Hot Cheap Stocks To Watch For 2014

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) keeps attacking Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) , but it may only be hurting itself.�

The software giant is extending its Google-bashing Scroogled campaign with another jab at the Chromebook. The dirt cheap Chrome-based netbooks that hardware companies have been putting out still add up to a sliver of the overall PC market, but that isn't stopping from Microsoft investing in putting the platform down.

Last month, the Chromebook smear campaign involved bringing in the Pawn Stars reality show celebrities to talk down the trade-in value of Chromebook. In a another spot that rolled out on Thursday, Ben the PC hunter talks to Californians on the street about comparing Windows-fueled laptops to Chromebooks.�

If Microsoft was the underdog in PC platforms, the desperate attacks would make sense. It's not. Google's doing a better job undermining Microsoft's growth through its Android tablets and smartphones than it is through its Chromebook. However, putting out the spots -- and hoping they go viral by broadcasting them through Google's own YouTube -- may be hurting its cause.�

Top 10 Chemical Stocks To Buy Right Now: Merck & Company Inc.(MRK)

Merck & Co., Inc. provides various health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company?s Pharmaceutical segment provides human health pharmaceutical products, such as therapeutic and preventive agents for the treatment of human disorders in the areas of bone, respiratory, immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, diabetes and obesity, infectious diseases, neurosciences and ophthalmology, oncology, vaccines, and women's health and endocrine. This segment also offers human health vaccines, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products. This segment offers antibiotics, anti-inflammatory products, vaccines, products for the treatment of fertility disorders, and parasiticides for cattle, swine, horses, poultry, dogs, cats, salmons, and fish. The Consumer Care segment develops, manufac tures, and markets over-the-counter, foot care, and sun care products. Its over-the-counter product line includes non-drowsy antihistamines; treatment for occasional constipation; decongestant-free cold/flu medicine for people with high blood pressure; nasal decongestant spray; and treatment for frequent heartburn. This segment?s foot care products comprise topical antifungal, and foot and sneaker odor/wetness products; and sun care products include sun care lotions, sprays and dry oils; and sunburn relief products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies, physicians, physician distributors, veterinarians, animal producers, and managed health care providers, as well as food chain and mass merchandiser outlets in the United States and Canada. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By anandjha89]

  Large pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer (PFE) and Merck (MRK) are often celebrated for their marketing acumen. But, when compared with really successful marketing companies like the Internet giant Google (GOOG), their performance is less than stellar. True marketing leaders must innovate continuously to stay ahead of the market, by creating needs, rather than only responding to them. To them, marketing begins with choosing which products to develop and ends with the sales process. That is what Google has accomplished with Google Glass.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Big Pharma giant Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) delivered a solid 3.8% gain after reporting encouraging early-stage data on Lambrolizumab, its experimental anti-PD-1 antibody, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual meeting. According to the phase 1b data, Lambrolizumab showed a phenomenal overall response rate of 38% in treating advanced melanoma. Furthermore, most of the adverse events were grade 1/2 (the less serious type), meaning the treatment was generally well tolerated. Immunotherapy stocks were certainly the stars of ASCO, and now all eyes will be on Merck and its anti-PD-1 drug moving forward.

• [By John Divine]

  Merck (NYSE: MRK  ) added 2% today after shares in the pharmaceutical company were reiterated at outperform by BMO Capital. BMO Capital also raised its price target on shares to $54, citing a strengthening pipeline. It's the second straight day of strong gains for the stock. Yesterday, shares traded nearly 4% higher on news that a Merck drug achieved impressive results in the treatment of advanced melanoma.�

Hot Cheap Stocks To Watch For 2014: Oracle Corporation(ORCL)

Oracle Corporation, an enterprise software company, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and services database and middleware software, applications software, and hardware systems worldwide. It licenses of database and middleware software, including database management software, application server software, service-oriented architecture and business process management software, data integration software, business intelligence software, identity and access management software, content management software, portals and user interaction software, development tools, and Java; and applications software comprising enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, enterprise performance management, supply chain management, business intelligence applications, enterprise portfolio project management, Web commerce, and industry-specific applications software. The company also offers customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and maintenance releases; Internet access to technical content; and Internet and telephone access to technical support personnel. In addition, its hardware systems products consist of computer server and hardware-related software, including the Oracle Solaris Operating System; and storage products, such as tape, disk and networking solutions for open systems and mainframe server environments. Its hardware systems support solutions include software updates for the software components. Further, the company offers consulting solutions in business and IT strategy alignment, enterprise architecture planning and design, initial product implementation and integration, and ongoing product enhancements and upgrades; cloud services, including Oracle Cloud Services and Advanced Customer Services; and education solutions comprising instructor-led, media-based, and Internet-based training in the use of its software and hardware products. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Redwood Ci ty, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By rusticnomad]

  Despite the fact that Linux supplier Red Hat (RHT) has got off to a slow start this year, things are going to improve for the organization. Red Hat as of late posted robust results, outperforming estimates in a sluggish quarter, and saw positive arrangement action. The organization has recovered its score, and is reporting solid development despite rivalry from Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL).

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Yesterday Oracle's (NASDAQ: ORCL) announced an upbeat second quarter results which included a revenue beat and in-line guidance. Analysts at MKM noted that the company's results could signal that ��he worst may finally be behind Oracle.��Shares gained 5.84 percent, closing at $36.62.

• [By DailyFinance Staff]

  Stocks took a breather Thursday after racing higher on Wednesday, and the price of gold sank to a three-year low. The major averages ended mixed -- and that's good news, as the market mostly held onto the huge gains that followed the Federal Reserve's taper announcement. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) edged up 11 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) slipped a point, and the Nasdaq composite index (^IXIC) fell 12 points. But the price of gold slumped by $39 an ounce, closing below $1,200 for the first time in more than three years. Gold related stocks followed suit. Newmont Mining (NEM), Barrick Gold (ABX) and Goldcorp (GG) all fell about 1.5 percent. Another story getting lots of play today is Target's (TGT) announcement that as many as 40 million credit and debit card customers may have had their account information stolen over the past few weeks. Target shares fell 2 percent. Even though earnings season is still a few weeks away, earnings news was a big factor today. On the upside: Oracle (ORCL), up 6 percent. The software maker beat Wall Street profit and revenue estimates. Food giant ConAgra (CAG), up 5 percent, after topping expectations. And Pier 1 (PIR), also up 5 percent. Net slightly missed, but the retailer raised its dividend by 20 percent.

Hot Cheap Stocks To Watch For 2014: USG Corporation(USG)

USG Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of building materials worldwide. The company offers gypsum and related products, including gypsum wallboard, joint compounds used for finishing wallboard joints, cement boards, glass mat sheathing, gypsum fiber panels, poured gypsum underlayments, ultra light panels, and various construction plaster products. Its gypsum products are used in various building applications to finish the interior walls, ceilings, and floors in residential, commercial, and institutional constructions, and repair and remodel constructions. The company also produces gypsum-based products for agricultural and industrial customers to use in various applications, including soil conditioning, road repair, fireproofing, and ceramics. In addition, it manufactures ceiling grid and acoustical ceiling tile for electrical and mechanical systems, and air distribution and maintenance applications. USG Corporation distribut es its gypsum products through specialty wallboard distributors, building materials dealers, home improvement centers and other retailers, contractors, and a network of distributors. Further, it distributes other manufacturers? gypsum wallboard, joint compound and other gypsum products, as well as drywall metal, insulation, and roofing products and accessories. The company sells its products under SHEETROCK, DUROCK, FIBEROCK, SECUROCK, LEVELROCK, RED TOP, IMPERIAL, DIAMOND, SUPREMO, AURATONE, ACOUSTONE, DONN, DX, FINELINE, CENTRICITEE, CURVATURA, and COMPASSO brands. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Jarzemsky]

  While economists attributed some of the downtick to cold and snowy weather, some are wondering if the Federal Reserve�� plan to dial back its stimulus program this year could lead to a rise in interest rates, putting the brakes on the housing recovery. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund��hich tracks a broad basket of housing-related stocks from builders to Sheetrock maker USG Corp.(USG)��s down about 3.6% year-to-date.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  She also serves as chairman of the United States Steel and Carnegie Pension Fund, and on that organization's investment committee. Outside of U.S. Steel, she sits on the board of directors of USG (NYSE: USG  ) and the Pennsylvania Business Council, among other entities.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  USG (NYSE: USG  ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

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

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Pimco managing director Mark Kiesel mentions Whirlpool (WHR), Weyerhaeuser (WY), USG (USG), Toll Brothers (TOLL) and KB Home (KBH) as good plays on housing:�

Hot Cheap Stocks To Watch For 2014: Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, mining, and production of mineral resources. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and cobalt. It holds interests in various properties, located in North and South America; the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 31, 2010, the company?s consolidated recoverable proven and probable reserves totaled 120.5 billion pounds of copper, 35.5 million ounces of gold, 3.39 billion pounds of molybdenum, 325.0 million ounces of silver, and 0.75 billion pounds of cobalt. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) is the favorite name in the space. The company announced Friday that its Indonesian union workers are expected to sign a new contract within two weeks after reaching an agreement over wages. Freeport Indonesia employs about 24,000 workers, including contractors and staff. About three-quarters are union members. This puts one of its top copper mines back in production. The Thomson/First Call price target for the stock is $37.50. Investors are paid a very solid 3.7% dividend. Freeport closed Thursday at $33.01.

Hot Cheap Stocks To Watch For 2014: Global Payments Inc.(GPN)

Global Payments Inc. provides electronic transaction processing services for merchants, independent sales organizations (ISO), financial institutions, government agencies, and multi-national corporations located in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards; business-to-business purchasing cards; gift cards; and electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification, and recovery, including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also offers proprietary software products to establish revolving check cashing limits for the casinos? customers in the gaming industry. In addition, it sells, installs, and services automated teller machine and point of sale terminals; and provides card issuing services, including card management and card personalization. The company markets its products directly, as well as through ISOs, retail outlets, tra de associations, alliance bank relationships, and financial institutions. Global Payments Inc. has a joint venture with La Caixa Group to provide merchant acquiring services to merchants in Spain. Global Payments Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Global Payments (NYSE: GPN) is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.95 per share on revenue of $623.79 million.

  Synergetics USA (NASDAQ: SURG) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.06 per share on revenue of $17.01 million.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Global Payments�(GPN) has gained 6.8% to $54.12 in pre-open trading after the payment processing company reported a profit of $1 a share, beating analyst forecasts of 95 cents. It also said it would buy back stock.

Hot Cheap Stocks To Watch For 2014: Hewlett-Packard Company(HPQ)

Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as to the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Its Personal Systems Group segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, calculators and other related accessories, and software and services for the commercial and consumer markets. The company?s Services segment provides consulting, outsourcing, and technology services to infrastructure, applications, and business process domains. Its Imaging and Printing Group segment provides consumer and commercial printer hardware, supplies, media, and scanning devices, such as inkjet and Web solutions, laser jet and enterprise solutions, managed enterprise solutions, graphics solutions, and printer supplies. The company?s Enterprise Servers, Storage, and Networking segment offers industry standard s ervers, business critical systems, storage platforms, and networking products, including switches, routers, wireless LAN, and TippingPoint network security products. Its HP Software segment provides enterprise IT management software, information management solutions, and security intelligence/risk management solutions. The company?s HP Financial Services segment offers leasing, financing, utility programs, and asset recovery services; and financial asset management services for enterprise customers, as well as specialized financial services to SMBs, and educational and governmental entities. Hewlett-Packard Company also provides business intelligence solutions that enable businesses to standardize on consistent data management schemes, connect and share data across the enterprise, and apply analytics, as well as licenses its specific technology to third parties. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is the other big rebounder, with gains of 46% over the past year helping to cut its losses since 2009 to just 10%. Despite disappointing investors with its fiscal third-quarter earnings report, HP is producing prodigious amounts of cash flow, and the company has worked hard to reduce debt and restructure toward higher-potential segments. HP's revenue has come under pressure lately, but that's been a largely industrywide phenomenon, plaguing many of its peers as well. HP appears to be taking the long-run approach, and that could serve it well in the years to come.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) led the pack with a 2.3% gain. The Silicon Valley veteran started bouncing on Friday on rumors that activist investor Carl Icahn is building a stake in the company. Icahn's camp did nothing to defuse this chatter over the weekend, and the fires were stoked further by HP's Slate 7 tablet hitting an enthusiastic review circuit. The low-cost Android device appears to give Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) own Nexus 7 a run for its money.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Shares of software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT  ) are getting hammered today, down by 5% at the low. PC partner Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) is seeing its shares crushed even more, with losses having flirted with 8%. Chipzilla Intel (NASDAQ: INTC  ) didn't escape the beating, with its shares having lost more than 3% before recovering moderately.

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) was the biggest winner in the Dow this week, gaining 3.4%, but it may not have anything to do with HP at all. Competitor Dell's buyout ran into a snag this week, and the company's shareholder meeting was never actually concluded with a vote on Dell's offer. The longer this fiasco drags out, the less attention Dell's management can put into its PC business, and that's good for HP. It's amazing how fast the industry can flip, because just a few years ago, Dell looked like it had the rock-solid management and HP was being led by the blind. Today, the tables have turned, and we don't even know who's going to own Dell a few months from now. �