Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014

The American fast food giant McDonald�� (MCD), continues to face sluggish sales in the month of August. With the demand for burgers falling in its domestic market in the U.S. and health scare arising in China, comparable store sales are getting adversely hit. Issues regarding food safety leveled among the Chinese suppliers and growing health consciousness among Americans is having a bearing on the company�� revenue. Considering that this is the key revenue driver of the company, is it something the company should be worried about?

Tough times

McDonald�� sales tumbled in China, a crucial market for growth, where it has 2000 stores. The company has been charged of using expired meat that it received from one of the Chinese supplier. In July a television station covered a report on McDonald�� where they found that Shanghai Husi Food Co., the main meat supplier of McDonald�� had supplied expired meat for the patties.

This scandal affected the reputation of McDonald�� very badly and after that the outlets in China and Japan faced crisis for chicken and beef for three weeks. Shanghai Husi would supply meat to Yum! Brands (YUM), too, and they faced a similar fate. Since Yum! has a bigger presence in China, it is worse hit. McDonald's is working hard to win back the trust of its customers in China.

Top Airline Companies To Watch For 2015: Whole Foods Market Inc.(WFM)

Whole Foods Market, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of natural and organic food supermarkets. The company offers produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, and vitamins. It also provides specialty products, such as beer, wine, and cheese; body care and educational products, such as books; and floral, pet, and household products. As of February 9, 2011, the company operated 302 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By William Bias]

  People love organic food which contains no unnatural ingredients such as pesticides or fertilizers. �They increasingly crave food that will allow them to live healthier, longer, and cheaper due to the rising cost of health care. Organic grocery store chains Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM  ) and Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM  ) certainly reap the benefit of this increasing consumer preference.

• [By Jacob Roche]

  Regular readers probably know I am a big fan of organic food companies, and I regularly use Whole Foods Market� (NASDAQ: WFM  ) as a proxy for organic retailing. According to the Organic Trade Association industry survey for 2011, organic food sales grew about 13.4% annually from 2002 to 2010, while conventional food sales remained largely flat. That kind of growth is about in line with that of Whole Foods, which has been at the center of it all.

• [By John Udovich]

  Large cap natural and organic foods supermarket giant Whole Foods Market, Inc (NASDAQ: WFM), otherwise known as ��hole Wallet��r ��hole Paycheck,��is not the only player in the natural or organics supermarket space for consumers and investors alike as mid cap Sprouts Farmers Market Inc (NASDAQ: SFM) and small caps Fairway Group Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: FWM) and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc (NYSE: NGVC) are also players in the space. It should be mentioned that Whole Foods Market is down 15.7% since the start of the year and has a downward trending technical chart, but�shares are�still up 13% over the past year, up 426.3% over the past five years and up 3,108.6% since January 1992.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: rue21 inc.(RUE)

rue21, inc. operates as a specialty apparel retailer in the United States. It provides fashion apparel and accessories for girls and guys, including graphic T-shirts, denim, dresses, shirts, hoodies, belts, jewelry, handbags, footwear, intimate apparel, and other accessories. The company sells its apparel and accessories under the brand names of rue21, rue21 etc!, tarea by rue21, Carbon and CJ Black, and Carbon Elements; and fragrances under the rue by rue21, revert eco rue21, CJ Black, sparkle rue21, Pink Ice by rue21, MetroBlack rue21, tarea by rue21, twentyone black, runway21 by rue21, Carbon Elements, Intense by rue21, and rue21 etc! brand names. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 755 stores in 713 cities in 46 states. rue21, inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Del, Vecchio,]

  Teen apparel retailer�rue21� (NASDAQ: RUE  ) recently announced its intention to be acquired by Apax Partners in a buyout valued at $1.1 billion, or $42 a share. Apax already owns 30% of rue21, but the announcement delighted investors and the stock shot up nearly 23% to just under the target acquisition price.

• [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 rue21 (Nasdaq: RUE  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: PIMCO Strategic Income Fund, Inc (RCS)

PIMCO Strategic Global Government Fund, Inc. (the Fund) is a closed-end bond fund. The Fund invests primarily in a portfolio of investment grade fixed-income securities of the United States and other countries. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in government securities, which include bonds issued or guaranteed by the United States or foreign governments, by their agencies, authorities or instrumentalities, or by supranational entities, and synthetic instruments.

Government securities also include mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by certain United States Government agencies and government-sponsored enterprises, including Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), which may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. The Fund also invests up to 20% of its total assets in non-investment grade securities regardless of the issuer, including corporate, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Pacific Investment Management Company LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Fitz-Gerald]

  1. For the near term, try the Pimco Strategic Global Government Fund (NYSE: RCS).

  Managed by Allianz Global Investors Fund Management LLC, the fund is constructed of intermediate-term, high-quality government securities. The fund can invest in mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, too, if managers so desire. It's also got the flexibility to pick up foreign paper.

• [By Keith Fitz-Gerald]

  I like the PIMCO Strategic Global Government Fund. The ticker is (RCS). The reason I like that, is it pays a hefty income; it's a bet on increased stability through further quantitative easing.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Halozyme Therapeutics Inc.(HALO)

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of recombinant human enzymes that transiently modify tissue under the skin to facilitate injection of other therapies or correct diseased tissue structures for clinical benefits. The company primarily offers recombinant human hyaluronidase, an enzyme that degrades hyaluronan, which is a matrix component in the skin, and facilitates the dispersion and absorption of drugs and fluids. Its portfolio of products and product candidates are developed based principally on intellectual property covering the family of human enzymes known as hyaluronidases. The company also provides Ultrafast Insulin program, a Phase II clinical trial product for the treatment of diabetes mellitus; and Enhanze technology, a proprietary drug delivery platform for subcutaneous delivery of injectable biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic molecules, as well as sma ll molecules and fluids. It offers PEGPH20, a new molecular entity that is in Phase I trial for the systemic treatment of tumors; and HTI-501, a recombinant human proteinase, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial used for the treatment of edematous fibrosclerotic panniculopathy (cellulite). The company has collaborative partnerships with F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.; ViroPharma Incorporated; and Intrexon Corporation to apply Enhanze technology to the partners? biological therapeutic compounds. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) were down 25.40 percent to $8.65 after the company announced the temporary halt of Phase 2 trial enrollment.

• [By Sean Williams]

  The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, also played a big role in Halozyme Therapeutics' (NASDAQ: HALO  ) huge Friday surge. The EMA's panel recommended Roche's Herceptin SC, which uses Halozyme's recombinant human hyaluronidase in a subcutaneous injection for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. A typical infusion of Herceptin can take 30 to 90 minutes, whereas the subcutaneous injection can be delivered in a fraction of the time, two to five minutes. This new delivery method could save hospitalization time and money and improve patient comfort. It could also be a transformative approval for Halozyme.�

• [By John Udovich]
  Follow-on Stock Offerings From Small Cap Biotech Stocks. Thanks to the boom in biotech IPOs along with the sector�� overall performance, already listed biotechs have the option to ask investors for more cash in the form of a follow-on offering. Recently, FierceBiotech.com noted how four small cap biotechs raised $276 million from follow-on offerings in just one day last week. These small caps�included Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM) which raised $88 million, Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: HALO) which raised $100 million, Agenus Inc (NASDAQ: AGEN) which raised $52 million and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDRA) which raised $36 million. FierceBiotech.com noted that the�steady flow of about $4.5 billion a year in venture cash�along with�more than $3.5 billion from IPOs last year plus all of the�follow-ons are helping to foster both company growth and�accelerate drug�development programs. Mixed Bag for Biotech IPOs. Last Wednesday also saw two small cap biotech IPOs fizzle in one day�with small cap T cell vaccine developer�Genocea Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: GNCA) raising $60 million but then ending the day down 8.3% to close at $11 while Dutch drug developer uniQure NV (QURE) raised $81.9 million but fell more than 14% to $14.61. However, orphan drug stock Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ASPX), which is developing�drugs to treat orphan diseases like Tourette syndrome, saw a 30.5% gain to close at $15.66 and raise $84 million. The Boston Globe quoted Michael Ringel, a partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group who focuses on health care business, as saying:

  ��he mood is incredibly positive. Capital is flowing. [The biotech IPOs]��have been burning hot. I think it�� too early to suggest that is changing. I can�� predict the overall economy any better than anyone else, but I would expect a pretty good year for IPOs.��/p>

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) shares dropped 2.04% to $8.12 after the company reported a clinical hold of PEGPH20 pancreatic cancer trial amid voluntary halt.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (Liquidmetal Technologies), incorporated in 1987, is materials technology company that develops and commercializes products made from amorphous alloys. The Company's Liquidmetal family of alloys consists of a variety of bulk alloys and composites that utilize the advantages offered by amorphous alloy technology. The Company designs develop and sell products and components from bulk amorphous alloys to customers in various industries. The Company also partners with third-party manufacturers and licensees to develop and commercialize Liquidmetal alloy products. The Company focused to commercializes its Liquidmetal alloys on three identified product areas, such as Components for Non-Consumer Electronic Products, Sporting Goods and Leisure Products and Medical Devices. On December 1, 2011, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with LMTK Holdings, Inc. (LMTK Holdings) to sell its former Korean subsidiary and manufacturing facility, Liquidmetal Technologies Korea (LMTK). Under the Share Purchase Agreement, the Company sold all of LMTK�� shares of common stock to LMTK Holdings.

The Company designs, develops and produces components for non-consumer electronic devices utilizing its bulk Liquidmetal alloys. The product categories in the non-consumer electronics field include, but are not limited to, parts for high end printers, commercial imaging devices, aerospace components, medical devices and industrial machines. The Company is also developing a variety of applications for Liquidmetal alloys in the sporting goods and leisure products area.

The Company develops a variety of applications for Liquidmetal alloys in the sporting goods and leisure products area. In the sporting goods industry the Company focuses on products that meet its design criteria. The Company has produced prototype rings made from an amorphous Liquidmetal platinum alloy that is harder, in the leisure products category. The Company emphasis on surgical instrument appl! ications for Liquidmetal alloys. These include, but are not limited to, specialized blades, orthopedic instruments utilized for implant surgery procedures, dental devices and general surgery devices

The Company is engaged in product development efforts relating to various medical devices that could be made from bulk Liquidmetal alloys. The properties of bulk Liquidmetal alloys provide a combination of performance that makes them a replacement to incumbent materials, such as stainless steel and titanium.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Looking for a couple of near-term trades that have a decent shot at rallying even if the broad market feels like it might pull back? Then take a look at Liquidmetal Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT) and NanoTech Entertainment, Inc. (OTCMKTS:NTEK). Although both LQMT and NTEK will be dismissed by some traders simply because they're OTC-listed stocks, for those traders willing to look past the exchange and appreciate the opportunity, the risk-versus-reward ratio is actually quite compelling.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  With just a quick glance at its chart, Liquidmetal Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:LQMT) looks like little more than a tangled, indecisive mess. As you take a longer look at LQMT chart though, a modest bullish hint starts to appear. This may be one of the budding superstar stocks for Q4.

• [By CRWE]

  Today, LQMT�has shed (-6.60%) down -0.01 at $.13 with 950,168 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 1:45PM�EDT October 14, 2013).

  Liquidmetal Technologies previously reported delivery of its customized induction melt system, developed to adapt standard plastic injection molding machines to manufacture Liquidmetal components.

  After extensive revisions and trials with the current Liquidmetal system, Liquidmetal Technologies and Engel Austria GmbH (Engel), a Certified Liquidmetal Partner, have agreed to a configuration that can be commercially supplied and supported by Engel. The Liquidmetal-designed system has been shipped to Engel to be installed as part of a standard injection-molding machine.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: ProShares UltraShort FTSE China 25 (FXP)

ProShares UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (the Fund) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the inverse (opposite) of the daily performance of the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (the Index). The Index consists of 25 of the largest and most liquid Chinese stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). This free float-adjusted Index caps the weight of any of constituent stock at 10% to ensure broad representation of the Chinese economy. The Fund takes positions in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as -200% of the daily return of the Index. The Index is a price return index. The Fund�� investment advisor is ProShare Advisors LLC. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By pamatlarge]

  Three short ETFs are designed to profit from China�� economic downward slide. The ProShares Short FTSE China 25 (YXI), an unleveraged ETF, holds shares in iShares FTSE China Large-Cap (FXI) swaps. Investors looking to magnify their returns can choose from two leveraged short ETFs: ProShares Ultra Short FTSE China 25 (FXP) and Direxion Daily China Bear 3x Shares (YANG). Both ProShares Ultra Short and Direxion Daily hold shares that increase in value three times faster than an unleveraged ETF. The downside is that the per share price of these leveraged ETFs also drops three times faster.

Best High Tech Companies To Invest In 2014: Bowl America Inc (BWL.A)

Bowl America Incorporated, incorporated in July 22, 1958, is engaged in the entertainment business. The Company operates in one segment. Its principal source of revenue consists of fees charged for the use of bowling lanes and other facilities and from the sale of food and beverages for consumption on the premises. Merchandise sales, including food and beverages, were approximately 30% of operating revenues. The balance of operating revenues (approximately 70%) represents fees for bowling and related services. During the fiscal year ended July, 1 2012 (fiscal 2012), the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries operated 19 bowling centers. These 19 bowling centers contain a total of 756 lanes. As of September 1, 2012 the Company and its subsidiaries operated 10 bowling centers in the greater metropolitan area of Washington, D.C., one bowling center in the metropolitan area of Baltimore, Maryland, one bowling center in Orlando, Florida, three bowling centers in the metropolitan area of Jacksonville, Florida, and four bowling centers in the metropolitan area of Richmond, Virginia.

These establishments are air-conditioned with facilities for service of food and beverages, game rooms, rental lockers, and meeting room facilities. All centers provide shoes for rental, and bowling balls are provided free. In addition, each center retails bowling accessories. Most locations are equipped for glow-in-the-dark bowling, popular for parties and non-league bowling. The bowling equipment essential for the Company's operation is readily available. Two of the Company's bowling centers are located in leased premises, and the remaining seventeen centers are owned by the Company.

The Company competes with Brunswick Corporation and AMF Bowling Worldwide, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fredrik Arnold]

  The balance of the top ten included one technology firm, AT&T Inc. (T) in fourth place; one consumer goods, Altria Group Inc. (MO), placed fifth; Bowl America Class A (BWL.A) in seventh place was the lone service dog. Two utilities, Northwest Natural Gas (NWN), and Consolidated Edison (ED), in ninth and tenth places completed the representation of market sectors in the champions index.