Wireless industry investors are likely transfixed by Sprint Nextel's (NYSE: S ) current limbo regarding acquisitions and suitors. Beyond overt headlines, Sprint has a covert secret that makes its business more interesting for the long term -- and even transformative for the wireless industry at large. Given this factor, I wish I could put Sprint on the watchlist for the real-money Prosocial Portfolio I'm managing for Fool.com.
However, I am paying attention to this stock, but I just can't buy. Here's why.
Headline drama
Who will acquire Sprint has been making major headlines this week. Japan's SoftBank made a $20.1 billion offer for the wireless company, but DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH ) made an unsolicited $25.5 billion offer.
DISH has criticized the SoftBank deal, floating the argument that if the Japanese company buys Sprint, it could open the U.S. up to security issues, such as Chinese cyberattacks.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)
Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Headlam Grp(HEAD.L)
Headlam Group plc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the sale, marketing, supply, and distribution of floor covering and other ancillary products. It primarily offers carpets, residential vinyl, laminate, wood, and vinyl tiles. The company provides its products to independent flooring retailers and contractors in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Headlam Group plc is headquartered in Birmingham, the United Kingdom.
Top Construction Material Stocks To Watch Right Now: Royal Gold Inc.(RGLD)
Royal Gold, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, acquires and operates precious metals royalties. The company owns royalty interests in various production, development, evaluation, and exploration stage projects, which explore for gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc metals. It holds royalty interests in properties located in the United States, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, the Russia Federation, Spain, and Tunisia. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Denver, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vatalyst]
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado and traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “RGLD,” and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “RGL.”, Royal Gold, Inc. owns and manages royalties on gold and other precious metal production in some of the world's most prolific gold regions. This stock posted a 15% return this year and more than 90% quarterly earnings growth rate. Royal Gold Inc., has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion and a trailing P/E ratio of 75.7x. RGLD is expected to earn $0.09 per share in 2012.
As a royalty company, Royal Gold is also primarily an investor, so it painstakingly chooses its portfolio investment while eliminating the operational risks. RGLD's current stock price ($65.4) shows a positive sign as it is within 15% of the 52-week high ($67.29) and is showing good relative strength to the market. Notable strengths are low gearing and positive cash flow from operations even though ownership is mostly external to the company. Analysts refer to the stock as an ‘uncut gem’ due to its small capitalization still under the institutional buying radar, so no surprises when this stock really takes off.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Bandera Gold Ltd. (BGL.V)
Bandera Gold Ltd., a junior natural resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Colombia and Mexico. It holds 80% interest in the Belmira gold-silver project, which covers an area of approximately 6,845 hectares of property area located in Colombia, South America. The company also has 60% interests in Cinco Minas project that covers approximately 10,750 hectares located approximately 100 km northwest of the City of Guadalajara, Mexico; and Gran Cabrera project covering an area of approximately 4,300 hectares located approximately 35 km northwest of Cinco Minas, Mexico. Bandera Gold Ltd. was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Edmonton, Canada.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: MercadoLibre Inc.(MELI)
MercadoLibre, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, hosts online commerce and payments platforms in Latin America. Its services are designed to provide its users with mechanisms to buy, sell, pay for, and collect on e-commerce transactions. The company principally offers MercadoLibre marketplace, an automated online commerce service, which permits businesses and individuals to list items and conduct their sales and purchases online in a fixed-price or auction-based format. Its MercadoLibre marketplace enables registered users to list and purchase motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and other services through online classified listings; and Internet users to browse through various products and services that are listed on its Website and to register with MercadoLibre to list, bid for, and purchase items and services. The company also provides MercadoPago, an integrated online payments solution to facilitate transactions on and off the MercadoLibre marketplace by providing a mechanism that allows its users to send and receive payments online. In addition, it offers MercadoClics advertising program that allows businesses to promote their products and services on the Internet. This program enables users and advertisers to place, display, and/or text advertisements on its Web pages to promote their brands and offerings. Further, the company provides MercadoShops on-line stores solution, a software-as-a-service, which allows users to set-up, manage, and promote their own on-line Webstores. As of December 31, 2010, the company operated online commerce platforms directed towards Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela; online payments solutions directed towards Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and Colombia; and a real estate classified platform that covers various areas in Florida. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By McWillams]
MercadoLibre (MELI), located in Argentina, is the eBay of South and Central America — in fact, eBay (EBAY) owns 18% of the company. Most sellers are businesses. Growth is virtually assured. The barrier to entry is very high. And profit margins are over 20%. MercadoLibre is the smallest company of these 9, as measured by revenues.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: NVIDIA Corp (NVDA.F)
NVIDIA Corporation (NVIDIA), incorporated on February 24, 1998, is engaged in creating the graphics chips used in personal computers (PCs). The Company operates in three segments: graphics processing unit (GPU) Business, professional solutions business (PSB) and consumer products business (CPB). Its mobile processors are used in cell phones, tablets and auto infotainment systems. Designers use GPUs to create visual effects in movies and create everything from golf clubs to jumbo jets. NVIDIA solutions are based on two technologies: the GPU and the mobile processor. GPUs are the engines of visual computing, the science and art of using computers to understand, create and enhance images. It has three GPU product brands: GeForce, which creates visual experiences for gamers; Quadro, which is engaged in visual computing for designers and digital artists, and Tesla, which accelerates applications for scientists and researchers. Tegra is its mobile processor and is built for a pplications ranging from smartphones, tablets and notebook PCs to televisions and cars. During the fiscal year ended January 29, 2012 (fiscal 2012), it acquired Icera Inc.In fiscal 2012, it launched Project Maximus, which uses the compute power of Tesla with the visualization power of Quadro to merge the design and simulation stages into one workstation. In May 2012, the Company and Intellectual Ventures announced that they jointly acquired a set of patents developed and owned by IPWireless. The portfolio comprises approximately 500 patents granted and pending in the wireless communications area, including concepts in LTE, LTE-Advanced and 3G/4G technologies.
GPU Business
The Company�� GPU business revenue includes primarily sales of its GeForce discrete and chipset products that support desktop and notebook PCs plus license fees from Intel and sales of memory products. It also accelerates video editing and high definition (HD), content creation by consumers. GeForce GPUs power PCs made by or distributed! ! by PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), in the world. Its media and communications processor (MCP) chipsets primarily comprised of its ION motherboard GPUs, a product reaching the end of its life cycle.
Professional Solutions Business
The Company�� PSB consists of its Quadro professional workstation products and its Tesla computing products. Its Quadro products are designed to deliver the graphics performance and application compatibility for professionals. Tesla applies the processing power of its GPUs to general-purpose computing problems. Quadro products add functionality, such as photorealistic rendering, to computer-aided design workstations, and are used in professional video editing applications and for generating special effects in movies. Tesla is used in supercomputing centers and in oil exploration; other applications include accelerating drug discovery, weather simulations and derivative price modeling.
Consumer P roducts Business
The Company�� CPB includes its Tegra system-on-chip products for smartphones, tablets, automotive infotainment systems, and other similar devices, and Icera baseband processors. The Tegra revenues are generated by sales in smart phones and tablets. CPB also includes license, royalty, other revenue and associated costs related to video game consoles and other digital consumer electronics devices. NVIDIA Tegra mobile products implement design techniques, both inside the chips and at the system level. These technologies enhance visual display capabilities, connectivity and minimize chip and system-level power consumption. During fiscal 2012, it launched Tegra 3, quad-core mobile computing chip, bringing PC levels of performance within the power envelope of a cellular phone chip. It also launched DirectTouch.
The Company competes with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel, Matrox Electronics Systems Ltd., VIA Technologies, Inc., ARM Hol dings plc, Broadcom Corporation, Freescale Semiconducto! r Inc! .,! Fujits! u Limited, Imagination Technologies Ltd., Intel, Marvell Technology Group Ltd., NEC Corporation, Qualcomm Incorporated, Renesas Technology Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation, ST-Ericsson, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., Imagination Technologies Group plc., HiSilicon Technologies Co., Ltd., Mediatek, Qualcomm Incorporated, Spreadtrum Communications Co., Ltd and ST-Ericsson.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Zynga Inc (ZNGA)
Zynga Inc. (Zynga), is a provider of social game services with 240 million average monthly active users over 175 countries. The Company develops, markets and operates online social games as live services played over the Internet and on social networking sites and mobile platforms. The Company�� games are accessible on Facebook, other social networks and mobile platforms to players globally, wherever and whenever they want. It operates its games as live services. All of its games are free to play, and it generates revenue through the in-game sale of virtual goods and advertising. In March 2012, the Company acquired New York-based social game developer OMGPOP, makers of the cultural hit mobile game, Draw Something, and over 35 additional social games. In 2012, the Company launched several new games, including Hidden Chronicles, Zynga Bingo, Scramble With Friends, Slingo and Dream Heights.
Social Games
The Company designs its social games to provide players with shared experiences. Its social games leverage the global connectivity and distribution on Facebook, other social networks and mobile platforms, such as Apple iOS and Google Android. Its games are free to play, span a number of genres. It operates its games as live services and updates them with content and features. Its games include CityVille, Zynga Poker, FarmVille, CastleVille, FrontierVille, Mafia Wars and Word with Friends.
Virtual Goods
The Company�� primary revenue source is the sale of virtual currency, which players use to buy in-game virtual goods. Some forms of virtual currency are earned through game play, while other forms can only be acquired for cash or, in some cases, by accepting promotional offers from its advertising partners.
Advertising
The Company�� advertising services offer ways for marketers and advertisers to reach and engage with its players. Its advertising offerings include branded virtual goods and sponsorships, engagement ads, mobil! e ads and display Ads. It offers branded virtual goods and sponsorships integrate advertising within game play; Engagement Ads and Offers, in which players can answer certain questions or sign up for third party services to receive virtual currency; Mobile Ads through ad-supported free versions of its mobile games such as Words with Friends and Display Ads in its online web games include banner advertisements.
The Company competes with Crowdstar, Inc., DeNA, Electronic Arts Inc., King.com, The Walt Disney Company, Vostu, Ltd. wooga GmbH, Amazon.com, Inc., Facebook, Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation , Tencent Holdings Limited, Apple, Electronic Arts, GREE, DeNA Co. Ltd., Gameloft, Glu Mobile, Rovio Mobile Ltd , Storm8, Inc., Activision Blizzard, Inc., Big Fish Games, Inc., Electronic Arts, SEGA of America, Inc., and THQ Inc..
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tamara Rutter]
Moving on, Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA ) comes in at a close second, with the stock down more than 73% year to date. Admittedly, the social game developer has been my worst stock pick to date.
As it stands, Zynga generates a majority of its revenue from Facebook. This means that much of the company's future success hinges on its ability to expand from a Web game maker to a multiplatform game maker. Investors should stay on the sidelines for now as Zynga focuses on cutting costs and becoming less reliant on Facebook.
Speaking of the world's most popular social network, shares of Facebook are down nearly 30% year to date. The company hit the public market on May 18, with shares priced at $38 apiece. Today the stock trades around $26 a pop. Like so many investors, I want to see Facebook make meaningful inroads into mobile before I invest in the company.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Dairy Crest Grp(DCG.L)
Dairy Crest Group plc, a dairy foods company, processes and sells fresh milk and branded dairy products in the United Kingdom and rest of Europe. The company offers various cheese products, including cheddar cheese under Cathedral City and Davidstow brands; butters and spreads under the Country Life, Clover, and St Hubert brands; conventional, organic, and flavored milk in retailer own brand bottles or Country Life brand; milk in bags; potted creams; and retail products and ingredients, such as milk powders, butter, and stabilized cream for the food industry. Its brands also include FRijj, Chedds, Utterly Butterly, Vitalite, and Willow. Dairy Crest Group also provides a range of catering and retail convenience essentials, and dairy products to catering, hotel, restaurant, cafe and coffee shop, school and university, hospital and care-home, and retail convenience store customers. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Esher, the United Kingdom.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Old Second Bancorp Inc.(OSBC)
Old Second Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Old Second National Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services. It offers various consumer and commercial products and services, including demand, NOW, money market, savings, time deposit, individual retirement, and Keogh deposit accounts. The company also provides business loans comprising lines of credit for working capital and operational purposes; term loans for the acquisition of equipment; commercial and residential real estate loans; construction loans; and consumer loans, such as motor vehicle, home improvement, home equity, signature loans, and small personal credit lines. In addition, the company offers installment lending services comprising direct and indirect loans to consumers and commercial customers; and residential mortgages, which include conventional, government, and jumbo loans, as well as provides a range of trust, investment, agency, and custodial services for individual, c orporate, and not-for-profit clients. Further, it offers wealth management services; and additional services, such as the acquisition of the United States treasury notes and bonds, the sale of traveler?s checks, money orders, cashier?s checks and foreign currency, direct deposit, discount brokerage, debit and credit cards, and other special services. Additionally, the company provides electronic banking services that comprise Internet banking; and corporate cash management products consisting of remote deposit capture, investment sweep accounts, zero balance accounts, automated tax payments, ATM access, telephone banking, lockbox, automated clearing house transactions, account reconciliation, controlled disbursement, detail and general information reporting, wire transfers, vault services for currency and coin, and checking accounts. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 27 branches and 1 satellite facility in Illinois. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered i n Aurora, Illinois.
Top 10 Long Term Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Gordmans Stores Inc.(GMAN)
Gordmans Stores, Inc. operates department stores under the Gordmans name in the United States. Its merchandise selection includes a range of apparel, footwear, home fashions products, and accessories, including fragrances. The company offers apparels, including young men?s, men?s, juniors?, women?s, team, plus sizes, maternity, and children?s clothing comprising offerings for infants, toddlers, boys, and girls; and accessories consisting of designer fragrances, intimate apparel, handbags, sunglasses, fashion jewelry, legwear, and sleepwear. Its home fashions products consist of wall art, photo frames, accent furniture, accent lighting, candles, ceramics, vases, seasonal d�or, floral and garden, gourmet food and candy, toys, luggage, pet accessories, housewares, decorative pillows, fashion rugs, and bedding and bath products. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 74 stores located in various shopping center developments, including regional enclosed shopping ma lls, lifestyle centers, and power centers in 16 Midwestern states. Gordmans Stores, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
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