Among more speculative ideas, our top pick for 2014 is a consumer staples company, making and marketing some of the world's best known sweets and treats; brands such as Oreo, Cadbury, Nabisco, Milka, Tang, and Trident are all category leaders, explains Eric Vermulm of InvesTech Market Analyst.
Thanks to these, and many other products, Mondelez International (MDLZ) holds the Number One global market share in biscuits (crackers and cookies), chocolate, candy, and powdered beverages, as well as the Number Two position in gum and coffee.
Mondelez's products are well-positioned in the snack food aisle, which is a leading growth area in the grocery store. Biscuits and snacks are seeing more rapid worldwide adoption, compared to other treat categories, such as ice cream, carbonated drinks, or baked goods.
With an estimated 40% of sales coming from emerging markets, MDLZ is benefitting from an emerging worldwide middle class with a taste for treats. Management currently expects rising demand to drive double-digit revenue growth in these markets, which should put total sales gains in the mid-single digits—near the top-end among its peers.
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: Ishares Silver Trust (SLV)
iShares Silver Trust (the Trust) owns silver transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (Shares). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the net assets of the Trust. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of silver held by the Trust�� custodian on behalf of the Trust. The sponsor of the Trust is iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC (the Sponsor). The trustee of the Trust is The Bank of New York Mellon (the Trustee) and the custodian of the Trust is JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., London branch (the Custodian).
The activities of the Trust are limited to issuing Baskets of Shares in exchange for the silver deposited with the Custodian as consideration, selling silver as necessary to cover the Sponsor�� fee, Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor and other liabilities and delivering silver in exchange for Baskets of Shares surrendered for redemption. Each deposit of silver for the creation of Baskets of Shares and each surrender of Baskets of Shares for the purpose of withdrawing Trust property (including if the trust agreement terminates) must be accompanied by a payment to the Trustee of a fee.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Parnell]
It also remains worthwhile to hedge stock allocations to protect against any major downside event along the way. This includes positions with low correlations such as the PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND) or the PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation Linked Bond ETF (ILB). This also includes allocations that are likely to rally sharply in the event of a stock pullback but can also continue to rise along with the market such as long-term Treasuries (TLT) or Build America Bonds (BAB). And despite the recent thrashing they have endured, the precious metals complex including gold (GLD), silver (SLV), platinum (PPLT) and palladium (PALL) continue to provide attractive long-term portfolio diversification benefits. I remain long all of these metals via the Central GoldTrust (GTU), the Central Fund of America (CEF), the Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV) and the Sprott Physical Platinum and Palladium Trust (SPPP).
- [By Dan Caplinger]
The escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine had dramatic effects on financial markets across the globe, with stock markets generally taking it on the chin, but commodities markets performing quite well. That held true for precious metals, with April gold futures climbing $29 per ounce to $1,350, while May silver futures gained a less impressive $0.24 per ounce to settle at $21.49. Those jumps led to a 2% gain for the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD ) and a rise of 1.3% for the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV ) , and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX ) split the difference by gaining 1.6%.
- [By Jeb Handwerger]
Prices of platinum (PTM) and palladium (PALL) continue to outperform other metals such as gold (GLD), silver (SLV) and copper (JJC) over the past 9 months. For many months, I have been warning my readers about the growing risks to platinum and palladium supply as labor strikes intensify in South Africa.
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc.(AUXL)
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a specialty biopharmaceutical company primarily in the United States. It focuses on developing and marketing products to urologists, endocrinologists, primary care physicians, hand surgeons, and rheumatologists, as well as to orthopedic, general, and plastic surgeons. The company markets XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum), an injectable collagenase enzyme for the treatment of adult Dupuytren?s contracture; and Testim, a topical 1% testosterone gel for the treatment of hypogonadism. The company?s clinical development products include XIAFLEX that is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of Peyronie?s disease, as well as in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis. In addition, it has rights to develop other products for the treatment of pain, urologic disease, and hormone replacement using its transmucosal film delivery system. The company has a strategic alliance with Asahi Kasei Ph arma Corporation for the development, commercialization, and supply of XIAFLEX, a biologic for the treatment of Dupuytren?s contracture and Peyronie?s disease. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
Also, the testosterone market is also glutted with competition and Aveed, even will likely have a hard time making any meaningful impact for Endo. AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV ) recently reformulated its AndroGel testosterone treatment into a more potent form at 1.62% and in 2011 received FDA approval after 82% of hypogonadal men achieved normal testosterone levels after 112 days. Also operating in the gel space is Auxilium Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: AUXL ) drug Testim, which achieved $45.5 million in sales in the first quarter. That figure actually represents a 23% year-over-year decline because of difficulties in gaining insurance coverage for the gel, but it's yet another hurdle for Aveed to jump over if it were to reach market.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
One potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is biotechnology player Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL), which is set to release numbers on Thursday before the market open. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Auxilium Pharmaceuticals to report revenue of $91.43 million on a loss of 3 cents per share.
During the last quarter, this company reported revenue of $66.2 million and GAAP reported sales were 10% lower than the prior-year quarter's $73.6 million. Also during the last quarter, this company reported non-GAAP EPS of -12 cents per share and GAAP EPS of -17 cents per share.
The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Auxilium Pharmaceuticals is pretty high at 11.1%. That means that out of the 39.84 million shares in the tradable float, 5.14 million shares are sold short by the bears. This is a decent short interest on a stock with a relatively low tradable float. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of AUXL could easily rip higher post-earnings as the bears rush to cover some of their short bets.
From a technical perspective, AUXL is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last three months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $13.87 to its intraday high of $18.42 a share. During that uptrend, shares of AUXL have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of AUXL within range of triggering a major breakout trade post-earnings.
If you're bullish on AUXL, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some key overhead resistance levels at $18.50 to $19.60 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that registers near or above its three-month average action of 834,059 shares. If that breakout hits, then AUXL will set up
Best Forestry Stocks To Buy For 2015: ConocoPhillips(COP)
ConocoPhillips operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company?s Exploration and Production (E&P) segment explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its Midstream segment gathers, processes, and markets natural gas; and fractionates and markets natural gas liquids in the United States and Trinidad. The company?s Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment purchases, refines, markets, and transports crude oil and petroleum products, such as gasolines, distillates, and aviation fuels. Its Chemicals segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals and plastics. This segment offers olefins and polyolefins, including ethylene, propylene, and other olefin products; aromatics products, such as benzene, styrene, paraxylene, and cyclohexane, as well as polystyrene and styrene-butadiene copolymers; and various specialty chemical products comprising organosulfur chemicals, solvents, catalyst s, drilling chemicals, mining chemicals, and engineering plastics and compounds. The company?s Emerging Businesses segment develops new technologies and businesses. It focuses on power generation; and technologies related to conventional and nonconventional hydrocarbon recovery, refining, alternative energy, biofuels, and the environment. This segment also offers E-Gas, a gasification technology producing high-value synthetic gas. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Arjun Sreekumar]
So far, only two projects have received the DOE's stamp of approval: Cheniere Energy's (NYSEMKT: LNG ) Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, which was greenlighted in 2011, and the Freeport LNG project in Texas -- a $10 billion facility in Texas that's 50% owned by ConocoPhillips� (NYSE: COP ) --�which received permission this month.
- [By Matt DiLallo]
Investment idea No. 3: ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP )
I look at ConocoPhillips as a balance between both LINN and SandRidge. ConocoPhillips has a fairly high dividend yield, currently around 4.25%, while also offering steady growth. That growth will come via Conoco's plan to grow its production and margins by 3%-5% annually through 2017. When you add everything up, Conoco offers solid profit growth to go along with a nice dividend.� - [By Matt DiLallo]
Russia
Not only is Russia blessed with vast conventional oil and gas reserves, but the country also tops the list in terms of technically recoverable shale oil reserves. The problem for investors is that Russia is a notoriously tough place to invest in, especially in the oil and gas sector. Global energy giants BP (NYSE: BP ) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP ) have both held large stakes in Russian operators in the past. However, Conoco sold down its stake in Lukoil as part of its repositioning, while BP just recently cashed out of its TNK-BP venture. Investors are probably better off watching from the sideline as Russia develops its vast shale oil reserves. - [By Annalisa Kraft-Linder]
Nati Harnik/AP Warren Buffett, chairman of the board of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), is surprisingly open about his mistakes, chronicling them for all to read -- and learn from -- in his annual shareholder letters. The Cigar Stubs The textile mill that gave Berkshire Hathaway its name turned out to be an albatross for more than two decades as Buffett dithered over shutting it down. Located in Massachusetts, far from the new textile and cotton hubs down South, it was a money-loser from the start. He has since admitted his stubborn attachment to it probably cost Berkshire $200 billion in lost opportunity costs to invest in better companies. Back then, Buffett was more a proponent of the "cigar stub" theory of investing -- buying a downtrodden company or stock and smoking out the last few puffs of profit. Another iteration of this thesis gone wrong was his purchase of Blue Chip Stamp Co. in the late '60s. It was a lesser rival of the Sperry & Hutchinson Green Stamps Co. Both involved an early form of loyalty program in which shoppers collected stamps that could be redeemed for merchandise. "When I was told that even certain brothels and mortuaries gave stamps to their patrons, I felt I had finally found a sure thing," Buffett said in his 2006 shareholder letter. However, Blue Chip revenues declined by more than 80 percent from 1970 to 1980 and by almost 99 percent by 1990 as credit-card loyalty programs and increasing affluence made shoppers reluctant to waste time pasting stamps in books. What Buffett learned became a new leg of his investing stool: to only buy businesses for their demonstrated profitability. The Economic Moat Buffett coined the term "economic moat" to describe the competitive and hopefully monopolistic advantages that will help a company thrive. He has long said he regrets buying Dexter Shoes in 1993, purchasing it with Berkshire Hathaway stock then worth $433 million for an estimated loss of $3.5 billion. He admits now it didn't have t
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: WPX Energy Inc (WPX)
WPX Energy, Inc. (WPX Energy), incorporated on April 19, 2011, is an independent natural gas and oil exploration and production company engaged in the exploitation and development of long-life unconventional properties. The Company focuses on exploiting its natural gas reserve base and related NGLs in the Piceance Basin of the Rocky Mountain region, and on developing its positions in the Bakken Shale oil play in North Dakota and the Marcellus Shale natural gas play in Pennsylvania. Its other areas of domestic operations include the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and the San Juan Basin in the southwestern United States. In addition, it owns a 69% controlling ownership interest in Apco Oil and Gas International, Inc. (Apco), which holds oil and gas concessions in Argentina and Colombia. As of December 31, 2010, it had proved reserves of 4,473 Bcfe, 59% of which were proved developed reserves. Average daily production as of March 31, 2011 was 1,251 MMcfe/d.
Bakken Shale
The Company acquired 89,420 net acres in the Williston Basin in North Dakota that is prospective for oil in the Bakken Shale. It acquired all of this acreage in December 2010 through the acquisition of Dakota-3 E&P Company LLC. As of December 31, 2010, it had three rigs operating on the Bakken Shale acreage. Since acquiring this acreage, the Company has drilled 10 operated wells on the Bakken Shale properties; nine Middle Bakken formation wells and one Three Forks formation well. Six of these wells have been completed and connected to sales with initial 30 day production rates ranging from 750 Boe/d to 1,100 Boe/d.
Marcellus Shale
The Company�� 99,301 net acres in the Marcellus Shale were acquired through two key transactions and additional leasing activities. In July 2010, the Company acquired 42,000 net acres in Susquehanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had five rigs operating in the Marcellus Shale.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By MARKETWATCH]
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street hedge-fund investor David Einhorn was active in the last quarter of 2013, taking new stakes in technology and energy companies, while trimming existing holdings in insurer Aetna (AET) , NCR Corp (NCR) and WPX Energy (WPX) , according to an SEC filing Friday. Einhorn's Greenlight Capital picked up stakes in Anadarko Petroleum (APC) , BP (BP) , McDermott Intl. (MDR) , Micron Technolgy (MU) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) , according to the latest 13F filing. He trimmed stakes in Aetna, Einstein Noah (BAGL) and WPX Energy, according to the filing.
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: Greenfield Farms Food Inc (GRAS)
Greenfield Farms Food, Inc., formerly Sweet Spot Games, Inc., is a consumer and wholesale driven producer of grassfed beef. As of March 2, 2011, the Company had product in 55 retail locations, 51 with Lowes Foods Stores throughout North and South Carolina, three retail locations with the Healthy Home Markets in Charlotte, North Carolina and one custom butcher, The Peach Stand located in Ft. Mill, South Carolina. On March 1, 2011, the Company executed a plan of exchange and merger and acquired Greenfield Farms Grassfed Beef, Inc., a North Carolina company. As of March 2, 2011, the Company and its collective group of producers represented over 2,500 acres in pasture under management and approximately 2,000 head of cattle. In November 2013, Greenfield Farms Food Inc acquired Carmela's Pizzeria.
The Company was established as a development-stage company, for developing online, multiplayer gaming applications. In February 2010, the Company abandoned the game development space.
The Company competes with White Oak Pastures (WOP).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Greenfield Farms Food Inc (OTCMKTS: GRAS), International Stem Cell Corp (OTCMKTS: ISCO) and Redpoint Bio Corporation (OTCMKTS: RPBC) have all been getting some extra attention lately in various investment newsletters. However, none of these small cap stocks appear to have been the subject or paid promotions or investor relations activities. So does that make any of them good bets for traders and investors alike? Here is a quick look and a reality check:
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: Brazil Gold Corp (BRZG)
Brazil Gold Corp. incorporated on June 17, 2004, is engaged in reviewing mineral exploration. The Company has a Letter of Intent with Mineracao Rio De Padreas Ltda to acquire up to 100% of Mineracao�� interests in the Luziania Gold Project located in Goias State, Brazil. The Luziania Gold Project (LGP) is located about 50 kilometers southwest of Brasilia and 10 kilometers from the City of Luziania. LGP carries mining permits, environmental impact studies and ore recovery analyses. Effective July 30, 2013, Brazil Gold Corp acquired a 20% interest in FAL Minerals LLC, a gold mining company.
The Company is focused on reviewing exploration and other opportunities with the objective of bringing revenue to the Company. As of June 30, 2011, the Company was focused on evaluating possible new ventures and acquisitions. As of June 30, 2011, the Company had not generated any revenues from its operations.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap mining stocks Brazil Gold Corp (OTCMKTS: BRZG) and Trulan Resources (OTCMKTS: TRLR) were either active on the charts last week (in the case of the former) or recently the subject of paid promotions (in the case of the latter). However, mining is not exactly an easy business for a small and usually undercapitalized small cap mining stock given the amount it can cost to get a mine up and running. On the other hand, they could always be sitting on the next mother lode just waiting to come out of the ground. With that in mind, here is a quick reality check about these two small cap mining stocks:
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: American Realty Capital Properties Inc (ARCP)
American Realty Capital Properties, Inc., incorporated on December 2, 2010, is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company owns and acquires single-tenant, freestanding commercial real estate primarily subject to medium-term net leases with credit quality tenants. The Company is externally managed by ARC Properties Advisors, LLC. In February 2013, it announced the closing of the transaction to acquire American Realty Capital Trust III, Inc. In March 2013, it announced that it purchased a TD Bank office building in Falmouth, Maine. In April 2013, it closed lease acquisitions, including nine properties located in four states plus Puerto Rico with approximately 200,000 total rentable square feet. In April 2013, it closed an additional single tenant net lease acquisitions, including six properties leased to four investment grade or credit-worthy tenants, including CVS, Family Dollar, Hy-Vee and Advance Auto. In November 2013, American Realty Capital Properties, Inc acquired CapLease, Inc. Effective January 3, 2014, American Realty Capital Properties Inc, , through its Thunder Acquisition LLC unit, acquired the entire share capital of American Realty Capital Trust IV Inc (ARCT).
As of December 31, 2012, rental revenues derived from investment grade tenants. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned 146 properties, which consists of 2.4 million square feet and located in 26 states, excluding one vacant property classified as held for sale. The Company is holder of 95.9% of the interest in the ARC Properties Operating Partnership, L.P.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Up next is American Realty Capital (ARCP), where five insiders–including the CEO and CFO–bought a total of $2.7 million worth of shares for an average of $13.73 each. InsiderScore notes that this activity came ��s the stock continued to falter after hitting an all-time high this spring.��/p>
- [By Maria Armental and Tess Stynes var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
American Realty Capital Properties Inc.(ARCP) said Wednesday it will sell its multi-tenant shopping center portfolio for $1.975 billion in cash to a Blackstone(BX) affiliate, instead of spinning off the division as it had previously announced. American Realty plans to use the proceeds to fund its Red Lobster sale-leaseback transaction. American Realty shares fell 2.3% to $12.60 premarket.
- [By Lisa Levin]
NorthStar Realty Finance (NYSE: NRF) surged 8.86% to $17.45. The volume of NorthStar Realty Finance shares traded was 419% higher than normal. American Realty Capital Properties (NASDAQ: ARCP) is in talks for a takeover of NorthStar Realty Finance, Financial Times' Ed Hammond said on Twitter.
- [By Eric Volkman]
American Realty Capital Properties (NASDAQ: ARCP ) is the proud new owner of a raft of net lease properties after formally closing a deal with affiliates of General Electric's (NYSE: GE ) GE Capital. American Realty Capital bought a total of 447 such properties for $774 million.
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: HCP Inc. (HCP)
HCP, Inc. is an independent hybrid real estate investment trust. The fund invests in real estate markets of the United States. It primarily invests in properties serving the healthcare industry including sectors of healthcare such as senior housing, life science, medical office, hospital and skilled nursing. The fund also invests in mezzanine loans and other debt instruments. It engages in acquisition, development, leasing, selling and managing of healthcare real estate and provides mortgage and other financing to healthcare providers. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P 500 Index, Berkshire Hathaway Index, and MSCI REIT Index. HCP, Inc. was formed in 1985 and is based in Long Beach, California with additional office in Nashville and San Francisco.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brad Thomas]
REITs mentioned: (VTR), (OHI), (O), (DLR), (HCP), (HTA), (KIM), (FRT), (SPG), and (SKT).
Note: This article is intended to provide information to interested parties. As I have no knowledge of individual investor circumstances, goals, and/or portfolio concentration or diversification, readers are expected to complete their own due diligence before purchasing any stocks mentioned or recommended.
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: VelaTel Global Communications Inc (VELA.PK)
VelaTel Global Communications Inc, formerly China Tel Group, Inc. (ChinaTel), incorporated on September 19, 2005, is engaged in the business, which combines its engineering and deployment, its equity funding relationships, its vendor partnership, radio frequency spectrum, fiber optic cable and concession rights assets acquired through a subsidiary or a joint venture relationship to create and operate wireless broadband access (WBA) networks worldwide. It offers Internet access, voice, video, and data services to the subscribers of various WBA networks it operate. The Company�� secondary business is to distribute products and services used in connection with WBA networks, specifically hydrogen fuel cells used as a back-up power source for certain transmission equipment, and devices and services. As of December 31, 2011, it holds investments or contracts in ten projects: the VelaTel Peru Network; the GBNC Network; the VN Tech Fuel Cell Business; the Exclusive Services Agreement with NGSN; the Exclusive Services Agreement with Aerostrong; the Sino Crossings Fiber Joint Venture; Zapna; the Novi-Net Network; the Montenegro Connect Network and the VeratNet Network. In April 2012, it acquired Herlong Investments Limited and its operating subsidiaries, Novi-Net and Montenegro Connect. In April 2012, it signed and closed a stock purchase agreement to acquire a 75% equity interest in Zapna, ApS. In November 2012, the Company acquired 100% of interest in China Motion Telecom (HK) Limited.
The Company sells prepaid and postpaid plans, and branded consumer devices using VelaTel Peru�� brand name GO MOVIL. Chinacomm holds licenses and permits from China to build and operate a 3.5-gigahertz wireless broadband telecommunications network (Chinacomm Network) in 29 cities in China. These licenses run through February 2013. Phase 1 of the Chinacomm Network consisted of the deployment of the Chinacomm Network in the 12 cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Qindao, Nanjing, Chongqing, Harbin, X! ian, Xiamen, Wuhan and Kunming.. Portions of the Chinacomm Network are operational in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Perusat provides local and international long-distance telephone services, including fixed line and voice over Internet protocol (IP) services, to approximately 6,500 customers in nine cities in Peru (Lima, Arequipa, Chiclayo, Trujillo, Piura, Santa, Cusco, Ica and Huanuco). Based on its status as a licensed telephone operator, Perusat has been granted a license in the 2.5-gigahertz spectrum covering these cities, other than Lima and its surrounding metropolitan area.
The Company contracted with Chinacomm to acquire a 49% equity interest in ChinaComm Limited (Chinacomm Cayman). Trussnet Capital Partners (HK), Ltd. (TCP) acquired a 49% interest in Chinacomm Cayman. Trussnet Dalian leased Yunji equipment required in the deployment of the Chinacomm Network and provide technical and management services to Yunji for the procurement, installation and optimization of the equipment.
The Compets with GBNC, VN Tech, NGSN, Aerostrong, Sino Crossings, Novi-Net, Montenegro Connect and VeratNet.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Alan Brochstein]
Matula, who is currently a SVP for LiveDeal (LIVE), has a history of association with penny stock failures. An interesting angle is his tie to a lawyer in Las Vegas, Michael Balabon, who purports to have two separate practices, including a bankruptcy/divorce practice and an employment law practice who has acted as Registered Agent for many of these companies. I was unable to reach anyone at either office on several occasions. In any event, Balabon is the registered agent for PLPL. Coincidentally, he served in that role for NVLX as well as well as all of the former subsidiaries and partners the firm used (the new Medical Marijuana Sciences subsidiary too). Recall that the predecessor to PLPL was Diamond Ranch, and Balabon was the RA there as well. Matula has served in I.R. roles for perpetual failures like VelaTel Global (VELA.PK).
Top 10 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2015: Xilinx Inc (XLNX)
Xilinx, Inc. (Xilinx), incorporated on February 5, 1984, designs, develops and markets programmable platforms. These programmable platforms have a number of components, including integrated circuits (ICs) in the form of programmable logic devices (PLDs), including Extensible Processing Platforms (EPPs); software design tools to program the PLDs; targeted reference designs; printed circuit boards, and intellectual property (IP), which consists of Xilinx and various third-party verification and IP cores. In addition to its programmable platforms, Xilinx provides design services, customer training, field engineering and technical support. The Company�� PLDs include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) that its customers program to perform logic functions, and EPPs. Xilinx�� products are offered to electronic equipment manufacturers in end markets, such as wired and wireless communications, industrial, scientific and medical, aerospace and defense, audio, video and broadcast, consumer, automotive and data processing. The Company sells its products globally through independent domestic and foreign distributors and through direct sales to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by a network of independent sales representative firms and by a direct sales management organization. In January 2011, the Company acquired AutoESL Design Technologies, Inc. In August 2012, the Company acquired embedded Linux solutions provider PetaLogix.
Product Families
The 7 series devices that comprise the Company�� 28-nanometer (nm) product families are fabricated on a high-K metal gate 28-nm process technology. These devices are based on an architecture, which enables design and IP portability and re-use across all families, as well as provides designers the ability to achieve the appropriate combination of I/O support, performance, feature quantities, packaging and power consumption to address a range of applications. The 7 series devices consist of! three families: Virtex-7 FPGA, Kintex-7 FPGAs and Artix-7 FPGAs. The Zynq-7000 family is the family of Xilinx EPPs. The Virtex-6 FPGA family consists of 13 devices and is the sixth generation in the Virtex series of FPGAs.
Virtex-6 FPGAs are fabricated on a high-performance, 40-nm process technology. There are three Virtex-6 families: Virtex-6 LXT FPGAs, Virtex-6 SXT FPGAs and Virtex-6 HXT FPGAs. The Spartan-6 family is the PLD industry�� 45-nm high-volume FPGA family, consisting of 11 devices in two product families: Spartan-6 LX FPGAs and Spartan-6 LXT FPGAs. The Virtex-5 FPGA family consists of 26 devices in five product families: Virtex-5 LX FPGAs for logic-intensive designs, Virtex-5 LXT FPGAs for high-performance logic with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 SXT FPGAs for high-performance DSP with serial connectivity, Virtex-5 FXT FPGAs for embedded processing with serial connectivity and Virtex-5 TXT FPGAs for high-bandwidth serial connectivity. Prior generation Virtex families include Virtex-4, Virtex-II Pro, Virtex-II, Virtex-E and the original Virtex family. Spartan family FPGAs include 90-nm Spartan-3 FPGAs, the Spartan-3E family and the Spartan-3A family. Prior generation Spartan families include Spartan-IIE, Spartan-II, Spartan XL and the original Spartan family.
Design Platforms and Services
The Company offers three types of programmable platforms. The Base Platform is the delivery vehicle for all of its new silicon offerings used to develop and run customer-specific software applications and hardware designs. The Base Platform consists of FPGA silicon; Integrated Software Environment (ISE) Design Suite design environment; integration support of optional third-party synthesis, simulation, and signal integrity tools; reference designs; development boards and IP. The Domain-Specific Platform targets one of the three primary Xilinx FPGA user profiles: the embedded processing developer; the DSP developer; or the logic/connectivity developer. The Market-S! pecific P! latform enables software or hardware developers to build and run their specific application or solution. Built for specific markets, such as automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, audio, video and broadcast, industrial, or scientific and medical, the Market-Specific Platform integrates both the Base and Domain-Specific Platforms.
During April 2012, Xilinx introduced the Vivado Design Suite. Vivado supports Xilinx 7 series FPGAs and Zynq EPPs. Xilinx and various third parties offer hundreds of no charge and fee-bearing IP core licenses covering Ethernet, memory controllers Interlaken and PCIe interface, as well as domain-specific IP in the areas of embedded, DSP and connectivity, and market-specific IP cores. The Company also offers development kits, including hardware, design tools, IP and reference designs. Xilinx offers a range of configuration products, including one-time programmable and in-system programmable storage devices to configure Xilinx FPGAs. These programmable read-only memory (PROM) products support all of the Company�� FPGA devices. Xilinx and certain third parties have developed and offer a ecosystem of IP, boards, tools, services and support through the Xilinx alliance program. Xilinx also works with these third parties to promote its programmable platforms through third-party tools, IP, software, boards and design services. Xilinx engineering services provide customers with engineering, ranging from hands-on training to full design creation and implementation.
The Company competes with Altera Corporation, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation and Microsemi Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lee Jackson]
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) was recently raised to an overweight rating at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and should be able to contain any earnings degradation as a result from lowered orders from Cisco. The consensus price target for the stock stands at $47, and investors are paid a 2.2% dividend.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Programmable devices and technologies designer Xilinx (XLNX) raised its quarterly dividend 11.5% to 29 cents per share, payable June 4 to shareholders of record as of May 14.
XLNX Dividend Yield: 2.33% - [By Beth Piskora]
They are listed below:
Altera (ALTR)��ielding 1.7%
Apple (AAPL)��ielding 2.5%
Applied Materials (AMAT)��ielding 2.6%
Cisco (CSCO)��ielding 2.9%
EMC Corp. (EMC)��ielding 1.5%
International Business Machines (IBM)��ielding 2.0%
KLA-Tencor (KLAC)��ielding 3.2%
Microchip Technology (MCHP)��ielding 3.6%
Oracle (ORCL)��ielding 1.5%
Qualcomm (QCOM)��ielding 2.1%
Texas Instruments (TXN)��ielding 2.9%
Xilinx (XLNX)��ielding 2.3%
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- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) �shares dropped 4.3% to $44.90 on moderate volume after the company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings.
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