Friday, August 15, 2014

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now

ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act) has dominated headlines since the new Health Insurance Marketplace opened for business on Oct. 1. Amid controversy, misunderstanding and technical glitches, the many positive changes that ObamaCare brings to health care have gotten lost in the shuffle. One such change pertains to the types of services that are covered by health insurance plans: Starting Jan. 1, 2014, all health insurance plans offered to individuals or through the small-group market to employers with 50 or fewer employees are required to provide coverage for an Essential Health Benefits (EHB) package.

Covered Benefits

A healthcare expense is ��overed��if your plan benefits are applied to the item or service. In contrast, if an expense is not covered, your plan benefits will not be applied; that is, you will be responsible for 100% of the costs, and nothing will count towards meeting your plan deductible or out-of-pocket limit. If an expense is covered, you might still be responsible for 100% or a portion of the costs, but any amount you pay will count toward your deductible or coinsurance. In other cases, insurance might cover 100% of the service. As long as plan benefits apply to the item or service, it�� considered a covered benefit. The extent to which it�� covered depends on the item or service, and on your particular health insurance plan.

Top Valued Stocks For 2015: Roper Industries Inc.(ROP)

Roper Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes radio frequency (RF) products and services, industrial technology products, energy systems and controls, and medical and scientific imaging products and software. Its Medical and Scientific Imaging segment offers patient positioning devices, 3-D measurement technology, diagnostic and therapeutic disposable products, ultrasound bladder volume measurement instruments, and video laryngoscopes; digital imaging products and software; and handheld and vehicle mount computers and software. The company?s Energy Systems and Controls segment produces control systems, fluid properties testing equipment, industrial valves and controls, sensors and controls, and non-destructive inspection and measurement products and solutions. Its Industrial Technology segment produces water and fluid handling pumps, equipment and consumables, leak testing equipment, flow measurement and metering equipment, water meter, and automatic meter reading products and systems. The company?s RF Technology segment provides radio frequency identification communication technology and software solutions that are used in toll and traffic systems and processing; security and access control; campus card systems; software-as-a-service in the freight matching and food industries; and metering and remote monitoring applications. It markets its products to RF applications, medical, water, energy, research, education, software-as-a-service-based information networks, and security markets. The company distributes its products through direct sales personnel, manufacturers? representatives, value added resellers, original equipment manufacturers, and distributors. It principally operates in the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Roper Industries, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is based in Sarasota, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Lauren Pollock]

    Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in Monday’s session are Merck(MRK) & Co., Biogen Idec Inc.(BIIB) and Roper Industries Inc.(ROP)

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Roper Industries (NYSE: ROP  ) reported earnings on July 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended June 30 (Q2), Roper Industries met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

  • [By Rich Duprey]

    It's a bit incongruous, but industrial manufacturing specialist Roper� (NYSE: ROP  ) is now the proud owner of Managed Health Care Associates, a New Jersey-based supplier of services for�alternate site health-care providers.�The transaction was valued at approximately $1 billion, and was funded from Roper's�available cash and borrowings under its credit facility.

  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Roper Industries (NYSE: ROP  ) reported earnings on April 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Roper Industries missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO)

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on June 29, 1983, is engaged in the development of a new generation of vaccines, called synthetic vaccines, focused on cancers and infectious diseases. The Company's SynCon technology enables the design of universal vaccines capable of providing cross-protection against existing or changing strains of pathogens, such as influenza and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The Company's electroporation delivery technology uses brief, controlled electrical pulses to increase cellular uptake of the vaccine. Its clinical programs include cervical dysplasia (therapeutic), avian influenza (preventive), prostate cancer (therapeutic), leukemia (therapeutic), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV vaccines. It is advancing preclinical research and clinical development for a universal seasonal/pandemic influenza vaccine, as well as preclinical work for other products, including malaria and prostate cancer vaccines. Its partners and collaborators include University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health/Malaria Vaccine Initiative (PATH/MVI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Merck, ChronTech, University of Southampton, United States Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP), the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and HIV Vaccines Trial Network (HVTN). As of December 31, 2011 it owned 16.1% interest in VGX Int��.

Inovio�� Solution

The Company�� synthetic vaccine platform consists of its SynCon vaccine design process and electroporation delivery technology. It has developed a preclinical and clinical stage pipeline of vaccines. The Company�� synthetic vaccines are designed to prevent a disease (prophylactic vaccines) or treat an existing disease (therapeutic vaccines). Its synthetic vaccine consists of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plasmid encoding a selected antigen! (s), which is introduced into cells of humans or animals with the purpose of evoking an immune response to the encoded antigen. The Company�� synthetic vaccines are designed to generate specific antibody and/or T-cell responses.

The Company�� SynCon technology provides processes that employ bioinformatics, which combine extensive genetic data and sophisticated algorithms. Its design process uses the genetic make-up of a common antigen(s) from multiple strains of a virus within a viral sub-type or taxonomic group (family) of pathogens, such as HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza and other diseases to synthetically create a new antigen for the desired pathogen target that does not exist in nature. Its synthetic vaccine candidates are being delivered into cells of the body using its electroporation (EP) DNA delivery technology.

Cancer Synthetic Vaccines

The Company has two broad types of cancer vaccines: preventive (or prophylactic) vaccines, which are intended to prevent cancer from developing in healthy people, and treatment (or therapeutic) vaccines, which are intended to treat an existing cancer by strengthening the body�� natural defenses against the cancer. Two types of cancer preventive vaccines are available in the United States. The United States Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) has approved two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix that protect against infection by the two types of HPV-types 16 and 18-that cause approximately 70% of all cases of cervical cancer worldwide. In addition, Gardasil protects against infection by two additional HPV types, 6 and 11, which are responsible for about 90% of all cases of genital warts in males and females but do not cause cervical cancer.

Cervarix manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is composed of virus-like particles (VLPs) made with proteins from HPV types 16 and 18. Cervarix is approved for use in females��ages 10 to 25 for the prevention of cervical cancer caused by! HPV type! s 16 and 18. Gardasil manufactured by Merck, is approved for use in females for the prevention of cervical cancer, and some vulvar and vaginal cancers, caused by HPV types 16 and 18 and for use in males and females for the prevention of genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. The vaccine is approved for these uses in females and males ages 9 to 26. The FDA has also approved a cancer preventive vaccine that protects against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Inovio�� VGX-3100 is designed to raise immune responses against the E6 and E7 genes of HPV types 16 and 18 that are present in both pre-cancerous and cancerous cells transformed by these HPV types. E6 and E7 are oncogenes that play an integral role in transforming HPV-infected cells into cancerous cells. In March 2011, it initiated a randomized, double-blind Phase II study of VGX-3100 delivered using the CELLECTRA intramuscular electroporation device in women with HPV Type 16 or 18 and diagnosed with, but not yet treated for, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3. The study is designed to enroll 148 subjects. In January 2011, it announced the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Human Vaccines detailing potent immune responses in a preclinical study of its SynCon vaccine for prostate cancer targeting two antigens, prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA).

In January 2011, the Company announced the regulatory approval of a Phase II clinical trial (WIN Trial) to treat leukemia utilizing its new ELGEN 1000 automated vaccine delivery device. The single dose level, Phase II study, called WT1 immunity via DNA fusion gene vaccination in haematological malignancies by intramuscular injection followed by intramuscular electroporation. Cancer Vaccines encodes for hTERT, an antigen related to non-small cell lung, breast and prostate cancers. The vaccine is delivered using its electroporation delivery technology.

Infectious Disease Synthetic Vaccines

In Marc! h 2011, the Company announced the initiation of a follow-on open label, single dose Phase II clinical study in collaboration with ChronTech of the ChronVac-C HCV DNA vaccine delivered using its electroporation technology in treatment naive HCV infected individuals. Its HIV vaccines consist of candidates for HIV prevention, as well as therapy or treatment. PENNVAX-B is designed to target HIV clade B (most commonly found in the United States, North America, Australia and the European Union (EU). PENNVAX-G is designed to target HIV clades A, C and D, which are more commonly found in Asia, Africa, Russia and South America. This Phase I clinical study of PENNVAX-B (HVTN-080) vaccinated 48 healthy, HIV-negative volunteers to assess safety and levels of immune responses generated by Inovio�� PENNVAX-B vaccine delivered with its CELLECTRA electroporation device. PENNVAX-B is a SynCon vaccine that targets HIV gag, pol, and env proteins.

The Company�� VGX-3400X targets H5N1. The vaccine consists of three distinct DNA plasmids coded for a consensus hemagglutinin (HA) antigen derived from different H5N1 virus strains; a consensus neuraminidase (NA) antigen derived from different N1 sequences; and a consensus nucleoprotein (NP) fused to a small portion of the m2 protein (m2E) based on a broader cross-section of influenza viruses in addition to H5N1 and H1N1. Conventional vaccines are strain-specific and have limited ability to protect against genetic shifts in the influenza strains they target. They are therefore modified annually in anticipation of the next flu season�� new strain(s). It is focused on developing DNA-based influenza vaccines able to provide broad protection against known as well as newly emerging, unknown seasonal and pandemic influenza strains.

Animal Health/Veterinary

VGX Animal Health, Inc. (VGX AH), a majority-owned subsidiary, has licensed LifeTide, a plasmid-based growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) technology for swine. LifeTide is one of onl! y four DN! A-based treatments approved for use in animals and is the only DNA-based agent delivered using electroporation that has been granted marketing approval (Australia). VGX AH is also developing a GHRH-based treatment for cancer and anemia in dogs and cats. It is developing a synthetic vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) administered by its vaccine delivery technology. The FMD virus is one of the most infectious diseases affecting farm animals, including cattle, swine, sheep and goats, and is a serious threat to global food safety.

The Company competes with Crucell N.V, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Inc., Novartis, Inc., MedImmune and CSL.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: INO) was also up, gaining 10.53 percent to $3.57 after the company received the ��est Theraputic Vaccine��award at the World Vaccine Congress after the close Wednesday.

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bridgeline Digital Inc.(BLIN)

Bridgeline Digital, Inc. engages in the development of Web experience management (WEM) product and interactive technology solutions that help organizations to optimize business processes. Its iAPPS product suite includes iAPPS Content Manager that allows non-technical users to create, edit, and publish content through a browser-based interface; iAPPS Commerce, an online B2B and B2C eCommerce solution, which allows users to maximize and manage various aspects of commerce initiatives; and iAPPS Marketier, a marketing lifecycle management solution that comprises customer transaction analysis, email management, surveys and polls, event registration, and issue tracking to measure campaign return on investment and client satisfaction. The company also provides iAPPS Analyzer to manage, measure, and optimize Web properties by recording detailed events and mine data within a Web application for statistical analysis; and iAPPS Rapid Site for building custom Websites. It delivers it s iAPPS product suite through cloud-based software as a service business model or via a traditional perpetual licensing business model. The company?s end-to-end interactive technology solutions consist of digital strategy, user-centered design, Web application development, SharePoint development, rich media development, search engine optimization, and Web application hosting management. Bridgeline Digital serves various markets, such as financial services, consumer products and goods, health services and life sciences, high technology (software and hardware), retail brand names, transportation and storage, associations and foundations, and the U.S. Government through its direct sales force. The company was formerly known as Bridgeline Software, Inc. and changed its name to Bridgeline Digital, Inc. in March 2010. Bridgeline Digital, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Bryan Murphy]

    Congratulations to anyone who owned shares of Bridgeline Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN) before today. You're now up 35% for the day so far, and still counting. The big pop from BLIN stemmed from the announcement that it scored a pretty significant deal with an organization consisting of nearly 4000 dentists and doctors. The terms of the deal are simple enough... Bridgeline Digital will host and service websites for the practitioners in the group for a period of three years, and in return, BLIN will receive $7 million.

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Baidu Inc.(BIDU)

Baidu, Inc. provides Chinese and Japanese language Internet search services. Its search services enable users to find relevant information online, including Web pages, news, images, multimedia files, and blogs through the links provided on its Websites. The company also offers online community-based products and entertainment platforms; an instant messaging service; and a consumer-oriented e-commerce platform. In addition, it designs and delivers online marketing services and auction-based P4P services that enable its customers to reach users who search for information related to their products or services. The company serves online marketing customers consisting of small and medium sized enterprises, large domestic corporations, and Chinese divisions or subsidiaries of multinational corporations primarily operating in the medical, machinery, education, franchising, electronic products, e-commerce, ticketing, tourism, information technology, consumer products, real estate, entertainment, and financial services industries. It sells its online marketing services directly, as well as through its distribution network. The company was formerly known as Baidu.com, Inc. and changed its name to Baidu, Inc. in December 2008. Baidu, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By David Zeiler]

    In fact, one of the events that triggered Chinese interest in Bitcoin was in late October when Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq ADR: BIDU), a search engine company even more dominant in China than Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) is in the United States, announced it would take Bitcoin.

  • [By Eric Bleeker, CFA, Lyons George, and Alison Southwick]

    Chinese search giant�Baidu� (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) stole headlines this week, when it popped more than 10% after earnings. The catalyst for the surge in Baidu's share price was mobile; the company had been struggling to find traction with mobile advertising to offset slowing desktop spending. After being coy about how much mobile ad spend it was collecting, Baidu revealed that mobile was now contributing 10% of revenues and is growing fast.�

  • [By Rick Munarriz]

    There's a little more mobile muscle at Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU  ) , and Wall Street seems to like the new look.

    Shares of China's leading search engine opened 5% higher this morning after proposing a $1.9 billion deal for mobile apps marketplace giant 91 Wireless.

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.(REGN)

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products for the treatment of serious medical conditions in the United States. The company?s commercial product includes ARCALYST (rilonacept) injection for subcutaneous use for the treatment of cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, including familial cold auto-inflammatory syndrome and muckle-wells syndrome in adults and children. Its products under Phase III clinical development stage consist of VEGF Trap-Eye, an aflibercept ophthalmic solution developed using intraocular delivery for the treatment of serious eye diseases; ARCALYST for the prevention of gout flares in patients initiating uric acid-lowering treatment; and Aflibercept (VEGF Trap), which is developed in oncology. The company?s earlier stage clinical programs include various human antibodies, such as REGN727 for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol reduction, REGN88 for rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis; REGN668 for atopic dermatitis and asthma; REGN421 and REGN910 for oncology; REGN475 for the treatment of pain; and REGN728 and REGN846. It also conducts preclinical research programs in the areas of oncology and angiogenesis, ophthalmology, metabolic and related diseases, muscle diseases and disorders, inflammation and immune diseases, bone and cartilage, pain, cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases. The company distributes its products through third party service providers. It has strategic collaboration with sanofi-aventis Group to discover, develop, and commercialize human monoclonal antibodies; and Bayer HealthCare LLC to develop and commercialize VEGF Trap. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Tarrytown, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Maxx Chatsko]

    In the following video, Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko reviews the biggest catalysts for�Regeneron's� (NASDAQ: REGN  ) recent climb and near-rendezvous with $300 per share. The emerging biotech powerhouse has treated investors well in recent years -- returning more than 1,200% since 2008. While the company no doubt has a promising future, investors may be curious if things are getting too hot too fast. Did investors overreact to prior developments this year? Are shares priced for perfection? Or is $300 per share a benchmark that is actually within reach? The key lies in the pipeline.

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Ciber Inc (CBR)

CIBER, Inc. (CIBER) is a provider of information technology (IT), business consulting and outsourcing services. The Company is engaged in solving complex IT and business issues across industries, such as energy and utilities, telecommunications, retail, healthcare, financial services, entertainment and manufacturing. The Company operates in three segments: International, North America and IT Outsourcing. Its offerings are focused around a set of core competencies which include Application Development and Management (ADM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, Managed Services, Testing and Quality Assurance, Mobility Services and Digital Marketing. On March 9, 2012, the Company sold its Federal division to CRGT, Inc.

International

The Company�� CIBER International division delivers a mix of ERP and custom ADM solutions. CIBER International offers a range of services covering the IT solution lifecycle to both commercial enterprises and public sector organizations. Key geographies for its International division include the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Scandinavian region consisting of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The International division's enterprise solutions focus primarily on providing services related to ERP and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software products, as well as managed services. It also provides SAP Industry Solutions, such as retail, automotive and chemicals, and it is a value-added reseller of SAP software in some international geographies. Th Company works with Microsoft to deliver ERP and CRM solutions in selected international geographies.

North America

The Company�� North America division was formed during the year ended December, 31, 2011, through the combination of its former Custom Solutions division and substantially all of its former U.S. ERP division. Its North America division is organized by and operates in a matrix! of geographies and practices. Its North America division provides ADM services, IT Strategy and Architecture, Business Intelligence/Data Warehousing, Collaborative Solutions, CRM and Supply Chain. The division also offers consulting services to support multi-package ERP solutions from vendors, including Oracle (including E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards), SAP and Lawson, as well as several education management products. It is focused on industry solutions for vertical markets, such as telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, technology, state and local governments, higher education and entertainment.

The Company designs and develops custom-tailored offerings to suit its client's business needs. Its custom solutions provide a range of application portfolio management support, including analysis, design, development, testing, implementation, outsourcing and maintenance of business applications. Its service-oriented architectures, including J2EE and .NET, as well as traditional client/server and mainframe development. The Company also offers portal development, wireless and mobility applications and content delivery. The North America division is an Oracle Platinum Partner, which is a partnership in the Oracle Partner Network Specialized Program and a strategic partner to Oracle in several key industries, such as the public sector, higher education and food and beverage. Its Oracle, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards solutions involve building, integrating and supporting mission critical systems for real-time enterprises.

The Company�� North America division also is an SAP-certified global provider of application management services. The division's SAP solutions support their customers throughout the life cycle and include implementations and upgrades, extensions, integrations and customizations. The North America division has organized its SAP Practice to serve multiple vertical markets. In its SAP Commercial Practice, the North America division foc! uses on c! ustomers in retail, apparel and footwear, mining, metals, manufacturing, financial services and aerospace and defense industries. In its SAP Public Sector Practice, the North America division focuses on delivering solutions to state and local governments.

The North America division is a Certified Lawson Consulting Partner, providing business transformation projects in Lawson's target vertical markets through business process, change management and functional and technical services around Lawson technology. These target markets are healthcare, public sector, food and beverage and general manufacturing, for which it offers budgeting, financial processing and analysis, human capital management, sales order processing and manufacturing systems solutions.

IT Outsourcing

The Company�� IT Outsourcing division is a global business with domestic headquarters in Edison, New Jersey, and international presence throughout Europe. The division offers outsourced enterprise infrastructure management solutions, including managed hosted infrastructure, end user service desk and desktop services, remote infrastructure management (RIM) and application operations support. The IT Outsourcing division's data centers, service desk centers and global operations are located in the United States, United Kingdom, Poland, India and Spain. The division's Technology Solutions Group Practice focuses on providing customers with the infrastructure products and architecture. Offerings include enterprise servers, storage, middleware, integration services, assessments and related products required to support critical business applications.

The Company competes with Accenture plc, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, Infosys Technologies Limited, Perficient, Inc., Sapient Corp and The Hackett Group, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Ciber (NYSE: CBR  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

    The 10-second takeaway
    Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Ciber's revenues will drop -4.8% and EPS will grow from $0.00 per share the prior year.

10 Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Nanometrics Incorporated(NANO)

Nanometrics Incorporated provides high-performance process control metrology systems used primarily in the fabrication of integrated circuits, high-brightness LEDs, data storage devices, and solar photovoltaics. It offers automated metrology systems that provide optical critical dimension, thin film metrology, and wafer stress for transistor and interconnect metrology applications; the Lynx cluster metrology platform for use in wafer metrology applications, including optical critical dimension, overlay, and thin film process control; and integrated metrology systems, which provide near real-time measurements. The company's automated and integrated systems are also used in various process control applications, including dimension and film thickness measurement, device topography, and defect inspection, as well as used in the analysis of other film properties, such as optical, electrical, and material characteristics. Its process control solutions are deployed in the fabrica tion process from front-end-of-line substrate manufacturing to high-volume production of semiconductors and other devices, and to wafer-scale packaging applications. The company sells its metrology and inspection systems directly and through original equipment manufacturer channels to semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers, and producers of high-brightness-LEDs, solar photovoltaics, data storage devices, silicon wafers, and photomasks worldwide. Nanometrics Incorporated was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Steve Symington]

    What:�Shares of Nanometrics Incorporated� (NASDAQ: NANO  ) �popped more than 10% during Wednesday's intraday trading, then settled to close up 7% after the company turned in better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.�

No comments:

Post a Comment