Top 5 Services Stocks To Invest In 2014

Biotech stocks are plunging today, which once again raises the question: Are we witnessing the popping of the biotech bubble?

It’s hard not to think it might be. Today, Gilead Sciences (GILD), Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), Celgene (CELG), Amgen (AMGN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX).

Credit Suisse analyst Ravi Mehrotra still doesn’t think biotechs are in a bubble:

In our view, we are/were in a biotech bull-run vs. biotech bubble. We remain bullish for the 2014 year-end biotech sector performance: (1) we do expect continued sector-wide volatility; (2) there are elements of the biotech sector which are analogous between ’99/’00 (biotech bubble) and ’13/’14 (biotech bull) markets – most notably, a relative plethora of platform/early-stage companies ��however, we highlight that the business models for platform technology companies in ’99/’00 and ’13/’14 are markedly different ��now, new gen platform technology companies are actually trying to bring products to market (vs. just selling tools and services). (3) For the large-caps, unless we see fundamental disappointment(s) from the ��eadership��companies, we think their valuations actually provide room for upside (Large-cap biotech is now trading at a 2016 PE discount, but 4 times the EPS growth, to/of the S&P500). Our two keys picks in large-cap land remain [Biogen (BIIB) and Gilead Sciences].

Top Shipping Companies To Watch For 2015: California Grapes International Inc (CAGR)

California Grapes International, Inc., formerly China Food Services, Corp., incorporated in 1992, conducts its primary business operations as an importer, exporter and distributor of staple, organic, specialty, and gourmet foods and beverages, catering to the Asian Pacific Rim. The Company owns and operates Golden Dragon Food & Beverage Import & Export Company of Hong Kong, Ltd. (GDHK) in central Hong Kong and Beijing Flying Golden Dragon International Trading Co., Ltd. in China (BFGD). Golden Dragon Holdings, Inc. has agreements with the United State food manufacturers. It acts as a buying agent for GDHK, negotiating vendor contracts and services with the United States food and beverage industry partners.

The Company focuses to offer wholesale food distribution to grocery chains and independent food stores throughout China. The Company focuses on purchasing goods directly from manufactures in the United States, Latin America and Europe, and distributes these products to distributors, grocery stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets throughout China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Kerr]

  451 Research released a study that contained several key facts concerning cloud computing growth. According to them, 69% of enterprises who have separate budgets for cloud computing are predicting to spend more this year, and in 2014, for this service. They also projected that the worldwide cloud computing market will grow at a 36% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2016. This would make the market reach $19.5 billion by 2016.

• [By Sam Stovall]

  1) He could have owned the S&P 500 all year long from April 30, 1990 through October 25, 2013. He would have earned a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0%, excluding dividends reinvested.

• [By ovenerio]

  As we can see in the next chart, the stock price has an upward trend in the five-year period. If you had invested $10.000 five years ago, today you could have $26.933, which represents a 21.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

• [By Vera Yuan]

  We believe the heart and soul of Colfax is a set of operational and management tools known as the Colfax Business System (CBS) which stresses continuous improvement in all aspects of the business. Danaher fine-tuned the use of these tools, compounding shareholder capital at a 20%+ Compound Annual Growth Rate, (CAGR) since 1984 by acquiring underperforming businesses, improving revenue, margins and cash flow, and employing that cash flow to fund the next acquisition. Colfax has borrowed the Danaher playbook.

Top 5 Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Giant Interactive Group Inc (GA)

Giant Interactive Group Inc. (Giant Interactive), incorporated on July 26, 2006, is an online game developer and operator in China. The Company focuses on massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) that are played through networked game servers, in which a number of players are able to simultaneously connect and interact. The Company operates 11 online games, among which nine are self-developed, including the five games in the Zheng Tu (ZT) Online Series. As of December 31, 2010, its game development team consisted of 934 members, which includes product development and enhancement teams for each of its MMORPG and multiplayer online (MMO) games.

In January 2010, the Company acquired China operation licenses for Elsword and Allods Online, two three dimensional (3D) MMORPGs. In November 2010, the Company acquired Julun Network. On December 6, 2010, Zhengtu Information, Giant Network and Shanghai Juyan Network Technology jointly established Beijing Huayi Juren Information Technology Co., Ltd with 51%, 34% and 15% interest, respectively. On December 31, 2010, Zhengtu Information sold its 51% interest in Huayi Juren Information to Huayi Brothers Media Corporation. In May 2010, the Company acquired Snow Wolf.

The Company has built nationwide distribution and marketing networks to sell and market its prepaid game cards and game points. As of December 31, 2010, its distribution network consisted of more than 130 non-exclusive regional distributors and reached over 96,000 retail outlets, including Internet cafes, software stores, supermarkets, bookstores, newspaper stands and convenience stores located throughout China. The Company also sells game points through its official game Website. The Company generates its revenues from licensing of its games to third party operators in other territories, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Russia and other Russian speaking territories. In addition, it has also licensed its ZT Online Green Edition to! Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited (Tencent), on a non-exclusive basis for operation of such game on Tencent�� QQ game platform in China.

ZT Online

ZT Online is a two-dimensional, online role-playing game set in ancient China, and was the first game that was wholly developed by its internal product development team. ZT Online players assume one of five different roles, including soldiers and magicians, in 10 different kingdoms. In order to play ZT Online, players must log into one of multiple shards, or independent copies of the game world. Players can only interact with other players in his or her respective shard at any given time, and its technology enables players to travel among the different shards. The Company has developed technology for use in ZT Online that allows up to 40,000 players to play together in a single shard at any given time. ZT Online is free of charge to play. Players may purchase physical or virtual prepaid game cards and game points on its game Website or from Internet cafes and other distribution points, which allow their characters to obtain gold coins, one of the currencies used in the ZT Online game. Players may also earn silver coins for their characters when they fulfill tasks or adventures in the game world.

The game has gold coin vouchers, which are offered both as a salary to players who meet certain requirements and as a reward in connection with certain of its promotions. Players may trade silver coins for gold coins, and vice-versa, inside the game. Neither gold coins, gold coin vouchers, nor silver coins may be used by players to purchase any items or services outside of the ZT Online game. ZT Online allows players to purchase a range of virtual items and services for their characters using their gold and/or silver coins. These include weapons, clothing, pets, ceremonies and rites, and others. Weapons may be repaired or replaced by purchases of certain in-game raw materials or by payment of additional gold or! silver c! oins. ZT Online offers a play experience, where players can choose to enter the game 24 hours a day, seven days a week. ZT Online can be accessed from any location with an Internet connection. It has licensed ZT Online to Lager Network for operation in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, licensed ZT Online to VinaGame for operation in Vietnam, and licensed ZT Online to Atrum Nival for operation in the Russia and other Russian speaking territories.

ZT Online PTP

ZT Online PTP is pay-to-play MMORPG game developed by the Company, and is based on the ZT Online free-to-play game. As in ZT Online, players assume one of five different roles in 10 different kingdoms. ZT Online PTP also requires players to log into one of multiple shards, while enabling players to travel between different shards. ZT Online PTP requires players to pay to play the game by purchasing physical or virtual prepaid game cards on its game Website or from Internet cafes and other distribution points. ZT Online PTP shares the same graphics and system requirements as ZT Online.

Giant Online

Giant Online is a military-themed MMORPG. Giant Online players may assume one of 14 different roles, such as detectives and spies. As with ZT Online, the game world in Giant Online is divided into a number of regions. Each player must guide his or her character to develop skills and cooperate with other players to fight against players from other regions. Players can equip their characters with a range of modern weaponry. Apart from waging war, characters can also engage in forms of in-game social interaction, such as friendship and even romance. Giant Online enables players, and groups of players, to purchase a range of virtual items and services. These virtual items and services include weapons, vehicles and pets. Giant Online is a 2.5 dimensional game, the background and items in the game are depicted three dimensionally, while the characters are depicted two dimensionally.

King of! Kings III

K III is a three-dimensional online role-playing experience set in a European-style magical world. Players assume the roles of K III heroes as they explore across a virtual world of forests and medieval cities and castles. K III is the third episode of the King of Kings series of MMORPGs.

My Sweetie

My Sweetie is a 2.5D free-to-play casual MMO game, which allows players to create virtual characters, raise virtual pets on their personal computer desktops and go online to interact with other virtual pet-owners. My Sweetie is the game developed pursuant to its Win@Giant program.

XT Online is a 2.5D ancient Chinese martial arts MMORPG that was developed by Snow Wolf, a game development studio. XT Online enables users to practice different schools or styles of martial arts with the goal of becoming a master, while focusing on brotherhood and trust-building with other martial artists. The Golden Land is a free-to-play medieval strategy browser game, which was developed by Juhe Network, one of its 51% owned game development studios. ZT Online II is an internally-developed free-to-play 2D sequel to its game ZT Online. ZT Online II was developed by an internal studio that it is reorganizing into Jujia Network, one of its 51% owned game development studios.

Dragon Soul is an internally developed 3D ancient Chinese MMORPG developed by Chengdu Jufan Network Technology Co. Ltd. (Jufan Network) one of its 51% owned game development studios. Spirits of the Warriors is a free-to-play 3D MMORPG based on the Three Kingdoms period of ancient Chinese history.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kevin Chen]

  Two companies that seem on an unstoppable path of profits are Giant Interactive� (NYSE: GA  ) and NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES  ) .�Meanwhile, Shanda Games� (NASDAQ: GAME  ) and Perfect World� (NASDAQ: PWRD  ) haven't done as well.

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Giant Interactive Group Inc.(GA) named three of its directors to a special committee intended to review a nonbinding proposal to take the online-game company private. Last week, investors including former chief executive Chairman Yuzhu Shi and Baring Private Equity Asia offered to acquire the stake they don’t already own for $11.75 a share.

Top 5 Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: MeetMe Inc (MEET)

MeetMe, Inc. (MeetMe), incorporated on April 17, 2011, is a social network for meeting new people in the United States and the public market for social discovery. MeetMe makes meeting new people fun through social games and apps, monetized by both advertising and virtual currency. The Company has 60% customers coming from mobile. MeetMe is the social gathering place for the mobile generation. The Company operates MeetMe.com and MeetMe apps on iPhone, iPad, and android in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The Company provides advertising facilities through MeetMe Ads and Social Theater. MeetMe Ads had over two billion page views monthly, over 78 million registered users across the world and approximately 50% of activity on mobile, as of November 17, 2012. Social Theater consists of traditional marketing and social networking.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  It's not been easy to be a fan of MeetMe Inc. (NYSEMKT:MEET) since July of last year. In fact, sometimes it's been downright painful to keep holding MEET. But, it was also worth it. With today's big move, MeetMe shares have cleared a key hurdle, and they've done so for all the right reasons. Investors who've been cautiously waiting on the sidelines may want start wading in now.

• [By Rich Bieglmeier]

  Harper say of his new idea, "We are initiating coverage of social networking platform MeetMe, Inc. (MEET) with a Buy rating and a $4.50 price target. We expect the company to increase the number of mobile active users, their monetization levels, and its FY15 revenues above the consensus through enhancements to its core app, its mobile advertising deals, and broader trends with younger people sharing content via mobile apps."

Top 5 Services Stocks To Invest In 2014: Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc., incorporated in March 2005, offers a network security platform that allows enterprises, service providers, and government entities to secure their networks. The core of its platform is the Company�� firewall that delivers natively integrated application, user, and content visibility and control through its operating system, hardware, and software architecture. The Company primarily sells its products and services to end-customers through distributors, resellers, and partners, and directly to end-customers (collectively partners), who are supported by its sales and marketing organization, in the Americas, in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and in Asia Pacific and Japan (APAC). Its products and services can address a range of its end-customers��network security requirements, from the data center to the network perimeter, as well as the distributed enterprise, which includes branch offices and a number of mobile devices. It introduced PA-5000 Series and GlobalProtect subscription service in March 2011 and the PA-200 and WildFire subscription service in November 2011.

The Company�� platform is delivered in an appliance form factor and includes a suite of subscription services, as well as support and maintenance. Its subscription services can be activated on any of its appliances. All of the Company�� appliances incorporate its PAN-OS operating system and are based on its identification technologies, App-ID, User-ID, and Content-ID, which allow security policies to be defined within the context of applications, users, and content. It delivers these capabilities through a single-pass parallel processing architecture that simultaneously performs multiple identification, security and networking functions. The Company serves the enterprise network security market, which consists of Firewall/ Virtual Private Network (VPN), Unified Threat Management (UTM), Web Gateway, Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDP/IPS), and VPN technologies. The Company deriv! ed 62% of its total revenue from the Americas, 27% from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and 11% from Asia Pacific and Japan (APAC) as of January 31, 2012.

The Company derives revenue from sales of its products and services, which together comprise its platform. Product revenue is primarily generated from sales of its Firewall. The Company�� Threat Prevention, universal resource locator (URL) Filtering, and GlobalProtect subscriptions provide its end-customers with real-time access to the antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, and malware protection capabilities across fixed and mobile devices. The Company�� application classification engine, called App-ID, uses multiple identification techniques to determine the exact identity of applications traversing the network. App-ID is the foundational classification engine that provides the core traffic classification to all other functions in its platform. The App-ID classification is used to invoke other security functions.

App-ID uses a series of classification techniques to identify an application. App-ID classifies all network traffic, including business applications, consumer applications, and network protocols, across all ports. User-ID integrates its platform with a range of enterprise user directories and technologies, including Active Directory, eDirectory, Open LDAP, Citrix Terminal Server, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Terminal Server, and ZENworks. Content-ID is a collection of technologies that enables its subscription services. Content-ID combines a real-time threat prevention engine, cloud-based analysis service, and a URL categorization database to limit unauthorized data and file transfers, detect and block a range of threats, and control non-work related Web surfing. Its WildFire, cloud-based analysis service provides a real-time analysis engine for detecting previously unseen malware. Its URL filtering database consists of millions of URLs across many categories and is designed to monitor a! nd contro! l employee Web surfing activities. Single-Pass Parallel Processing Architecture (SP3) has two elements: single-pass software and parallel processing hardware.

The PAN-OS Operating System operating system provides the foundation for its network security platform and contains App-ID, User-ID, and Content-ID. PAN-OS performs the core functions of its platform, while also providing the networking, security, and management functions needed for implementation. The PAN-OS networking functions include dynamic routing, switching, high availability, and VPN support, which enables deployment into a range of networking environments. PAN-OS also includes attack protection capabilities, such as blocking invalid or malformed packets, IP defragmentation, TCP reassembly, and network traffic normalization. The Company also offers, such as application traffic management, solution design and planning, configuration, and firewall migration. Its education services provide classroom-style training and are primarily delivered through its partners.

The Company competes with Cisco, Juniper, Intel, IBM, HP, Check Point Software, Fortinet and Sourcefire.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) was also up, gaining 6.89 percent to $49.26 after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  On the other side of the spectrum is Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW  ) , which has fallen 10% following its earnings report last night. Citing federal spending cuts and poor conditions in Europe, Palo Alto reported weaker-than-expected sales despite seeing year-over-year growth of 54%. Even worse, the company expects current-quarter revenue growth to slow to about 42% year over year, reflecting a much faster deceleration than the stock's valuation implied. Given the huge amount of competition in the data- and cyber-security industry, Palo Alto and its virtual firewalls aren't guaranteed to win out over the company's rivals.