�� Medicare Part D program. The Company�� HCIT solutions include RxCLAIM, an on-line transaction processing system that provides instant adjudication of prescription drug claims, RxMAX, the Company�� rebate management system, RxTRACK, the Company�� data warehouse and analysis system, Zynchros, the Company�� suite of on-demand formulary management tools, the Company�� pharmacy management system! for retail, chain, institutional and mail-order pharmacies, as well as a number of other software products for customers in the pharmaceutical supply chain. The Company�� HCIT solutions are available on a license basis with on-going maintenance and support or on a transaction fee basis using an application service provider (ASP) model.

PBM Services

The Company�� informedRx offering is a suite of customizable PBM services that provide an alternative to traditional PBM offerings typically employed by health plans, government agencies and employers. The Company provides a range of pharmacy spend management solutions and information technology capabilities to managed care organizations, self-insured employer groups, unions, third party health care plan administrators, and state and federal government entities. Formulary Administration provides support for customers��existing formularies and preferred drug lists or collaborate to create models supported by formulary predictive modeling and impact analysis. Pharmacist, physician and member-focused intervention protocols provide controls to drive generics, preferred drug products and appropriate use. Formularies are administered based on specific plan designs, or by enabling customers with the tools to maintain their own custom formularies online.

The Company specializes in applying data-driven insights to help customers understand the medical risk drivers within their population and take a strategic approach to plan design. The Company provides benefit design configuration and support to customers, in accordance with mutually developed processes. Benefit designs can be modified online, in real time, by the Company or by the customer�� staff. Pharmacy Network Management provides a range of retail network options, including supporting existing networks or assisting customers in developing networks that meet specific geographic access requirements, desired price discounts, or other service requirements. A national! retail n! etwork, which consists of pharmacies in all 50 states and in Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands, provides access to the Company�� customers.

Drug Utilization Review (DUR) is pre-dispensing DUR edit checks are performed on an online, real-time basis between mail and retail pharmacies to encourage appropriate drug utilization, enhance member outcomes, and reduce drug costs. All prescriptions are checked for member eligibility and plan design features and are then compared against previous histories of prescriptions filled by the same pharmacy, by other participating retail network pharmacies and by the mail service pharmacy. Clinical Services and Consulting provides consultative and technical expertise to augment, develop, deploy, and support any additional clinical programs. Reporting and Information Analysis Solutions provides two levels of reporting: a reporting package (which includes a menu of reports), and an online analytical decision support tool, RxTRACK. The Company offers mail and specialty services to its PBM members, as well as other members of its pharmacy network. suite of Web-based services that enables customers to interact with the claims processing system using a standardized protocol in a secure environment. A member Website, RxPORTAL, invites members to learn more about their prescription benefit programs, medication histories, drug information and related industry news. RxPROVIDER PORTAL is a Web-based interface that allows pharmacists and physicians to obtain information from RxCLAIM on a member's plan to assist in providing more cost effective prescription medications.

Healthcare IT

The Company's HCIT offerings deliver applications on a license, ASP, or fee-for-service basis to customers who administer and manage pharmacy benefits. HCIT products and services serve a diversified group of payor customers that include health plans, federal, state and provincial government programs, pharmacy benefit managers, workers' compensation programs! , and lon! g-term and/or chronic care facility operators. In addition, SXC's technology serves as the engine for the Company's service PBM solutions.

Technology Products and Services

RxCLAIM is an on-line transaction processing system designed to provide instant on-line adjudication of third-party prescription drug claims at the point of service, including claims management, as well as payment and billing support and real-time functionality for updating benefit, price, member, provider and drug details. RxCLAIM is designed to provide the Company�� customers control by facilitating the real-time processing of pharmacy claims and payments against eligibility, plan benefits, formularies, price, drug utilization review, prior authorization, and rebates in addition to many other features.

Other products

Integrail Pathfinder PRO is a software application that enables a array of users to understand the impact of healthcare resource allocation and medical decision-making through the incorporation of risk prediction and episode profiling technologies. The application offers users an intuitive system for integrating disparate data sources to pinpoint variations in resource utilization and care. IntegrailRx features the ability to measure and predict both pharmacy and total risk using pharmacy claims. RxBUILDER is a Web-based interface for formulary creation and maintenance utilizing a Medi-Span based product file. RxPORTAL allows customers to interact with the patient's formulary and drug history in a secure environment allowing patients and health plans to access industry tools and up to date information. RxAUTH is a prior authorization (PA) management solution, which offers automating the PA process from end-to-end. RxAUTH is also available in a Web-based application. RxMAX is a rebate management system that is designed to assist health plans in managing their relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers through contract management, record keeping, calculating market share! , and cre! ating billing details and summaries. Zynchros provides a suite of on-demand formulary management tools to help payors effectively manage their formulary programs, and to maintain Medicare Part D compliance in their programs. Enhanced Coordination of Benefits integrates external data sources with unique algorithms and eligibility data to identify beneficiaries with other coverage. This enables accurate identification of third party liability in real-time prior to the claim being paid.

Medicare Part D

The Company has offered an array of services to the Medicare marketplace, all compliant with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations. As a full-service PBM and a National Prescription Drug Plan, the Company supports a variety of Medicare Part D Plan Sponsors. The Company provides prescription benefit management support for Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans (MAPDs) and prescription drug plans (PDPs), including implementation of specific Medicare Part D plan designs, creation and maintenance of Medicare Part D formularies (including CMS submission), CMS reporting requirements and consultative, proactive account management.

The Company competes with Express Scripts, Inc., CVS/Caremark Corporation and OptumRx.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Catamaran (NASDAQ: CTRX) shares fell 4.42% to touch a new 52-week low of $40.04. Catamaran's trailing-twelve-month profit margin is 1.77%.

  Posted-In: 52-Week LowsNews Movers & Shakers Intraday Update Markets

Top 5 Long Term Stocks To Buy For 2014: Linear Technology Corporation(LLTC)

Linear Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets a line of linear integrated circuits. The company's products include amplifiers, comparators, voltage regulators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, power over Ethernet controllers, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  This week a few companies answered the call and rewarded their shareholders with higher cash dividends:
  
  Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) engages in regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.4% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable March 15, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 12, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.7%.
  
  Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ), a real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, develops, and manages real estate portfolio, as well as performs certain real estate-related services. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 66.7% to $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable February 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.
  
  Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC) generates and distributes electric energy, as well as distributes natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Utility Energy and Non-Utility Energy. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 2% to $0.3900 per share. The dividend is payable March 1, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.8%.
  
  BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors. January 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.9% to $1.93 per share. The dividend is payable March 24, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.
  
  ONEOK Inc. (OKE) operates as a diversified energy company in the United States. January 15th the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable February 18, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.5%.
  
  Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. (OHI) is a real es

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Linear Technology Corp.'s(LLTC) fiscal second-quarter profit climbed 18% as the chip manufacturer reported higher sales and gross margins.

  MeadWestvaco Corp.(MWV) expanded its cost-cutting efforts and said it plans to simplify the structure of its packaging businesses, as it strives to improve its performance.

• [By Brendan Byrnes]

  Then finally, "Found It" Miracle Workers, companies that bounced around for a while -- kind of like wayward teenagers -- and then found their way. A company like Linear Technology (NASDAQ: LLTC  ) , for example, a semiconductor manufacturer, would fall into that category. It started out as a second source supplier for the USDOD [and] now makes a vast array of highly customized, very highly differentiated analog microprocessors.

• [By Damian Illia]

  Although the stock has done pretty well, investors can have another option of investing in the tech sector with Linear Technology Corporation (LLTC) because there is no other semiconductor company that can be able to match the company's profitability. Linear Technology offers thousands of analog products to original equipment manufacturers. The company麓s plan is to specialize in market segments that require high-performance analog with focus on industrial and automotive products. Customers base decisions on quality and Linear麓s chip are considered to be products that have long life and superior technology. This is considered in prices and makes attractive margins to the company.