Raymond James Grabs 3 Reps From Rivals

Raymond James (RJF) said earlier this week that it recruited three from Wells Fargo (WFC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) with a total of about $1 billion in total client assets and $2.2 million in yearly fees and commissions.

Keith Morris moved to Raymond James’ independent channel in Conshohocken, Pa., with about $110 million in assets and annual production of more than $1 million. Morris began his career at Prudential Securities in 1994 and then moved to Legg Mason and Wachovia Securities, which later became part of Wells Fargo. While with Wells, he founded Morris Capital Management Group, an independent firm.

“We are pleased to welcome Keith to Raymond James’ independent channel,” said Tom Harrington, regional director of Raymond James Financial Services (RJFS), the firm’s independent broker-dealer, in a press release. “He is a talented advisor who shares the firm’s client-first mentality and recognizes the benefits of Raymond James’ advisor-centric culture. He is a great addition to our network of independent advisors.”

Advisors Richard B. Swift and Jeff A. Dakin left Morgan Stanley to join Raymond James’ traditional employee broker-dealer in Columbus, Ga., from Morgan Stanley.

The team, known as Swift Wealth Management Group, has managed more than $934 million in client assets and had $1.2 million in annual fees and commissions.

“It is an honor to welcome this talented pair to Raymond James,” said Jim Hamilton, Southern regional director for Raymond James & Associates Inc., the traditional employee broker-dealer. “These veteran advisors bring almost 40 years of combined experience to the firm.”

Swift began his financial services career with Robinson-Humphrey in Columbus, Ga., in 1998. He went on to work for Columbus Bank & Trust, Citigroup/Smith Barney and eventually Morgan Stanley.

Dakin started his work in the business in 1991 in Columbus with Synovus Securities, moving to Robinson Humphrey in 1996, where he later teamed up with Swift.

Private Client Group Results

On Wednesday, Raymond James said that it had total securities commissions and fees of $266 million in October, up 8.9% over the year-ago period and up 4.4% from the preceding month, as the Private Client Group benefited “from starting the month with a record level of fee-based assets, most of which are billed in advance based on the values at the beginning of each quarter,” the company says.

“October was a good start to our fiscal year, as the S&P 500 rose 4.5% and we experienced healthy activity levels in our Private Client Group and Equity Capital Markets businesses,” said Paul Reilly, CEO, in a press release.

Client assets under administration reached $436 billion, up 13.7% over last October and up 2.6% over the earlier month, while financial assets under management were $58 billion, up 35.4% over last year’s October and up 3 percent over the preceding month.

“With the integration of Morgan Keegan essentially completed, we are now completely focused on growing our business profitability and serving our clients and advisors,” said Reilly.

Women Recognized

In other news, the Raymond James Network for Women Advisors shared the names of 13 advisors who received a Woman of Distinction Award at the firm’s 2013 Women’s Symposium in October. The award recognizes those who are members of a recognition council, support the professional growth of other advisors and service associates and who are actively involved in their communities.

This year’s award recipients are:

“These 13 women are outstanding representatives of both our firm and their communities,” said Chet Helck, CEO, Global Private Client Group at Raymond James, in a statment. “I am proud to be associated with advisors of this caliber. I congratulate them for all they do for their clients and for all they give back to their profession and peers.”

---

Check out 8 Overlooked Tips to Bond With, and Retain, Clients on ThinkAdvisor.

5 Rocket Stocks Ready for Blastoff

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- 10 days. That's how far away the U.S. currently sits from running out of money and theoretically defaulting on the national debt. That realization is gut-punching the markets this morning.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

The prospect of a default is bizarre. On one hand, ratings agencies are setting the risks of default pretty low right now -- and so are prices for securities most tightly tied to treasuries. On the other hand, Treasury officials have been publicly reminding congress that we'll default if they don't act now.

So yes, there's a gun to the head of the market right now, the chamber is probably empty.

Even as stocks correct this fall, there's still an opportunity popping up in some of the market's strongest names. That's why we're turning to a new set of Rocket Stocks for this week.

>>5 Cash-Hoarders to Triple Your Gains

For the uninitiated, "Rocket Stocks" are our list of companies with short-term gain catalysts and longer-term growth potential. To find them, I run a weekly quantitative screen that seeks out stocks with a combination of analyst upgrades and positive earnings surprises to identify rising analyst expectations, a bullish signal for stocks in any market. After all, where analysts' expectations are increasing, institutional cash often follows. In the last 217 weeks, our weekly list of five plays has outperformed the S&P 500 by 92%.

Without further ado, here's a look at this week's Rocket Stocks.

Walt Disney

If it's been a great year for stocks, it's been an even better one for shareholders of Walt Disney (DIS). The $117 billion entertainment giant is up more than 31% since the calendar flipped over to January, almost doubling the S&P 500's climb year-to-date. Disney's unmatched collection of intellectual property, and its ability to turn that portfolio into cash throughout its business, gives the firm some big advantages in 2013 and beyond.

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade (or Not)

When people think Disney, they think Mickey Mouse. And while the anthropomorphic mouse is certainly a cornerstone of Disney's business, its TV network properties are the real cash cow. Disney earned around half of its profits through television networks such as ABC, A&E and the Disney Channel. ESPN, though, is the star of the show. ESPN is the most valuable network in the world, capturing a bigger part of your cable bill than any other network out there -- and it's all thanks to football. Despite shelling out more than $1.8 billion each year to the NFL for Monday Night Football broadcast rights, the network's model has proven immensely profitable.

Meanwhile, Disney's theme parks are starting to enjoy the other side of the cyclical downdraft that hindered them during the Great Recession. Because Disney is highly integrated, it's able to take popular characters from a film and move them into TV, theme parks and merchandise, multiplying the value of its efforts and trimming costs. Finally, the decision to purchase of Pixar in 2006 was transformational for DIS, and should help to bring in consistent blockbusters in a way that Disney's animation studios haven't by themselves.

Priceline.com

Priceline.com (PCLN) is another firm that's seen strong performance numbers in 2013. In fact, it's even managed to one-up Disney with a 71% gain since the first trading session in January. Breakneck growth on Priceline's income statement has been fuelling the growth in its share price.

>>3 Huge Tech Stocks on Traders' Radars

Priceline.com is one of the biggest travel sites in the world. The firm dug out an economic moat by becoming the most popular "Name Your Own Price" travel site, connecting bargain-conscious consumers with excess inventory hotels and airlines were trying to fill at lower prices. While that's niche has changed more recently, Priceline's dominance in online travel hasn't. Priceline's biggest growth driver in recent years has been in international markets like Europe and China, where the firm's foothold is less dominant and travel pricing is less commoditized.

The decision to purchase travel content site Kayak should pan out to be a good one for PCLN. While the acquisition wasn't cheap, content site visitors are stickier than the web traffic that visits Priceline's homepage. With a new traffic driver, Priceline should be able to spread the benefits across its whole network.

Franklin Resources

In a lot of ways, asset management firm Franklin Resources (BEN) is a leveraged bet on stock prices. After all, the firm has more than $815 billion in assets under management spread across stocks, bonds and hybrid funds -- so as asset prices rise, so too do the fees that Franklin is able to charge for the cash under its watch. So far, betting on BEN has been a pretty good move in 2013 -- and I think that will continue to be the case into the fourth quarter.

>>5 Big Trades to Take Now

Franklin Resources is the fifth-largest asset manager in the U.S., positioning that helps the firm court big money without alienating retail investors who feel burned by the big banks. BEN's team of 130,000 advisors provides a direct way to attract assets across all of its investment styles, although the skew definitely favors fixed income. While bonds generally earn smaller management fees than equities do, as investors warm up to the equity market, Franklin Resources should see its profitability warm up in kind.

Franklin's net margins are huge, with around 27% of every dollar in management fees working its way to shareholders as profits. A big part of that profitability comes from a better-than-average customer retention rate. Customer acquisition costs are some of the biggest hurdles for asset managers, so BEN's positioning works out very well.

With rising analyst sentiment in shares this week, we're betting on BEN.

Under Armour

A lot has changed at Under Armour (UA) in the last few years. In that short time, UA has gone from making niche apparel for hardcore athletes to mainstream gear that can be found in more than 100 company-owned stores across the country and thousands of other brick-and-mortar retailers. But UA's performance-focused roots continue to drive the firm's ability to collect top dollar.

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

Sports apparel is a big market, but it's a saturated one, so few up-and-comers have successfully challenged the foothold from brands like Nike (NKE). But Under Armour has. The firm's extension in to new categories like footwear about five years ago should continue to drive top-line growth and premium dollars from consumers who see Under Armour as a performance brand.

As Under Armour battled the big name sportswear companies here at home, the firm really hasn't paid a whole lot of attention abroad. In total, overseas sales only make up under 10% of the firm's total revenues; but that lack of international exposure provides ample growth opportunities once UA starts to exhaust its top-line expansion stateside. Shares of UA are far from cheap right now, but the value of the brand and the potential for bigger markets offset the rich price tag.

PetSmart

Pet supply retailer PetSmart (PETM) has a big trend pushing at its back in 2013. Americans love their pets, and to show it, they're spending more on Fido and Whiskers than ever before. That higher per-capita pet spending has been translating to bigger sales numbers at PetSmart's 1,250 big box stores.

>>5 Short-Squeeze Stocks Ready to Pop in October

PetSmart sells pet food, supplies, services and even small pets at its locations. As pets get treated more and more like full fledged family members, so is their allotment of the family budget. That's drastically changed the sales mix at stores like PetSmart, as more emphasis on higher-quality all natural pet foods and more expensive and elaborate toys and grooming products fill the shelves. That focus on quality also translates to higher margins for PETM. More than half of sales come from consumables such as food and treats, which means repeat business.

Another important margin driver is services. Grooming, boarding, and training only make up around 11% of PetSmart's total sales, but they're rich in margin and tend to be sticky. After all, pet owners are less likely to switch their boarding to unfamiliar places purely for cost. Analysts are turning bullish on PetSmart from a sentiment standpoint this week, so we're betting on shares.

To see all of this week's Rocket Stocks in action, check out the Rocket Stocks portfolio at Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.


RELATED LINKS:



>>5 Trades to Take for October Gains



>>5 Stocks Under $10 Triggering Breakout Trades



>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Jonas Elmerraji, CMT, is a senior market analyst at Agora Financial in Baltimore and a contributor to

TheStreet. Before that, he managed a portfolio of stocks for an investment advisory returned 15% in 2008. He has been featured in Forbes , Investor's Business Daily, and on CNBC.com. Jonas holds a degree in financial economics from UMBC and the Chartered Market Technician designation.

Follow Jonas on Twitter @JonasElmerraji


Top Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now

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Top Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Providence Capital Corp(PV.V)

Providence Resources Corp., a junior mining exploration company, engages in the evaluation, acquisition, exploration, and development of precious and base mineral properties. The company focuses on exploring for copper, gold, silver, lead-zinc, and iron-oxide copper-gold metals. It holds an option to acquire a 60% interest in the Iron Range property located in south‐eastern British Columbia near the community of Creston. The company was formerly known as Providence Capital Corp. and changed its name to Providence Resources Corp. in January 2011. Providence Resources Corp. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Belo Corp (BLC)

Belo Corp. (Belo), incorporated on October 27, 2000, is a television company. The Company owns 20 television stations, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV (MNTV) affiliates, and their associated websites, in 15 markets across the United States. The Company also has three local and two regional news channels. Belo also has a services agreement with the owner and operator of KFWD-TV, licensed to Fort Worth, Texas. Belo has six stations in the 13 U.S. markets and 13 stations in the 50 U.S. markets. Belo�� stations are concentrated primarily in three regions: Texas, the Northwest and Arizona. Six of the Company�� stations are located in four metropolitan areas in the United States: ABC affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth; CBS affiliate KHOU-TV in Houston; NBC affiliate KING-TV and independent KONG-TV in Seattle/Tacoma, and Independent KTVK and The CW Network (CW) affiliate KASW-TV in Phoenix. Belo�� television stations have been recognized with numerous local, state and national awards for news coverage and community service. The principal source of revenue for Belo�� television stations is the sale of airtime to local, regional and national advertisers. In 2012, 82.0 % of the Company�� total revenues were derived from spot advertising.

The Company has a portfolio of broadcast network-affiliated stations, with four ABC affiliates, five CBS affiliates and four NBC affiliates, and at least one station associated with each network. As such, Belo�� revenue streams are not significantly affected by which broadcast network leads in the primetime ratings. Belo also owns two independent (IND) stations, two CW affiliates, two MNTV affiliates, and one FOX affiliate. Company also has two regional news channels, Texas Cable News (TXCN) in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and Northwest Cable News (NWCN) in Seattle/Tacoma, Washington, and three local news channels, 24/7 NewsChannel in Boise, Idaho, NewsWatch on Channel 15 in New Orleans, Louisiana and the 3TV 24/7 news channel in Pho! enix, Arizona. These operations provide news coverage and certain other programming in a comprehensive 24-hour a day format using the resources of the Company�� television stations in Texas, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Louisiana and Arizona.

Websites of each of the Company�� television stations provide consumers with news and information as well as a variety of other products and services. Belo obtains immediate feedback through online communication with its audience, which allows the Company to tailor the way in which it delivers news and information to serve the needs of its audiences. The Company has network affiliation agreements with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MNTV. The Company�� network affiliation agreements generally provide the station with the exclusive right to broadcast over the air in its local service area all programs transmitted by the network with which the station is affiliated. As of September 30, 2012, the Company also operated, through a joint venture, a cable news channel in partnership with Cox Communications and other parties that provided local news coverage in Phoenix, Arizona (Arizona NewsChannel).

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    The main catalyst for Gannett's rise was its June announcement that it would acquire television broadcaster Belo (NYSE: BLC  ) in a $2.2 billion deal. The purchase will add Belo's 20 television stations to Gannett's existing broadcasting portfolio, nearly doubling Gannett's station count to 43, and giving it nine more stations in key top-25 markets. Even though the company paid a 28% premium for Belo, Gannett's stock also soared on the news, rising as much as 35% on hopes that diversifying its media exposure will prevent it from suffering the fate of a declining newspaper industry.

  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    Gannett (GCI) rose 3.6% to $26.67 after Belo (BLC) shareholders approved a merger of the two companies. Belo’s stock fell 0.6% to $13.72.

    Carnival (CCL) fell 5.3% to $32.70 today, a day after falling nearly 8% on disappointing earnings. Barron’s says it’s time to buy.

  • [By Jon Friedman]

    Editor's note: A previous version of this article referred to A.H. Belo (NYSE: AHC) instead of Belo Corp. (NYSE: BLC). The Fool regrets the error.�

Top 10 Insurance Stocks To Buy Right Now: Yow Capital Corp (CKR.V)

Caribou King Resources Ltd., a junior exploration company, primarily explores for gold, copper, silver, and base metal deposits in Canada. It owns a 100% interest in the Caribou Dome property, which covers 10,240 acres and is located in the Talkeetna mining district of Alaska; and 49% interest, through a joint venture with Alix Resources, in the Vault property that covers 3,650 hectares and is located in Yukon Territory, Canada. The company was formerly known as Caribou Copper Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Caribou King Resources Ltd. in December 2011. Caribou King Resources Ltd. is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Dumont Nickel Inc. (DNI.V)

DNI Metals Inc., a development stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada. The company primarily explores for diamond, molybdenum, nickel, uranium, vanadium, zinc, copper, cobalt, silver, gold, scandium, lithium and thorium, and other rare metal deposits. Its principal properties include the Alberta polymetallic black shale SBH property comprising 36 metallic and industrial mineral permits located in the Athabasca region, northeast Alberta; and the Attawapiskat Diamond property consisting of a 16 square kilometer land position in the Attawapiskat region located in the James Bay Lowlands in Ontario. The company was formerly known as Dumont Nickel Inc. and changed its name to DNI Metals Inc. in May 2010. DNI Metals Inc. was incorporated in 1954 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: iPass Inc.(IPAS)

iPass Inc. provides enterprise mobility services primarily in the United states, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers enterprise mobility services to manage mobility economics, high speed network connectivity, and proliferation of employee-liable mobile devices. Its enterprise mobility services include cost analysis, reporting, and policy compliance management tools; and Wi-Fi network access to enterprise customers. The company provides Mobile Connect, a service that collects and transmits usage data and statistics from the mobile device; Mobile Insight to report and analyze mobile usage across networks, connections, and devices; Mobile Control, a policy enforcement service; Mobile Office, which delivers 3G mobile data, Wi-Fi hotspot, wired broadband, and dial-up access services; and Mobile Network that provides broadband and dial-up network coverage. It also offers Carrier Wi-Fi enablement services that provide mobile network operators , telecommunication carriers, and service provider partners with the infrastructure to both address their network infrastructure costs and service capabilities, as well as to offer their subscribers global revenue-generating Wi-Fi based mobility services. In addition, the company provides managed network services (MNS) that offer wireline and wireless VPN connectivity services to branch locations of enterprises, retail stores, and financial institutions. Its MNS products comprise MultiLink VPN, a managed Internet-based IP VPN wide area networking service; Branch/Retail VPN that allow for various customer design requirements, backup to MPLS networks, or a hybrid MultiLink/Branch VPN network; and managed Wi-Fi services. iPass Inc. offers its services worldwide directly through its sales force; and through network service providers, telecommunications carriers, systems integrators, and value added resellers. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Redwood Shores , California.

Top Heal Care Stocks To Own Right Now: Orthofix International N.V.(OFIX)

Orthofix International N.V., a medical device company, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes medical equipment used principally by musculoskeletal medical specialists for orthopedic applications. The company offers spinal implant products, and related human cellular and tissue based products used in surgical procedures; non-invasive regenerative stimulation products for use in bone growth and spinal fusions, and to treat non-union fractures; external and internal fixation devices for use in fracture repair, limb lengthening, and bone reconstruction; and bracing products for use in ligament injury prevention, pain management, and protection of surgical repair. Its products also include a device for cold therapy and bone cement, as well as devices for the removal of bone cement used to fix artificial implants. The company provides its products for the spine, orthopedics, and sports medicine market sectors serving independent third parties, including hospi tals, doctors, healthcare providers, and third-party payors, as well as patients. It distributes its products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Belgium, Brazil, and Puerto Rico through direct sales representatives and independent distributors. Orthofix International N.V. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Curacao, the Netherlands Antilles.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    What: Shares of Orthofix International (NASDAQ: OFIX  ) , a medical device company specializing in spinal and orthopedic applications, shed as much as 21% of their value after the company reported its first-quarter results and received four analyst downgrades.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014

Last August, StreetAuthority analyst Nathan Slaughter made a bold prediction.

At the time, the price of natural gas had reached decade-low prices just a few months before, falling below $2 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in April of 2012.

Nathan predicted that natural gas was due for a rebound. He also spotted a huge disconnect between the rising price of natural gas and the share prices of the companies that produce it.

Since June 2012, the price of natural gas has doubled, reaching $4.40 in April before tapering off.

Now, if we were to take a look at the share price for the stock of a "pure play" natural gas company (as opposed to one that produces a combination of gas and oil), we might expect the share price to mirror the price of gas. After all, the spread between how much it costs for these companies to drill for gas and how much they are able to sell it for on the open market is how they make money.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: OMEGA IURANCE HLDGS LTD COM STK USD0.10(OIH.L)

Omega Insurance Holdings Limited operates as an insurance and reinsurance company in Bermuda, London, Chicago, and Cologne. The company primarily underwrites short-tail property insurance and reinsurance accounts, with a focus on small and medium sized insureds and reinsuring smaller insurance companies. It offers property catastrophe treaty reinsurance, property per risk treaty reinsurance, non-marine property insurance, liability insurance and reinsurance, marine insurance and reinsurance, motor insurance and reinsurance, and professional indemnity insurance, as well as satellite, aviation, war, fine art, personal accident, and kidnap and ransom insurance or reinsurance. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: Aetrium Incorporated(ATRM)

Aetrium Incorporated designs, manufactures, and markets electromechanical equipment for the semiconductor industry to handle and test integrated circuits (ICs). The company provides test handler products, which incorporates thermal conditioning, contacting, and automated handling technologies to provide automated handling of ICs during production of test cycles; change kits to adapt test handlers to various IC package configurations or to upgrade installed equipment; and gravity feed test handlers. It also offers reliability test equipment, which provides structural performance data to aid in the evaluation and improvement of IC designs and manufacturing processes. The company sells its products to semiconductor manufacturers, and their assembly and test subcontractors through direct salespeople, independent sales representatives, and distributors in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, a nd the Philippines. Aetrium Incorporated was founded in 1982 and is based in North St. Paul, Minnesota.

Best Stock Investments For 2014: Benton Resources Corp. (BTC.V)

Benton Capital Corp., a development stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada. Its property portfolio consists of gold, nickel, copper, uranium, palladium, base metals, and platinum group metal projects located in Ontario, Newfoundland, and Labrador. The company was formerly known as Benton Resources Corp. and changed its name to Benton Capital Corp. in July 2012. Benton Capital Corp. was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Thunder Bay, Canada.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: Exterran Partners L.P.(EXLP)

Exterran Partners, L.P. provides natural gas contract operations services to customers in the United States. Its contract operations services include designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining equipment to provide natural gas compression to its customers. The company also owns and operates a natural gas processing plant with a capacity of 10 million cubic feet per day, which is used to provide processing services. It serves companies engaged in various aspects of the oil and natural gas industry, including natural gas producers, processors, gatherers, transporters, and storage providers. The company markets its services through sales and field service personnel. Exterran General Partner, L.P. serves as the general partner of Exterran Partners, L.P. The company was formerly known as Universal Compression Partners, L.P. and changed its name to Exterran Partners, L.P. in August 2007. Exterran Partners, L.P. was founded in 2006 an d is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ryan Lowery]

    All natural
    An obvious place to start is coal's biggest competitor, natural gas. For a while now, I've been a fan of the natural gas compression company, Exterran Holdings (NYSE: EXH  ) , which provides operations, maintenance, service, and equipment for both oil and natural gas production. Exterran's stock has had a steady climb the last couple of years -- it's up over 40% this year alone. The majority of analysts are calling Exterran a hold, but several rate it a buy or even a strong buy. Currently, Exterran is trading in the upper $20 range, and with a price target of $33, it still seems to have some upside. And for those interested in investing in master limited partnerships, Exterran operates an MLP as well, Exterran Partners (NASDAQ: EXLP  ) , which has seen a 33% gain in its price this year.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: Numerex Corp.(NMRX)

Numerex Corp. provides business services, technology, and products used in the development and support of machine-to-machine solutions for the enterprise and government markets worldwide. The company offers Numerex DNA that includes hardware and smart devices, cellular and satellite network services, and software applications that are delivered through Numerex FAST (Foundation Application Software Technology). Its customers subscribe to device management, network, and application services through hosted platforms. The company distributes its products through value added resellers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers. It serves security, energy and utilities, healthcare, financial services, government, transportation, and supply chain markets. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    Margins matter. The more Numerex (Nasdaq: NMRX  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Numerex's competitive position could be.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: Hallmark Financial Services Inc.(HALL)

Hallmark Financial Services, Inc., an insurance holding company, engages in marketing, distributing, underwriting, and servicing property/casualty insurance products. It offers standard commercial insurance, specialty commercial insurance, and personal insurance products for businesses and individuals in selected markets. The company?s standard commercial insurance products include general liability, commercial automobile, commercial property, umbrella coverage, commercial multi-peril, and business owner?s insurance products. Its specialty commercial insurance products comprise commercial automobile, general liability, commercial property, medical professional liability insurance; aircraft insurance and airport liability insurance; and commercial excess liability risk and commercial umbrella risk insurance products. Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. also provides personal automobile insurance, low value dwelling/homeowners, renters, motorcycle, and business auto insuranc e products. The company distributes its property/casualty insurance products through independent general agents, retail agents, and specialty brokers. Hallmark Financial Services, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: Atlas Resource Partners LP (ARP)

Atlas Resource Partners, L.P. (Atlas Resource Partners), incorporated on October 13, 2011, is an independent developer and producer of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL), with operations in basins across the United States. The Company is a sponsor and manager of investment partnerships, in which it co-invests, to finance a portion of its natural gas and oil production activities. During the year ended December 31, 2012, its average daily net production was approximately 77.2 million cubic feet equivalent. On December 20, 2012, it completed the acquisition of DTE Gas Resources, LLC from DTE Energy Company. On September 24, 2012, the Company acquired Equal Energy, Ltd.�� (Equal) remaining 50% interest in approximately 8,500 net undeveloped acres included in the joint venture. On July 26, 2012, it completed the acquisition of Titan Operating, L.L.C. On April 30, 2012, it acquired certain oil and natural gas assets from Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. In April 2012, it acquired a 50% interest in approximately 14,500 net undeveloped acres in the oil and NGL area of the Mississippi Lime play in northwestern Oklahoma.

Through December 31, 2012, the Company owned production positions in the areas of the Barnett Shale and Marble Falls play in the Fort Worth Basin in northern Texas; the Appalachia basin, including the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale; the Mississippi Lime and Hunton plays in northwestern Oklahoma, and the Chattanooga Shale in northeastern Tennessee, the Niobrara Shale in northeastern Colorado, the New Albany Shale in southwestern Indiana and the Antrim Shale in Michigan. During 2012, the Company had ownership interests in over 525 wells in the Barnett Shale and Marble Falls play and 569.3 billion cubic feet equivalent of total proved reserves with average daily production of 31.9 million cubic feet equivalent. During 2012, the Company had ownership interests in over 10,200 wells in the Appalachian basin, including approximately 270 wells in the Marcellus Shale and 1! 12.6 billion cubic feet equivalent of total proved reserves with average daily production of 35.6 million cubic feet equivalent. During 2012, it owned 21 billion cubic feet equivalent of total proved reserves with average daily production of 1.9 million cubic feet equivalent in the Mississippi Lime and Hunton plays in northwestern Oklahoma. During 2012, the Company had average daily production of 7.8 million cubic feet equivalent in the Chattanooga Shale in northeastern Tennessee, the Niobrara Shale in northeastern Colorado, the New Albany Shale in southwestern Indiana, and the Antrim Shale in Michigan.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Matt DiLallo]

    The management team at oil and gas company�Atlas Energy (NYSE: ATLS  ) has really taken Warren Buffett's advice to heart. Buffett's old adage to "be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" seems to be that team's approach. After selling its shale assets to Chevron at the top of the market, the company has been diligently acquiring natural gas assets at the market's low. That blueprint continues to be followed as evidenced by the recently announced acquisition of substantial natural gas assets via its master limited partnership, Atlas Resource Partners (NYSE: ARP  ) .

Best Low Price Companies For 2014: Excellon Resources Inc (EXN.TO)

Excellon Resources Inc., a mineral resource company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and mining of mineral properties primarily in Mexico. It primarily explores for silver, lead, and zinc ores. The company owns a 100% interest in the Platosa property covering a total area of 40,864 hectares located in northeastern Durango States. It also has interests in the Miguel Auza property covering a total area of 41,000 hectares of under explored land in northern Zacatecas, as well as in the DeSantis Project situated near Timmins, Ontario and the Beschefer Project, located in northwestern Quebec. Excellon Resources Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

Dow ends above 16,000 for first time as stocks jump

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, boosted by better-than-expected data on weekly jobless claims and as investors reconsidered their concerns about the Federal Reserve's potential reduction in its bond-buying program.

"The market is becoming more and more comfortable with the tapering talk," said Andrew Zimmerman, chief investment strategist at DT Investment Partners, in a phone interview on Thursday.

Click to Play Traders are watching Green Mountain Coffee

Emma Moody takes a look at which stocks traders will be watching during market action, including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Williams-Sonoma, and Abercrombie & Fitch. Photo: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

The S&P 500 (SPX)  was last up 12 points, or 0.7%, to 1,793, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)  advanced 92 points, or 0.6%, to 15,993 after briefly topping the milestone level of 16,000 intraday.

• Ten investments where bubble risk is rising /conga/story/2013/11/asset_bubbles_4.html 286798

The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) gained 37 points, or 0.9%, to 3,958.

On Wednesday, stocks slumped after minutes from the last Fed meeting showed the central bank was on track to slow its bond-buying program that has helped power stocks to record levels.

But the main indexes have now recouped their losses and then some. Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co., pointed out in a note Thursday that "any reduction in the flow of purchases by the Fed inherently smacks of economic recovery."

The market is also taking in weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and speeches by Federal Reserve officials. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also are near their own milestone levels of 1,800 and 4,000, respectively. Check out MarketWatch's live blog of Thursday's stock-market action.

Today's market-moving news: The Labor Department said weekly jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 323,000, better than forecasts for 334,000. In addition, wholesale prices dropped 0.2% last month, reflecting the lack of inflationary pressure in the U.S. economy. On the downside, the Philadelphia Fed's index of manufacturing conditions dropped to 6.5 in November, well below expectations, but the market showed little reaction to that report. Among Thursday's Fed speeches, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker reiterated his opposition to the central bank's bond buys.

What strategists are saying: While uber bear Marc Faber sees asset bubbles just about everywhere, bubble talk could be a good contrarian indicator, according to DT's Zimmerman. "I don't think sentiment is really that bullish out there, if everybody thinks we're in a bubble and is looking for a correction," Zimmerman told MarketWatch on Thursday. "To us it's a contrarian indicator, because we think stocks will continue to rally." Meanwhile, Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, suggested that traders have a fear of missing out in a rally that has left the S&P 500 up by about 25% for the year. He said in emailed comments that a "sense is spreading that if you are not on the bandwagon, your performance will look bad."

2014 predictions: Goldman Sachs sees a 67% probability of the S&P 500 falling 10% at some point in 2014. Meanwhile, Schaeffer's Investment Research pointed out that since 1991, the S&P has always gained in the year that came after a 20%-plus move for that benchmark index.

Today's movers & shakers: Retailers have dropped in the wake of disappointing quarterly results or outlooks. Target Corp. (TGT)  was down 4% after posting weaker margins and earnings at its U.S. business, while Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR)  dropped 4% after its earnings fell in the third quarter. Read more in the Movers & Shakers column.

Other markets: European stocks were mostly lower, while Chinese manufacturing activity showed a deceleration, which hit Hong Kong stocks. Gold prices extended losses on Thursday, while oil prices jumped above $95 a barrel. The dollar was little changed, but Treasury prices advanced.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) Q3 Earnings Preview: A Cold November Rain?

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) will be holding its quarterly earnings conference call for all interested parties on November 21, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. ET.  The earnings press release is scheduled to cross the wire shortly after 7:00 a.m. ET.

Wall Street anticipates that the specialty retailer will make a profit of $0.45 per share for the quarter. iStock expects ANF to miss Wall Street's consensus number. The iEstimate is $0.43. While the iEstimate suggests a bearish miss, Brean Capital expects ANF's EPS will be on target and that management will maintain current guidance.

Abercrombie operates as a specialty retailer of casual apparel for men, women, and kids. It operates through three segments: U.S. Stores, International Stores, and Direct-to-Consumer.

[Related -Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF): Lack Of Visibility May Keep Investors On Sidelines]

Until recently, Abercrombie had little problem topping Wall Street's consensus estimate as the retailer delivered bullish surprises 13 of the last 16 quarters; however, two of the three misses happened in Q1 and Q2 of 2013; falling short by 42.86% and 80%, from the most recent.

Not surprisingly, ANF shares backslid by 25% and 7.6% in the three days surrounding the last two quarterly checkups.

While the November announcement has typically been kind to ANF's shareholders, the third of the three misses happened in Q3 of 2011, when the risque retailer fell short by 21.92% and the stock dropped 18.20% - ouch!

[Related -Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF): Multiple Levers For Greater Profitability]

The other three November reports were far friendlier. On average, Abercrombie & Fitch bypassed third quarter estimates by 35.75%, driving a typical gain of 16.17% in the three-days surrounding the profit news.

Brean specifically mentioned inventory build as a concern heading into Thursday morning's news. According to the most recent 10-Q, the balance sheet line-item spiked 48.37% while sales dipped by 0.60%. Fo! rtunately, total costs and expenses were relatively in line with sales, rising by only 0.28%.

High inventory levels can be real bad news for margins if deep discounts are required to move old merchandise off of dusty shelves. It could be really bad if foot and web traffic slows, which look likely according to Google Trends.

Year-over-year (YoY), search volume intensity dropped 24.32% for the keyword "Abercrombie" and "Abercrombie Hours" a similar 19.67%. Both numbers indicate that sales could slump more than the 9.2% Wall Street is projecting.

Overall: It could be a sloppy quarter for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF). If Google Trends are predictive and high inventory leads to substantial mark downs, then lower sales with lower margins could make for a second cold November Rain on shareholders. 

Ensuring Stretch IRAs for Beneficiaries

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Many IRA owners would like their IRAs to be inherited by loved ones and ultimately help fund the heirs own retirements or other needs.

This goal is known as the Stretch IRA. The IRA’s life stretches for decades and helps at least two generations. To achieve this goal, both the IRA owner and beneficiaries have to take certain actions.

Before starting, it’s a good idea to discuss this goal with loved ones. Most IRA sponsors report that many heirs simply distribute the full IRA after inheriting it, pay the taxes, and spend the after-tax amount. Let the heirs know your intentions and hopes regarding the IRA.

Also, keep in mind the President proposed ending Stretch IRAs. He doesn’t want IRAs to last much beyond the first generation of owners. The idea hasn’t developed traction in Congress, but anything can happen with legislation.

The first step to establish a Stretch IRA is to name one or more individuals as primary beneficiaries of the IRA. In general, when non-individuals (such as your estate) are named a primary beneficiary or no beneficiary is designated, the entire IRA must be distributed within five years of your passing. There’s an exception for a certain type of trust, but otherwise you can’t have a Stretch IRA when no beneficiary is named or you name the estate, a corporation or other entity, or a nonqualifying trust.

Remember your will and living trust have no effect on who is the IRA beneficiary. The beneficiary designation form filed with the IRA custodian controls who is the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

You don’t have to name a specific individual. You can name a category of identifiable people, such as “my children.” But it is better to name specific individuals.

You also should designate contingent beneficiaries. These are individuals who will inherit the account if the primary beneficiaries either are deceased or disclaim the inheritance. Only those people named as primary or contingent beneficiaries on the beneficiary designation form will be eligible to inherit.

When multiple beneficiaries are named, each must be an individual or a qualifying trust and it must be possible to determine the oldest member of the group.

For most IRA owners, the choice of primary beneficiary is automatically the spouse. Contingent beneficiaries often are automatically the children.

An IRA owner who wants to ensure a Stretch IRA and maximize planning possibilities, should appoint several levels of beneficiaries. For most IRAs, the appropriate listing is for the spouse to be primary beneficiary with the children or a qualified IRA trust as contingent beneficiaries. Some people skip a generation and name the grandchildren as contingent beneficiaries or name the grandchildren as a second level of contingent beneficiaries. Some advisors recommend naming a charity or family foundation as a last resort contingent beneficiary in case everyone already named isn’t able to inherit.

The list won’t be the same for each IRA, because each owner will have different loved ones and interests. The goal is to ensure an individual or charity of your choice will be beneficiary if the higher level beneficiaries are not able to inherit. Otherwise, your estate will be the beneficiary, and the IRA will have to be emptied within five years.

After the IRA owner passes, the estate administrator determines the Designated Beneficiary, a concept introduced by the IRS in 2001 and 2002 regulations. The DB is selected from the primary or contingent beneficiaries. The IRA custodian must be notified of the DB by Sept. 30 of the year following the year of the account owner’s death. The main significance of the DB is that his or her age is used to determine the required distributions. The oldest primary beneficiary usually is the DB. If there is no DB, a Stretch IRA is not possible, which is why you name all those primary and contingent beneficiaries.

When multiple beneficiaries inherit an IRA, they have the option to split the IRA in a tax-free transaction into separate IRAs for each of them. Once an inherited IRA is split into a separate IRA for each beneficiary, each beneficiary can use his or her own age to compute the required distributions.

Several requirements must be met to separate an IRA into different IRAs.

First, all post-death earnings, gains, losses, and contributions of the IRA must be shared pro rata between the different IRAs.

Second, the separate accounts must be established by December 31 of the year after the year in which the owner’s death occurred. This also is the deadline for taking the first required distributions from an inherited IRA. The separation can occur any time in the year of the owner’s death or in the following year. As a practical matter, since the RMDs must be taken by Dec. 31 of the year following the year of the owner’s death, the separation of the IRAs should occur sooner so that the distributions can be computed and taken. In addition, the DB must be determined by September 30 of the year after the year of the owner’s death. Therefore, the real deadline for separating the IRAs is long enough before Sept. 30 for the DB to be established and communicated to the custodian.

Third, separate accounts still can be established after the December 31 deadline. But at that point the required distributions for each IRA must be computing using the life expectancy of the oldest beneficiary of the joint IRA, before the separation. When the separation occurs after the December 31 deadline, each separate IRA must continue using the required distribution schedule of the original joint IRA. The advantages of making a separation of the IRA after missing the initial deadline are that each owner would be able to manage his or her investments and decide whether to take distributions exceeding the minimum.

The Second Level Inheritance

It is possible, even likely, that the initial beneficiary of a Stretch IRA will not live to see the account depleted. The method for calculating required distributions is designed so that the account will not be empty when the beneficiary reaches life expectancy. So, what happens after the initial beneficiary passes away?

After the initial beneficiary dies, the legal rights to the account pass to a successor beneficiary. The successor beneficiary must keep the same distribution schedule and method the initial beneficiary had. The successor will compute the distributions assuming that the initial beneficiary lived.

Exactly who becomes successor beneficiary depends on the terms of the IRA documents. An IRA might allow a beneficiary to name his or her successor. If the beneficiary exercised that right, the designation will be respected. Other IRAs or plans require that the estate of the beneficiary become the successor. The estate also will become the owner if the beneficiary had the right to name a successor and did not do so. The estate, then, is able to designate a successor and transfer the rights to the IRA to that successor.

The original owner might have named a successor beneficiary. Most IRA documents, however, say they won’t follow such a designation, and there are estate planners who question whether such a designation has legal effect. There also are estate planners who believe that when a beneficiary dies, any contingent beneficiaries named by the original owner are the successors. Under most IRAs, however, once a beneficiary inherits an IRA he or she has full title to it, including the right to name a successor, and contingent beneficiaries are out of the picture.

Because there is some uncertainty in the law here, it is possible there could be a dispute between heirs over the rights to an IRA. For example, a sibling might pass away. The other siblings might claim they are successors to the deceased sibling’s share of the IRA, while the deceased sibling’s children make the same claim. The plan documents and perhaps the law of the state of the custodian would determine the successor beneficiary. You might want your estate planner to draft a customized beneficiary designation form or research the law to minimize or avoid a dispute.

Can Walmart (WMT) Or Costco (COST) Successfully Compete With Amazon (AMZN)?

A couple of weeks ago, I looked into how well Google (GOOG) and eBay (EBAY) could compete with Amazon. The conclusion? Not very well. It then became very relevant to look into how Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST) would be able to compete. Why? Because I think it's becoming more and more difficult for smaller players to compete with these megaplayers. I've often discussed my theory about dominating the ecosystem and I think those who succeed become very difficult to deal with. Why? Just think about the levels of automation Amazon is able to bring into its business in terms of making it easy for consumers to buy all kinds of products more easily than any other store. Add to that rock bottom prices (slim margins and good purchasing power does help) and it's a major challenge. Are Walmart and Costco the only players that can compete?

Better local presence: There is no doubt that both Walmart and Costco have a much stronger local presence with big stores all across the US and in many other countries. That is a major advantage.

Cost structure: (employees, fixed costs, etc) On this front, the advantage for Amazon is very clear. It has fewer locations, employees and has been able to open warehouses with the overall goal of keeping costs low. It has also started using robots in its warehouses.

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Amazon Has An Insurmountable LeadThe major advantage for Amazon over its competitors is that it was able to start off its business at square zero. It built everything geared towards this new business environment:

-Digital Products: Amazon has built a strong business around digital products thanks in large p! art to its Kindle. It has been able to sell digital books, streaming videos, etc.

-Same-day delivery: Amazon has been building warehouses in a very strategic way in order to be able to quickly offer same-day delivery to as many customers as possible. Walmart and Costco built with a completely different mindset as they focused on which stores would get enough business.

-Technology Advantage: Building a website that sells products is easy. Having technology that will make it easy to target consumers with the right offers, to make purchases extremely easy, to have an active community that generates millions of product reviews, that is much more difficult and from that perspective, Amazon is at least a decade ahead.

Walmart and others will surviveI don't think that in the long term, Walmart and Costco will be able to successfully compete with Amazon but those two players will certainly remain major, very relevant players. We're not near the day where consumers stop going to physical stores so having a strong local presence obviously matters a great deal.

Disclaimer: No positions on WMT, AMZN or COST

3 Key Takeaways From Zillow's Earnings Call

Zillow (NASDAQ: Z  ) is facing increasing pressure for the leadership position in the online real estate marketplace. The recent purchase of Market Leader by Trulia (NYSE: TRLA  ) places it in a more comparable position based on revenue. Move (NASDAQ: MOVE  ) continues to make long-needed enhancements to realtor.com, but it has fallen far behind the monthly unique users, or MUUs, of Zillow and Trulia. 

The previous week's earnings call for Zillow provided several key numbers that suggest the leadership position isn't as much in question. While Trulia made a big step forward on the professional agent aspect of the business, it fell even further behind on traffic to its core sites. In addition, Move recently got approval to become more competitive via quicker updates to the primary website, but the consumer traffic levels suggest it might be too far behind to catch up. After all, President Obama chose Zillow to participate in a discussion on the real estate market, but not the other two companies.

Market share expansion
Not only is Zillow seen as the leading real estate marketplace brand, it continues to grow market leadership. According to comScore, the desktop market share grew during the third quarter to 34% from 27% last year. In mobile, Experian's Hitwise listed Zillow as having nearly double the market share of the second-place brand.

This market share leadership was evidenced by Zillow averaging 61 million MUUs during the third quarter, with a record 64 million unique users in August alone. Trulia reported 35 million users for the Trulia business line and 42 million total, counting the added Market Leader users. Move saw 22% growth, but total MUUs only reached 28 million.

New York opportunity
Zillow recently purchased StreetEasy to capture the distinctive New York real estate market. While the site draws 1 million MUUs, the interesting stat is that the New York market generates $1.9 billion in annual agent commissions. This amount is so large that it reaches 60% of the Australia market and 33% of the U.K. Being able to achieve a commanding market share in the largest real estate marketplace could provide a commanding lead in becoming the dominant player. Perhaps even more interesting is that New York house rental transaction volume exceeds for-sale transactions.

Expanding agent ad spend
The number that's sure to cause significant debate is the projected expansion of agent advertising spending. Zillow proposes that, due to a higher return on investment from advertising dollars spent on its website compared to traditional media forms, agents will be more likely to spend a larger percentage of commissions. The ultimate question is whether that ROI can be maintained as more agents move onto the site and the leads become more competitive and, hence, expensive to obtain.

Agents currently spend an estimated 10% to 20% of their $60 billion in commissions on ads, with the majority choosing print and traditional media forms. Zillow projects total advertising levels will jump to $20 billion or more with agents willing to spend up to 40% of commissions on real home buyer clients. The company claims that these numbers are consistent with international comps.

Worth noting is that Zillow, Trulia, and Move combined are only expected to generate roughly $600 million in revenue this year. Those numbers are bolstered by non-agent advertising revenue such as display ads and mortgages.

Bottom line
Zillow took the best shot last quarter from the top competition in the online real estate marketplace, separating itself in the process. That's a clear sign of a market leader and future dominant player. Valuations of Trulia and Move are compelling compared to their growth rates, but the second and third players in a market tend to have lower valuations.

With Zillow trading at roughly 10 times forward revenue estimates, most investors will have issues with the valuation. Ultimately though, the market leader in the online real estate market will likely attract valuations similar to other segments (like cloud software and social media) that would place the stock beyond a market cap of $3 billion. With revenue growing above 50% and Zillow likely to take market share as it becomes the dominant player, it will quickly grow into an even larger valuation.

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Beware of New Paradigm Stocks

By Chris Rees

In a blaze of cosmic, star-spangled glory, a new generation of dotcoms has officially come of age. The latest to reach the stratosphere is Twitter (NASDAQ: TWTR) which became a public company in November. Priced at a mere $26 a share, it soared to within a hair of $50 within the first two hours of trading. Sweet nectar indeed for those privileged enough to be allocated shares before the start of trading.

The fact that Twitter—currently valued by the market at over $24 billion as of November 18—is losing money, and will likely continue to lose money, should not give pause to those who believe the sky is the limit for this new incarnation of stargazing dotcoms that conjure up reminiscences past and now forgotten shooting stars like Netscape, Geocities, Lycos, TheGlobe.com, Pets.com and Webvan.

In writing about the dotcom crash, Investopedia—which points out that when the bubble popped, the Nasdaq, home of most of the dotcoms, lost roughly 80% of its value from peak to trough —has this to say:

“Companies underwent a similar phenomenon to the one that gripped seventeenth-century England and America in the early eighties: investors wanted big ideas more than a solid business plan. Buzzwords like networking, new paradigm, information technologies, internet, consumer-driven navigation, tailored web experience, and many more examples of empty double-speak filled the media and investors with a rabid hunger for more.

The IPOs of internet companies emerged with ferocity and frequency, sweeping the nation up in euphoria. Investors were blindly grabbing every new issue without even looking at a business plan to find out, for example, how long the company would take before making a profit, if ever.”

But pay no mind. That was then and this is a very different now. We live in a brave new world today of forever rising stars. The chief astronomer, and wealth- effect heaven-maker, Ben Bernanke , and his soon-to-be successor, Janet Yellen will protect us from the silly and outdated evil of rational pricing.

LinkedIn (LNKD) is another stock that appears firmly on the astral plane. It's currently valued at around $27 billion as of November 18, and fetches more than $230 a share. This Facebook-for-business trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of around 100 based on analyst estimates for next year's earnings, and close to a P/E of 1,000 if one wants to contemplate last year's reported earnings.

SPS Commerce (SPSC) is another stock seemingly detached from this earthly realm. Its shares currently trade at around $73 on a company-estimated full year net income of around five cents a share. At that rate, you'd have to own it for over 1,300 years to get your money back.

One of the curious things about the dotcom bubble at its peak was that a value investor—or anyone with a battery in their calculator—could navigate around the Internet-driven madness of the crowd and not only survive, but prosper.

This was because, as money poured into the pie-in-the-sky stocks, it flowed out of many solid, tangible and profitable businesses leaving them unwanted and undervalued bargains. Today it's not quite like that. The price of almost everything is elevated due to central bank money printing.

It's impossible to know exactly when this latest celestial display of exuberance and gravity-defying levitation will end. However, the last time we saw stock market stars align themselves in this heavenly fashion, the aftermath was very painful for those who believed in, and invested in, these types of stocks.

The way to survive then is to stay away from the crowd; to walk alone. When the confident hordes rush to invest in ephemeral and fragile notions of some future profit, seek instead companies that are profitable today, with tangible assets and solid balance sheets.

One day the valuations on these new, new paradigm stocks like LNKD, SPSC, and TWTR will come back down to earth. The stars will fall from the sky.

“When I heard the learn'd astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.”

  -Walt Whitman 1819-1892

DISCLAIMER: All opinions included in this material are as of November 15, 2013 and are subject to change. The opinions and views expressed herein are of the portfolio manager and may differ from other managers, or the firm as a whole.  All investments involve risk (the amount of which may vary significantly) and investment recommendations will not always be profitable. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The post Beware of New Paradigm Stocks appeared first on Smarter Investing

Covestor Ltd. is a registered investment advisor. Covestor licenses investment strategies from its Model Managers to establish investment models. The commentary here is provided as general and impersonal information and should not be construed as recommendations or advice. Information from Model Managers and third-party sources deemed to be reliable but not guaranteed. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Transaction histories for Covestor models available upon request. Additional important disclosures available at http://site.covestor.com/help/disclosures. For information about Covestor and its services, go to http://covestor.com or contact Covestor Client Services at (866) 825-3005, x703.

Chris Rees Chris Rees

I am a self-taught individual investor and a portfolio manager with more than 20 years of experience. I focus on…

The following article is from one of our external contributors. It does not represent the opinion of Benzinga and has not been edited.

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  Around the Web, We're Loving... Come Learn 6 Proven Trading Strategies at Our Holliday Trading Summit Learn to Use Trading Platforms Like Hedge Fund Traders do Rumsfeld: Denial of Benefits to Fallen Soldiers' Families 'Inexcusable' Come See How the Pro's Trade in this Exclusive Webinar Facebook, Baidu Lead Big Caps Beating Shutdown What Should You Know About AMZN? Most Popular Five Star Stock Watch: Facebook, Inc. CareFusion To Acquire Vital Signs Division of GE Healthcare For $500M Barron's Recap: Is The Bubble Ready To Burst? Market Wrap For November 18: Markets Hit New Highs Before Carl Icahn Comments Stocks Hitting 52-Week Lows 3D Printers: What The Analysts Are Saying Related Articles (TWTR) A First Look At Hedging Twitter Twitter Options Prognosis: #Uneventful Market Wrap For November 18: Markets Hit New Highs Before Carl Icahn Comments Retro Wall Street Aims to Educate Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Markets Dip on Icahn Comments as Tesla Shares Fall on Technical Breakdown Wunderlich Sell Rating Taking Toll on Twitter Shares

Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Nordic American Tanker Rallies as BlackBerry Shares Take a Hit

Toward the end of trading Wednesday, the Dow traded down 0.30 percent to 15,288.38 while the NASDAQ dropped 0.06 percent to 3,766.27. The S&P also fell, declining 0.13 percent to 1,795.70.

Top Headline
AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) reported a 15% rise in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. AutoZone's quarterly profit surged to $371.2 million, or $10.42 per share, from $323.7 million, or $8.46 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $9.76 per share. Its net sales climbed 12% to $3.1 billion, while sales at stores open at least one year jumped 1%.

However, analysts were expecting earnings of $10.34 per share on sales of $3.09 billion. AutoZone's total auto-parts sales climbed 10% to $2.99 billion. However, its domestic commercial sales jumped 17% to $506.8 million.

Equities Trading UP
MAKO Surgical (NASDAQ: MAKO) shot up 82.38 percent to $29.49 after the company agreed to be acquired by Stryker (NYSE: SYK) for $30 per share in cash. Shares of Ascena Retail Group (NASDAQ: ASNA) got a boost, shooting up 16.34 percent to $20.17 after the company reported upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Nordic American Tankers (NASDAQ: NAT) was also up, gaining 10.05 percent to $8.87 after the Dow Jones Global Shipping Index showed strength throughout the session on Wednesday.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) took a hit on Wednesday, falling 5.57 percent to $8.06 as traders became skeptical that its buyout would be executed.

AAR (NYSE: AIR) shares tumbled 10.32 percent to $26.84 after the company reported a drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit.

J. C. Penney Company (NYSE: JCP) was down, falling 15.17 percent to $10.10 despite a Dow Jones report stating that J.C. Penney will hire around 35,000 holiday season workers.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.66 percent to $102.45, while gold traded up 1.45 percent to $1,335.40. Silver traded up 0.54 percent Wednesday to $21.88, while copper rose 0.51 percent to $3.27.

Eurozone
European shares were mixed today. The Spanish Ibex Index surged 0.84 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index rose 0.14 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 0.02 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.01 percent while U.K. shares declined 0.27 percent.

Economics
The MBA's index of mortgage application activity climbed 5.5% in the week ended September 20, versus a rise of 11.2% in the week ended September 13. US durable-goods orders rose 0.1% in August, while core durable-goods orders fell 0.1% in the month. US new home sales climbed 7.9% to an annual rate of 421,000 in August.

However, economists were projecting sales to rise to a rate of 420,000 in August. Crude stockpiles increased 2.6 million barrels for the week ended September 20, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a fall of 1.5 million barrels.

Investor Beat: Nov. 18, 2013

On Monday's edition of Investor Beat, host Alison Southwick and Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and David Hanson take a sharp and irreverent Foolish look at the biggest investing stories of the day.

The market hit another all-time high today opening at 16,000. With the Dow up more than 20% so far this year, fears are mounting that this bull market doesn't have much farther to run. In the lead story from Investor Beat, Jason and David discuss what investors need to do as the Dow climbs higher.

Then, our analysts take a look at four stocks making moves on the market today. Tyson Foods is one hot chicken stock. Boeing makes a huge sale. The Container Store keeps rising, despite not turning a profit. And JPMorgan still can't put the past behind it.

And finally, David and Jason explain why they're keeping a close watch on shares of Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods.

More Foolish insight
To learn about two retailers with especially good prospects, take a look at The Motley Fool's special free report: "The Death of Wal-Mart: The Real Cash Kings Changing the Face of Retail." In it, you'll see how these two cash kings are able to consistently outperform and how they're planning to ride the waves of retail's changing tide. You can access it by clicking here.

U.S. data pull Europe stocks from intraday high

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Europe's benchmark stock index briefly dipped into negative territory Tuesday afternoon after data showed a drop in U.S. consumer confidence, but most indexes headed for a positive close after upbeat figures on German business sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index (XX:SXXP)  gained 0.2% to 313.18, after closing on Monday with the biggest one-day loss in September.

Click to Play The next 24: U.S. housing prices

KB Home and Lennar report quarterly results and the market prepares for the Case-Shiller home price index before the open. Red Hat is on the move after the bell, and overseas economies look to German confidence and output surveys.

"We're in a bit of a holding phase before we get the Q3 results. There's only economic data to move the market right now, and there's not a lot of that at the moment. But the economic data that has come out is still mildly positive. The Ifo today was mildly positive and the PMIs yesterday were a bit better," said Kevin Lilley, head of European equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.

"I think the market can grind higher before the end of the year, but we will get pockets along the way where markets get worried," he added.

"The Chinese economy seems to be showing some signs of picking up again, the U.S. steadily improves and Europe is coming out of the recession. Things are pointing in the right direction."

Among notable movers in the pan-European index, shares of Total SA (FR:FP)   (TOT)  climbed 3.1% after Barclays lifted the oil giant to equal weight from underweight. The analysts said that the company's capital markets day was "enough to convince us that it can control capex more than we had previously anticipated."

Shares of Telecom Italia SpA (IT:TIT) added 2.8% and Telefonica SA (ES:TEF)  fell 0.2% after the two companies reached a deal to allow the Spanish firm to take control over Telco, which is the largest shareholder in the Italian telecom firm.  

On a more downbeat note, shares of Stora Enso Oyj (FI:STERV)  lost 1.7% after Credit Suisse cut the pulp-and-paper firm to neutral from outperform on valuation grounds.

MarketWatch/William Watts European stocks rise on Tuesday. U.S. consumer confidence drops

More broadly, the markets trimmed earlier gains in afternoon trade after data showed U.S. consumers were less confident in September than in August on renewed worries about stagnant wages and the availability of jobs. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 79.7 in September from a revised 81.8 the previous month.

Additional data out on Tuesday showed a slowdown in home-price growth for July, as higher mortgage rates appeared to hit the housing market.

Investors are closely watching data from the U.S. to see if it'll strengthen or weaken the case for the Federal Reserve to start tapering its $85-billion-a-month asset purchase program. The central bank surprised the markets last week by keeping its bond buys intact because of soft U.S. growth, prompting a short-term rally in stock markets on the prospect for continued cheap liquidity.

New York Fed President William Dudley said Monday that the economy currently is too weak to scale back the bond-buying program and that "there has been no pickup in its 'forward momentum'".

"As far as I am concerned, the Fed tapering is inevitable and it's something that will only happen on positive economic activity. On the one hand, it will force interest rates a bit higher, which is partly negative for the stock market, but it will happen in an environment where economic conditions have improved," said Lilley.

U.S. stocks were mostly higher on Wall Street.

German Ifo data

Investors also looked to data coming out of Europe, where the Ifo institute said German business confidence rose for a fifth straight month in September. The Ifo business-climate index rose to 107.7 from a revised figure of 107.6 in August, slightly below expectations of a 108.0 print.

"Although companies assessed their current business situation slightly less favorably, their business expectations were once again more optimistic. The German economy made a confident start to the autumn," Kai Carstensen, director at Ifo, said in the release.

Germany's DAX 30 index (DX:DAX)  put on 0.3% to 8,657.61.

France's CAC 40 index (FR:PX1)  gained 0.6% to 4,195.37, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX)  added 0.2% to 6,569.56.

[video] Quick Take: Apple's Cook 'Has Issues'

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Apple (AAPL) revealed its new products earlier this week and Wall Street isn't taking much notice. The stock fell 5% on Wednesday and is nearly flat in Thursday morning trading.

Stephanie Link, co-manager of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, told TheStreet's Jim Cramer that the product story was lackluster and that CEO Tim Cook has had plenty of time to prove that he is a revolutionary leader.

Instead, she said he has been only evolutionary.

Although the iPhone 5S will likely do well, many had expected that the iPhone 5C was made to compete in emerging markets. But with such a steep price tag, that doesn't seem to be the case, Link added. Cramer compared Apple to Microsoft (MSFT), but with a bit more upside. He added that Cook was like Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who lacks innovation. He concluded that Apple is not trying to win over market share from competitors like Samsung and the stock will remain a small position in the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio. -- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich. Follow @BretKenwell

Secondaries Flying off the Shelves -- Bullish Sign?

(Originally published on Real Money's Columnist Conversation.)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- IPOs are grabbing the headlines, with Twitter the latest to feed the frenzy, but the real story isn't IPOs at all -- but secondaries.

"They're outpacing IPOs at what feels like an exponential rate," says David Menlow of the IPO Financial Network. "Last Friday, we priced 18 of them against one IPO."

Menlow has been tracking IPOs and secondaries for 25 years and he says whenever there is a burst of secondaries like this, he sees it as a bullish sign for the economy. "It's a huge indicator for corporate strength and the jobless recovery," he says. Of course, these secondaries could also be viewed little more than insiders taking advantage of the red-hot stock market by getting out while the getting is good. And there's plenty of that. Just look at Five Below (FIVE) Tuesday, whose latest secondary represented little more than bailing by private-equity insiders. By contrast, Pandora's (P) recently announced secondary was less insider sales, more raising cash for corporate purposes. And that's Menlow's point as it applies to the economy: Key to many of these sales, he says, is to raise cash for general corproate purposes and to pay off debt and otherwise have cash in the coffers so they can pounce on future acquisitions or business opportunities. That, he says, is a bullish sign. "When they want to make that move, they have the money in hand," he says. As for investors, he says, many of the deals, like Pandora, have been winners -- rising after the deal. Reality: Of course, in this stock market, things that used to go down go up -- secondaries, no exception. --Written by Herb Greenberg. Follow @herbgreenberg >To submit a news tip, send an email to: tips@thestreet.com.