Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of information technology outsourcing and service provider Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC  ) dipped as much as 12% after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter results.

So what: Computer Sciences CEO Mike Lawrie commented that his company's transition away from infrastructure sales toward industry software and service sales will be better for the long run, but that this transition could hurt revenue in the interim. Not surprisingly, revenue fell 7% from the previous year -- to $3.7 billion -- which was shy of the $3.8 billion that Wall Street had been expecting. On the bright side, adjusted EPS came in at $1.27 compared to the $1 the Street had estimated, and the company upped its EPS forecast to a range of $3.30-$3.50.

Now what: This is sort of the same story we're seeing with a lot of IT-based companies: planning for the future while suffering in the present. Many, like Computer Sciences, are working to control their expenses during this transition to a recurring revenue model, but it means little if any top-line growth in the meantime. While I feel Computer Sciences' management has the right idea, I'd rather wait patiently on the sidelines until we have more momentum on the revenue side of the business.

Best Construction Material Companies To Own In Right Now: Yongye International Inc.(YONG)

Yongye International, Inc. engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of fulvic acid based crop and animal nutrient products for the agriculture and stock farming industry in the People?s Republic of China. It provides liquid crop nutrient products that consist of fulvic acid compound base and nutrients for the health of crops; and powder animal nutrient products, which include fulvic acid compound base and additional nutrients, and Chinese herbs that reduce inflammation for dairy cows The company markets its products under the Shengmingsu trade name through a network of county-level distributors and independently owned branded retailers. Yongye International, Inc. is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Yongye International (NASDAQ: YONG) shares touched a new 52-week high of $6.97 after the company accepted a revised go private bid at $7.10 per share.

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: L&L Energy Inc.(LLEN)

L&L Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the coal mining, clean coal washing, coal coking, and coal wholesaling businesses in the People?s Republic of China. It involves in producing, processing, and selling metallurgical coke used primarily for steel manufacturing; and crushing coal and washing out soluble sulfur compounds with water or other solvents. The company has four coal mines comprising the DaPuAn, SuTsong, Ping Yi, and DaPing mines; three coal washing plants; one coking facility; and coal wholesale and distribution facilities. It also has a financial interest in the Bowie mine, a thermal coal mine located in Paonia, Colorado. The company provides its products to customers in the steel and the electrical/utility industries, as well as to cement factories. L&L Energy, Inc. sells its products directly and through third-party wholesalers. The company was formerly known as L & L International Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to L&L Energy, Inc. in Jan uary 2010. L&L Energy, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is investing US$13 million to expand its wheel manufacturing plant in Europe, to meet growing demand for its lightweight, durable, low-maintenance aluminum truck wheels. To read the full news, click here. L & L Energy (NASDAQ: LLEN) announced today that its Special Independent Committee has appointed Mr. Nicholas Chen, Managing Partner at Pamir Law Group, to replace Mr. Mark Bartlett. To read the full news, click here. Five Prime Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FPRX) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) announced today that they have signed a collaboration agreement for the discovery, development and commercialization of immuno-oncology therapies directed toward targets identified in two undisclosed immune checkpoint pathways using Five Prime's proprietary target discovery platform. To read the full news, click here. First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR) on Sunday announced the completion of the 1.3MW(DC) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant at Kitakyushu-shi. Powered by First Solar FS Series 3 Black PV modules, the plant will generate approximately 1,400 MWh of clean and safe solar electricity per year. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Credit Suisse US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Well, as it turns out, the snake that bit L&L Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:LLEN) and Sovereign Lithium Inc. (OTCMKTS:SLCO) didn't end up biting Makism 3D Corp. (OTCMKTS:MDDD). And in retrospect, that's probably how it should be. Indeed, the fact that MDDD didn't even come close to suffering the same fate as SLCO or LLEN did may be the biggest assurance Makism 3D fans could hope for that the company is everything it says it is.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Despite every fiber of my being telling me to not get involved in the schoolyard fight between L&L Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:LLEN) and apparently one of its enemies (that just so happens to have a short/bearish position in LLEN), I find myself unable to not sound off. A sane and unbiased observation has to be injected into the mix here.

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Sonoco Products Company(SON)

Sonoco Products Company provides industrial and consumer packaging products, and packaging services worldwide. It offers composite paperboard cans; paperboard packages; fiber cartridges; layered bottles and jars; laminated tubs, cups, and spools; consumer and institutional trays; and aluminum, steel, and peelable membrane easy-open closures, as well as flexible packaging, product design, tool design, fabrication, and manufacturing services. The company also produces paperboard tubes, cores, roll packaging, molded plugs, pallets, pallet components, concrete forms, rotary die boards, recycled paperboard, chipboard, tube board, lightweight corestock, boxboard, linerboard, corrugating medium, specialty grades, and recovered paper products; and steel, nailed wooden, plywood, recycled, and polyfiber reels, as well as recycles old corrugated container, paper, plastic, metal, and glass materials. In addition, it manufactures custom-printed glass covers and coasters; offers custom packing, fulfillment, and primary package filling services, as well as operates scalable service centers; contract packaging, co-packing, and fulfillment services; and temporary, semipermanent, and permanent point-of-purchase displays. Further, the company provides fabricated foam, corrugated paperboard, molded EPS and EPP, antistatic fabricated foam solutions, nesting and stacking trays, molded foam dunnage, totes and tote inserts, energy-absorbing and flotation components, and insulation components, as well as contract package testing service. Additionally, it offers insulated shippers, durable transport chests, gel packs, phase change materials, lab/pharma/diagnostic specimen transport, refrigerant materials, edge and corner protection, and temperature assurance solutions; high-visibility packaging and printed products; and blister packaging machines. The company, formerly known as Southern Novelty Company, was founded in 1899 and is based in Hartsville, South Carolina. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Hartsville, S.C.-based Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON  ) is hiking prices on its signature product: cardboard.

  On Friday, Sonoco announced an across-the-board price hike on "all grades of uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) products by $40 per ton, effective with shipments in the�United States and Canada�beginning July 8, 2013." The company's Primary Materials Group, North America, Vice President Marty Pignone�explained that "the�price increase�is necessary to recover rising recovered paper and other raw materials costs."

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON  ) reported earnings on April 18. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

• [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 Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Packaging specialist�Sonoco Products� (NYSE: SON  ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.31 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 3% from $0.30 per share.

Top 5 Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: St. Jude Medical Inc.(STJ)

St. Jude Medical, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes cardiovascular and implantable neurostimulation medical devices worldwide. It operates in four segments: Cardiac Rhythm Management, Cardiovascular, Atrial Fibrillation, and Neuromodulation. The Cardiac Rhythm Management segment offers products for cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heart beats. Its products include tachycardia implantable cardioverter defibrillator systems to provide therapy to patients suffering from lethal heart conditions, such as sudden cardiac arrest; cardiac resynchronization therapy devices to treat heart failure patients; pacemakers to help people whose hearts beat too slowly or who suffer from other cardiac arrhythmias; and leads, which connect devices to the heart and carry the electrical impulses to the heart and information from the heart to the device. The Cardiovascular segment offers mechanical and tissue replacement heart valves, as well as heart valve repair products. It also pr ovides disposable interventional devices, including vascular closure devices, compression assist devices, percutaneous catheter introducers, diagnostic guidewires, and temporary bipolar pacing catheters, as well as diagnostic coronary imaging technology. The Atrial Fibrillation segment offers a system of products for access, diagnosis, visualization, and ablation that assist physicians in diagnosing and treating various irregular heart rhythms used in the electrophysiology lab and cardiac surgery. It provides electrophysiology introducers and catheters, cardiac mapping, navigation and recording systems, and ablation systems. The Neuromodulation segment offers a range of neurostimulation systems, such as rechargeable implantable pulse generators, primary cell implantable pulse generators, and radio frequency powered systems. St. Jude Medical markets its products through a direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Take a look around the top device companies reporting this week, and you'll see a picture of lackluster growth. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  ) , one of the biggest names in health care, saw double-digit growth from its medical device department, but only because of its $12 billion acquisition of orthopedics powerhouse Synthes last year. Fellow diversified medical firm Abbott Labs' (NYSE: ABT  ) medical device sales fell more than 4% despite its dominant position in the stent industry. St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ  ) also saw sales decline 3% at a constant currency, even as the company managed to grow earnings by more than 5% by cutting costs.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Edwards' stock's massive plunge today was probably too much for the miss, but the cardiovascular market overall has been tough on medical-device companies recently. St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ  ) reported falling sales in its most recent quarterly report, primarily because of cardiovascular-related revenue on the decline, and Medtronic (NYSE: MDT  ) , a competitor of Edwards' in the heart valve market with its CoreValve device, could still threaten the Sapien's sales despite a court ruling recently that judged the CoreValve to have infringed on one of Edwards' patents.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ  ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 17. 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 St. Jude Medical's revenues will compress -3.4% and EPS will expand 6.8%.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Analysts at Sterne Agee initiated coverage of St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) with a Neutral rating and $74 price target. Shares lost 1.09 percent, closing at $66.03.