At Tier 1 Investments, I seek out and invest in elite businesses. These include companies with the most valuable brands, best management, superior products and services, and strongest competitive advantages.
You may have heard your friends refer to Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM ) as "whole paycheck," in reference to its high prices. Whether that's a bad rap or not, perceptions can damage a brand. But can the grocery stalwart clear out this bruised fruit without getting into a defensive price-war?
It's hard to believe that a grocery store could book investors more than 30 times their initial investment, but that's just what Whole Foods has done for those who saw the organic trend coming some 20 years ago. However, it may not be too late to participate in the long-term growth of this organic foods powerhouse. In this brand-new premium report on the company, we walk through the key must-know items for every Whole Foods investor, including the main opportunities and threats facing the company. So make sure to claim your copy today by clicking here.
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: Bona Film Group Limited(BONA)
Bona Film Group Limited distributes films in the People?s Republic of China. It distributes films to movie theaters, as well as to non-theatrical distribution channels, including DVD and Blu-ray and other home video products; Internet and digital distribution; in-flight entertainment; and cable, satellite, and broadcast televisions. The company also invests in the production of Chinese and Hong Kong films in order to obtain the distribution rights for movie theaters and non-theatrical channels. In addition, Bona Film Group operates six movie theaters in five cities of the People?s Republic of China; operates a talent agency business that represents artists; and involves in film advertising and television production businesses. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.
Advisors' Opinion:- [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 Bona Film Group (Nasdaq: BONA ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Bryan Murphy]
With just a quick glance at the chart, Bona Film Group Ltd (NASDAQ:BONA) doesn't look like anything other than an erratic mess. When you take a step back and take a look at the longer-term chart of BONA, however, you can see the last several weeks have ushered in a major bullish change of direction for the stock... meaning now's a great time to start wading into a position.
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: Eastern Virginia Bankshares Inc.(EVBS)
Eastern Virginia Bankshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for EVB, a state-chartered community bank that provides a range of personal and commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses primarily in eastern Virginia. The company offers various interest-bearing deposits, including checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit and other time deposit accounts, as well as noninterest-bearing demand deposits. It also provides commercial business, industrial, agricultural, one-to-four family residential real estate, multi-family residential real estate, construction, farmland, non-farm and non-residential real estate, and consumer loans. In addition, the company, through the subsidiaries of its bank, offers investment brokerage services; originates and sells residential mortgages; underwrites and sells title insurance to mortgage loan customers; and sells various insurance products as an agent. As of December 31, 2010, it own ed and operated 24 full-service branch offices that serve customers in Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, King and Queen, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, New Kent, Richmond, Northumberland, Southampton, Surry, and Sussex counties, as well as in the city of Colonial Heights. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Tappahannock, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Bristol Voss]
Eastern Virginia Bankshares (Nasdaq: EVBS) is a bank holding company. It received $24 million in financial bailout funds, but it's been released from its agreement with regulators because it raised enough money through private placement. Its $66.7 million market cap puts it in the middle of the group, although its share price is currently the lowest at just over $6. It has a forward P/E of 9.2, but its 1.1% dividend yield is the least of the three. Net income and earnings were down for the most recent quarter, mainly on charge-offs for non-performing and uncollectible assets and other losses.
5 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Durect Corporation(DRRX)
DURECT Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company, develops pharmaceutical products and therapies based on its proprietary drug formulations and delivery platform technologies. The company sells ALZET osmotic pumps for animal research use; LACTEL biodegradable polymers, which are used as raw materials in pharmaceutical and medical products; and excipients for pharmaceutical and medical device clients for use as raw materials in their products. Its product pipeline consists of Remoxy, an oral oxycodone gelatin capsule for the treatment of chronic pain under approval stage with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; POSIDUR, a Phase III clinical stage sustained-release formulation of bupivacaine for the treatment of post-surgical pain; ELADUR, a Phase II clinical stage transdermal bupivacaine patch intended to provide continuous delivery of bupivacaine for up to three days from a single application for pain; and TRANSDUR, a Phase II clinical stage transdermal sufentanil patch intended to provide continuous delivery of sufentanil for up to seven days from a single application for chronic pain. The company?s Phase II clinical stage products comprise ORADUR-based opioid for the treatment of pain; and ORADUR-ADHD for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It also conducts various research programs covering diseases and medical conditions of the central nervous system, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The company has strategic agreement with Hospira, Inc.; Alpharma Ireland Limited; Nycomed Danmark ApS; Pain Therapeutics, Inc.; Pfizer Inc; Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and EpiCept Corporation. DURECT Corporation was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 name that's starting to move within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Durect (DRRX), which develops pharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug delivery technology platforms. This stock is off to a hot start in 2013, with shares up sharply by 41%.
If you take a look at the chart for Durect, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the last two months and change, with shares moving between $1 on the downside and $1.34 on the upside. Shares of DRRX have now started to flirt with that $1.34 major resistance level on Thursday, since the stock has hit an intraday high of $1.35 a share with strong upside volume flows. This could be signaling that shares of DRRX are ready to break out above the upper-end of its recent range and trend substantially higher.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in DRRX if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $1.34 to $1.35 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 679,480 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then DRRX will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone from May that started near $1.80 a share. If DRRX gets into that gap with volume, then this stock could easily trend north of $2 a share.
Traders can look to buy DRRX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at its 50-day moving average of $1.16 a share or its 200-day moving average at $1.11 a share. One can also buy DRRX off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: AEterna Zentaris Inc.(AEZS)
Aeterna Zentaris Inc. operates as a late-stage drug development company specialized in oncology and endocrine therapy. Its lead oncology compounds include perifosine, a PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitor that is in Phase 3 registration trial for refractory advanced colorectal cancer and multiple myeloma; and AEZS-108, a doxorubicin-targeted conjugate in Phase II for the treatment of ovarian, endometrial, castration refractory prostate, and refractory bladder cancer. The company?s lead endocrinology compound, AEZS-130, is an oral ghrelin antagonist in Phase III trial as a diagnostic test for adult growth hormone deficiency. Its pipeline also includes earlier-stage compounds, such as AEZS-112 that is in a Phase I trial in advanced solid tumors and lymphoma, as well as AEZS-120, an anti-cancer vaccine in pre-clinical development. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Quebec City, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ: AEZS ) has made a significant change in its executive suite and boardroom. David Dodd is now the company's chief executive and a member of its board of directors. He succeeds Juergen Engel. The firm did not provide the reasons for the succession.
- [By Sean Williams]
High-risk, high-reward suggestions
Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL ) : In November Exelixis had its first drug, known as Cometriq, approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat metastatic medullary thyroid cancer. Although the market for this disease is pretty small -- somewhere between 500 and 700 people in the U.S. -- the near-tripling in progression-free survival, or PFS, in trials would indicate to me a strong likelihood that it could translate to success in other cancer types. In mid-stage prostate cancer trials, for instance, Cometriq was found to be particularly effective in dealing with bone metastases as a second or third-line treatment. We won't get any additional data until next year on Cometriq, but positive data on the prostate cancer front could be enough to double its share price if the PFS, compared to the placebo, is notably strong. ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: IMGN ) : In February, Roche�and ImmunoGen received approval for Kadcyla as a secondary treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer. This is ImmunoGen's first drug approval, and it gives the company a chance to showcase what I feel is one of the future pathways of fighting cancer -- its targeted-antibody payload, or TAP, technology. ImmunoGen's TAP technology works by attaching a toxin -- in this case Roche's Herceptin -- to an antibody, and teaching that antibody to release the to
There's an undeniably large dollar amount being pledged to cancer research, but, even if a drug gains approval, that's no guarantee that the biotech or pharmaceutical company behind that drug will be a success. Some of the biggest gains (and losses) come from taking a leap of faith based on clinical data, or the approval of one or two drugs or devices within a pipeline. After that, it's all up to the drug or devices' effectiveness, its pricing, and the success of the marketing teams promoting the drug or device. Here are a few high-risk, high-reward names you should be keeping your eye on. - [By Sean Williams]
What's coming down the pipeline
Avastin: Surprise: It's Roche's (NASDAQOTH: RHHBY ) wonder drug yet again! Roche's Avastin is in the process of being tested as a treatment for recurrent endometrial cancer and demonstrated promising results in a mid-stage trial according to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Avastin, which is an angiogenesis inhibitor (a fancy way of saying it inhibits blood vessel growth), was tested on 52 evaluable patients and delivered a progression-free survival of at least six months for 21 of them. Overall median PFS was 4.2 months, and median overall survival came in at 10.5 months. Don't be surprised if Roche decides to pursue further studies of Avastin in recurrent endometrial cancer with these results.� AEZS-108: Currently in late-stage development by Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ: AEZS ) , a holding in my own portfolio, AEZS-108 is an intravenous treatment composed of a synthetic peptide carrier and doxorubicin that targets Luteinizing Hormone Releasing Hormone-receptor expressing tumors. That series of scientific jargon simply means it targets cancer cells with minimal healthy cell death relative to the current standards of treatment. In mid-stage trials, AEZS-108 delivered an overall response rate of 30.8% and a clinical benefit rate of 74.4%. These figures were enough to get AEZS-108 a special protocol assessment (SPA), which should streamline its approval if these results stay consistent in late-stage studies.
As we saw with the current treatment options, the endometrial cancer pipeline isn't filled with a lot of choices, but they are at least more encouraging than the standard care treatments we've seen over the past three decades.Your best investment
With very few investable options to choose from, since many of these treatments are off patent as they're decades old, I'm going to split my decision this week between Roche and Aeterna Zentaris for obvious reasons.
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: MEDIFAST INC(MED)
Medifast, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and sale of weight management and disease management products, and other consumable health and diet products in the United States. The company?s product lines include weight and disease management, meal replacement, and vitamins. It also operates weight control centers that offer Medifast programs for weight loss and maintenance, customized patient counseling, and inbody composition analysis. The company markets its products under the Medifast and Essential brand names, including shakes, appetite suppression shakes, women?s health shakes, diabetics shakes, joint health shakes, coronary health shakes, calorie burn drinks, calorie burn flavor infusers, antioxidant shakes, antioxidant flavor infusers, bars, crunch bars, soups, chili, oatmeal, pudding, scrambled eggs, hot cocoa, cappuccino, chai latte, iced teas, fruit drinks, pretzels, puffs, brownie, pancakes, soy crisps, crackers, and omega 3 and digestive health products. Medifast Inc. sells its products through various channels of distribution comprising Web, call center, independent health advisors, medical professionals, weight loss clinics, and direct consumer marketing supported via the phone and the Web; Take Shape for Life, a physician led network of independent health coaches; and weight control centers. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Holly LaFon] ast produces, distributes and sells weight and health management products with the brand names Medifast, Take Shape for Life, Hi-Energy Weight Control Centers and Woman�� Wellbeing.
Its return on assets in the third quarter of 2011 was 19.6%, which has been increasing in the past several years. The average return on assets for the specialty retail industry is 10.48% for the trailing 12 months.
The company�� total assets amounted to $94 million in 2010, which increased from $62.8 million in 2009. Net income also increased to $19.6 million in 2010 from $12 million in 2009.
Boston Beer Inc. (SAM)
Boston Beer Inc. is the largest brewer of handcrafted beers in America. Boston Beer is a growing company that recently saw a large increase in its return on assets. It increased from 19.3% in 2010 to 29.7% in 2011, and was negative as recently as 2008. The average return on assets for the beverages industry in the trailing 12 months is 9.47%.
In 2011, the company�� total assets increased to $272.5 million from $258.5 million in 2010. Net income increased to $66 million from $50 million.
Alliances Resources Partners (ARLP)
Alliance Resources Partners is a coal producer and marketer primarily in the eastern U.S. Its ROA has been increasing since 2008 and increased to 22.5% in 2011 from 21.4% in 2010. The average return on assets for the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry in the trailing 12 months is 24.47%.
In 2011, its total assets increased to $1.7 billion from $1.1 billion in 2010. Its net income increased to $389 million from $321 million.
Factset Research Systems Inc. (FDS)
Factset researches global market trends and develops analytical tools for investors. Of all of GuruFocus��5-star predictable companies, it has the highest return on assets at 27%. ROA has been increasing over the past several years. The average return on assets for the software industry for the trailing 12 m
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of Nutrisystem have gained 20% to $18.05 at 1:34 p.m., while Weight Watchers (WTW) has risen 3.6% to $39.42. Medifast (MED), however, has dropped 1.9% to $24.94.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Medifast (NYSE: MED) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $80.83 million.
Full House Resorts (NASDAQ: FLL) is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.06 per share on revenue of $33.24 million.
- [By Robert Hanley]
Consumer-goods marketer Blyth (NYSE: BTH ) , owner of weight-loss upstart ViSalus, has been in the doghouse lately, sitting near a 52-week low due to poor results in its weight-loss unit.� Despite a large potential customer base of overweight people worldwide, the industry has had difficulty generating growth lately, with data provider Marketdata Enterprises estimating that industry sales rose only 1.7% in 2012.� However, Blyth caught a bid in late October from a proposed combination with marketing-services provider CVSL, indicating that some people see incremental value in Blyth's businesses.�So, should small investors bet on this small cap or should they focus their attention on Weight watchers International (NYSE: WTW ) and Medifast (NYSE: MED ) instead?
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK)
AMR Corporation (AMR), incorporated in October 1982, operates in the airline industry. The Company�� principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle - American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
American, AMR Eagle and the AmericanConnection airline served more than 250 cities in approximately 50 countries with, on average, 3,400 daily flights and the combined network fleet numbered approximately 900 aircraft as of December 31, 2011. American Airlines is also a founding member of the oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, JAL, Malev Hungarian, Mexicana, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. Together, oneworld members serve 750 destinations in approximately 150 countries, with about 8,500 daily departures. American is also one of the scheduled air freight carriers in the world, providing a range of freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system onboard American�� passenger fleet.
To improve access to each other�� markets, American has established marketing relationships with other airlines and rail companies. As of December 31, 2011, American had marketing relationships with Air Berlin, Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines , British Airways, Cape Air, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern ! A! irlines, Dragonair, Deutsche Bahn German Rail, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, GOL, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jet Airways, JetStar Airways, LAN (includes LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru), Niki Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
American has established the AAdvantage frequent flyer program (AAdvantage). AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection carrier or by using services of other participants in the AAdvantage program. Mileage credits can be redeemed for free, discounted or upgraded travel on American, American Eagle or other participating airlines, or for other awards. American sells mileage credits and related services to other participants in the AAdvantage program. There are over 1,000 program participants, including a credit card issuer, hotels, car rental companies, and other products an d services companies in the AAdvantage program. As of December 31, 2011, AAdvantage had approximately 69 million total members.
The Company competes with Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Delta Air Lines (Delta), Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways (JetBlue), Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines (Southwest) and AirTran Airways (Air Tran), Spirit Airlines, United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental), US Airways and Virgin America Airlines.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Insider Monkey]
Last but not the least is US Airways Group (LCC), in which Y/Cap slightly increased its position, now owning around $7.9 million. U.S. Airways is currently on the minds of many investors, mainly due to its plans to merge with American Airlines parent AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK). While European regulators approved the merger, the U.S. Department of Justice put a spoke in the wheel, and is trying to block the move. The companies filed a motion to the court to set the trial date for November 12. Amid these actions, U.S. Airways and American Airlines prolonged the outside date at which one of the companies can terminate the proposed merger.
- [By Tom Sandlow]
Synopsis: As a result of the terms of its bankruptcy and the proposed merger with U.S. Airways (LCC), an equity investment in AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK) is equivalent to a series of derivatives on LCC. At current market values, AAMRQ is undervalued by approximately 40%. It is possible to create an arbitrage position that should capture this pricing differential over the next 6 months.
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: Discovery Minerals Ltd (DSCR)
Discovery Minerals Ltd., formerly Dhanoa Minerals Ltd., incorporated on July 11, 2005, is an exploration-stage company. The Company�� principal business is the acquisition and exploration of menial resources located in the United States, Central and South America. The Company operates in only one business segment, namely natural resource exploration, mining and recovery.
The Company does not own any properties that contain mineral reserves that are economically recoverable. The Company's projects include Turquoise Mountain Project and Yukon Mining Project.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap mining stocks Discovery Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: DSCR), Zinco Do Brasil Inc (OTCMKTS: ZNBR) and Amalgamated Gold and Silver Inc (OTCMKTS: BCHS) have been getting some extra attention lately as one stock surged last Friday while the other two are or have been in the past, the subject of paid promotions. It goes without saying though that small cap mining stocks tend to be riskier than your average stock. But do these three small cap mining stocks have what it takes to produce a mother lode for investors? Here is a deeper dig into all three:
Discovery Minerals Ltd (OTCMKTS: DSCR) Is Branching Out Into Mining AppsSmall cap Discovery Minerals Ltd is a production stage company formed to acquire and develop natural resource properties. Activities include gold, precious metals and petroleum minerals, including rare earth minerals production and sales. In addition, the company has initiated a new program to evaluate undervalued assets, including clean tech and alternative energy investments, for potential addition to its portfolio. On Friday, Discovery Minerals Ltd surged 25% to $0.001 for a market cap of $1.66 million plus DSCR is down 73% over the past year and down 97.1% over the past five years according to Google Finance.
Hot Defensive Stocks To Own Right Now: Veolia Environnement(VE)
Veolia Environnement S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides environmental management services to individuals, public authorities, and industrial and commercial services customers worldwide. It operates in four segments: Water, Environmental Services, Energy Services, and Transportation. The Water segment offers water and wastewater services, including the management and operation of large-scale and customized drinking water plants, wastewater decontamination and recycling plants, drinking water distribution networks, and wastewater collection networks; and provision of call centers and billing services. The Environmental Services segment provides waste management and logistical services, which include waste collection, waste processing, cleaning of public spaces, maintenance of production equipment, treatment of polluted soil, and management of waste discharge at industrial sites. The Energy Services segment offers a range of energy management services comprising o peration of heating and cooling networks, decentralized energy production, thermal and multi-technical services, industrial utilities, installation and maintenance of production equipment, integrated facilities management, and electrical services on public streets and roads; and provides heating systems maintenance services, plumbing and renewable energy services, and meter-reading services. The Transportation segment operates various bus networks, suburban trains, tramways, metros, and ferries, as well as offers customized transportation-on-demand services. This segment also provides intercity and regional passenger transportation, infrastructure management and airport services, and transportation management services. The company was formerly known as Vivendi Environnement and changed its name to Veolia Environnement S.A. in April 2003. Veolia Environnement S.A. was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Paris, France.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Benjamin Shepherd]
The first is to focus on infrastructure companies that lay the groundwork for easier water access, such as France-based Veolia Environment (NYSE: VE).
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