Tuesday, August 26, 2014

5 Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now

It takes money to make money. Most investors know that, but with business media so focused on the "how much," very few investors bother to ask, "How fast?"

When judging a company's prospects, how quickly it turns cash outflows into cash inflows can be just as important as how much profit it's booking in the accounting fantasy world we call "earnings." This is one of the first metrics I check when I'm hunting for the market's best stocks. Today, we'll see how it applies to Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX  ) .

Let's break this down
In this series, we measure how swiftly a company turns cash into goods or services and back into cash. We'll use a quick, relatively foolproof tool known as the cash conversion cycle, or CCC for short.

Why does the CCC matter? The less time it takes a firm to convert outgoing cash into incoming cash, the more powerful and flexible its profit engine is. The less money tied up in inventory and accounts receivable, the more available to grow the company, pay investors, or both.

Top Clean Energy Companies To Watch In Right Now: Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc.(IDRA)

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, discovers and develops DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates for the treatment of infectious diseases, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, cancer, and asthma and allergies, and for use as vaccine adjuvants. The company designs and creates proprietary Toll-Like Receptors (TLR) to modulate immune responses, including TLR agonist, a compound that stimulates an immune response through the targeted TLR; and TLR antagonist, a compound that blocks activation of an immune response through the targeted TLR. Its drug candidates include IMO-2125, a TLR9 agonist, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for hepatitis C virus infection; and TLR7, 8, and 9 agonists that are in research stage for viral diseases. The company also develops IMO-3100, a dual TLR7/TLR9 antagonist, which is in preclinical development stage for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and colitis. In addition, its drug candidates also comprise TLR7 and TLR8 agonists that are in research stage for solid tumor cancers. The company has a licensing and collaboration agreement with Merck KGaA to research, develop, and commercialize TLR9 agonists for the treatment of cancer, excluding cancer vaccines; a license and research collaboration agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize therapeutic and prophylactic vaccine products containing its TLR7, 8, and 9 agonists in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer?s disease; and a research collaboration and option agreement, and a license, development, and commercialization agreement with Novartis International Pharmaceutical, Ltd. to discover, develop, and commercialize TLR9 agonists for the treatment of asthma and allergies. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    In trading on Tuesday, healthcare shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.50 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Allergan (NYSE: AGN), up 15.7 percent, and Idera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IDRA), up 16.5 percent. Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares dropped around 0.05 percent in today's trading.

5 Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Iberpapel Gestion SA (IBG)

Iberpapel Gestion SA is a Spain-based holding company engaged in the paper industry. The Company operates through three divisions: Forestry, involved in the acquisition and cultivation of eucalyptus plantations in Argentina, Uruguay and Spain; Industrial, focused on the production of bleached pulp and paper products, and Commercial, specialized on the distribution of products such as printing and photocopy paper, offset paper, light-coated paper, laser printing paper, paper bags and envelopes. The Company�� subsidiaries include Distribuidora Papelera SA, Moliner Dominguez y Cia SA, Ibereucaliptos SA, Papelera Guipuzcoana de Zicunaga SA, Central de Suministros de Artes Graficas Papel SA and Copaimex SA, among others. The Company�� major shareholders include ONCHENA, SL and BESTINVER GESTION, SA. Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By GURUFOCUS]

    The top contributing stock for the quarter was Saft Groupe (XPAR:SAFT).� The company has two main divisions: the Specialty Battery Group (SBG), which makes lithium batteries for various end markets including satellites, utility meters and military applications; and the Industrial Battery Group (IBG), which produces rechargeable nickel and lithium-ion batteries for industrial back-up power, aviation, rail, telecom and energy storage industries.�

5 Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation(SMI)

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, an investment holding company, engages in the computer-aided design, manufacture, packaging, testing, and trade of integrated circuits. It offers a range of technologies from 0.35μm to 65nm with capabilities that include logic, mixed signal/RF CMOS, high voltage, embedded, flash, EEPROM, and CIS technology. The company also provides portfolio of semiconductor intellectual property (IP) blocks from 0.35um to 65nm to support the design needs of customers; ASIC design services; reference flows; mixed-signal/RF PDKs; and multi-project wafer services. In addition, it involves in the design and manufacture of semiconductor masks; and provides assembly and testing, wafer bumping, and wafer probing/testing services. Further, the company offers marketing related activities; operates convenience stores; and manufactures and trades in solar cell related semiconductor products. Its products are used primarily in mobile, network ing, and wireless local area network applications, as well as in consumer and communications products, including digital television, set-top box, mobile, portable media player, and personal digital assistant applications. The company serves integrated device manufacturers, fables semiconductor companies, and system companies principally in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

    The SMI (SMI) declined 0.1 percent to 8,161.14 at 10:05 a.m. in Zurich. The gauge fell 1.4 percent last week, its first retreat in five weeks. The broader Swiss Performance Index also decreased 0.1 percent today.

  • [By Tom Stoukas]

    The Swiss Market Index (SMI) rose 0.1 percent to 8,055.23 at the close in Zurich. The equity benchmark has climbed 4 percent this month, extending its gain this quarter to 4.8 percent, as the Federal Reserve refrained from reducing its monthly bond purchases. The gauge has rallied 18 percent so far in 2013, the third-best performance by a European developed market. The Swiss Performance Index gained less than 0.1 percent today.

  • [By Inyoung Hwang]

    National benchmark indexes advanced in 13 of the 18 western European markets this week. France�� CAC 40 Index climbed 1.2 percent and Germany�� DAX Index increased 0.6 percent. The U.K.�� FTSE 100 Index sank 1.3 percent, while the Swiss Market Index (SMI) retreated 0.2 percent.

  • [By Corinne Gretler]

    Nestle decreased 2.6 percent to 63 francs, contributing the most to the SMI (SMI)�� drop. Revenue in the first half increased 4.1 percent, excluding acquisitions, divestments and currency shifts. That missed the median estimate of 4.5 percent growth.

5 Best Building Product Stocks To Watch Right Now: Envivio Inc (ENVI)

Envivio, Inc., incorporated on January 5, 2000, is a provider of Internet protocol (IP) video processing and distribution solutions, which enable the delivery of video to consumers. The Company�� solution is designed to enable service providers and content providers to offer video anytime, anywhere across a range of video formats, networks, consumer devices and operating systems. Its software-based solution runs on industry-standard hardware and includes encoders, transcoders, network media processors all controlled through its network management system. It enables service providers and content providers to deliver linear broadcast and on-demand video services to their customers through multiple screens, such as tablets, mobile handsets, netbooks, laptops, personal computers (PCs) and televisions. Its customers include mobile and wireline telecommunications service providers, cable multiple system operators (MSOs), direct broadcast satellite service providers (DBSs), and content providers, which includes broadcasters and content publishers, owners, aggregators and licensees.

Core Technologies

The Company�� software platform includes core technologies: modular software architecture and multi-core video compression. The Company�� core competencies are in developing advanced media compression and video over IP technologies, where it delivers a carrier grade, multi-screen solution. Its modular software architecture provides a common platform of capabilities and features, which allows its products to perform critical video processing and distribution functions, including ingestion, processing, packaging, protection and encryption, network optimizations and monitoring. In addition, its software-based architecture allows customers to enable features or add capacity through the input of a simple security or license key.

The Company Multi-core video compression has a set of video processing and compression algorithms designed to optimize performance on industry-stan! dard, multi-core hardware chipsets. These algorithms are central to all of its encoder and transcoder products.

Products

The Company�� unified video headend solution and unified delivery infrastructure for live and on-demand multi-screen video delivery are built on its encoding, transcoding and video distribution products. Its suite of products consists of Envivio 4Caster, Muse, Halo and 4Manager. Its 4Caster product delivers video to mobile, PC and television from a single platform. It has designed 4Caster to optimize live and on-demand workflows for video delivery commensurate with the characteristics of both legacy and current network infrastructures by encoding video input in multiple codecs, resolutions, bit rates and formats. 4Caster utilizes pre-processing techniques to clean and optimize video sources before encoding.

Envivio Muse is its new multi-screen software architecture designed for live or file-based video transcoding and distribution to multiple devices. Muse is available on industry-standard blade servers or its 4Caster appliances and enables service providers running large-scale operations to leverage their existing datacenter infrastructure to deliver enhanced video services. Muse also enables advanced functionality, such as ad-insertion and content protection for mobile devices that facilitates service monetization.

The Company�� Halo Network Media Processor performs final content adaptation for consumer devices, including protected adaptive bitrate streams compatible with Apple iOS, Android 3 and Microsoft Smooth Streaming enabled consumer devices. Its 4Manager network management system is specifically engineered to manage next generation video headends for mobile television, over-the-top (OTT) and Internet protocol television (IPTV), while continuing to support traditional broadcast distribution networks. 4Manager allows service providers to monitor and control all headend appliances. 4Manager is designed to maximize video he! adend ava! ilability and reliability by reporting system malfunctions and can automatically switch away from a defective unit, minimizing service disruption.

Services

The Company offers a range of services in support of its products, including on-site project assessment, systems integration, on-site delivery and operational and customer support. On-site project assessment include complete review of content sources, existing systems and middleware to determine the proper interface and adaptation equipment necessary for its customer to deliver an optimized consumer quality of experience. Systems integration configures all the equipment with its solution according to network design and plan. On-site delivery install all equipment and test the operational environment, including redundancy and system monitoring, as well as administer technical training to validate predefined use cases in an operational environment. Operational and customer support provides different grades of service level agreements and support contracts according to requirements.

The Company competes with Harmonic Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Elemental Technologies, RGB Networks, Inc., Google Inc. and Ericsson AB.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    Small cap video technology stocks Envivio Inc (NASDAQ: ENVI), Ku6 Media Co Ltd (NASDAQ: KUTV) and Tremor Video Inc (NYSE: TRMR) made some interesting moves today and in recent days or months���meaning its worth taking a closer look at all three to see if there might be opportunities for traders and investors alike:

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Leading and Lagging Sectors
    Technology stocks gained Thursday, with Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) leading advancers. Meanwhile, gainers in the sector included Envivio (NASDAQ: ENVI), with shares up 2.8 percent, and Adept Technology (NASDAQ: ADEP), with shares up 4.3 percent.

No comments:

Post a Comment