Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015

Following in the six-decade tradition of late-night TV talk shows, yet another professional comedian -- sigh -- has been picked to succeed an exiting host: Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman, retiring next year after an historic 33 years on late-night television.

Not so fast. In its haste, CBS has overlooked an inordinately fertile field for Dave’s “Late Show” successor: Financial gurus. Indeed, there is a host of prominent personalities in this arena who are far more qualified than conservative-pundit satirist Colbert.

Financial gurus have no shortage of smarts and charisma. What’s more, they know how to succeed in funniness without really trying.

Here, then, is ThinkAdvisor’s “Top 10 Financial Gurus Better Than Colbert to Replace Letterman”:

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: Texas Pacific Land Trust(TPL)

Texas Pacific Land Trust engages in the sale, lease, and management of land in the United States. It also retains oil and gas royalties, and involves in temporary cash investments. The company leases land to the ranching industry for grazing purposes. As of March 31, 2011, it owned surface rights in 949,355 acres of land in 20 counties in Texas; and 318 town lots in Loraine. The company also owned a 1/128 nonparticipating perpetual oil and gas royalty interest under 85,414 acres of land; and a 1/16 nonparticipating perpetual oil and gas royalty interest under 386,988 acres of land in the western part of Texas. Texas Pacific Land Trust was founded in 1888 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Texas has just set another record for job creation���meaning it might be worth it for investors to take a closer look at Texas based stocks like El Paso Electric Company (NYSE: EE), Texas Pacific Land Trust (NYSE: TPL) and Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) that have good exposure to the booming Texas economy. I should mention that I wrote about�these stocks before back in late 2012�(see: Do These Texas Stocks offer Texas Sized Returns? EE, ATO & TPL),�but the Texas Workforce Commission has reported that the Texas economy added 36,400 jobs in September while over the past 12 months, employers added 413,700 jobs ��the most ever recorded by the state. In addition, several companies surveyed by the Dallas Fed responded that they are seeing labor market tightness plus companies are saying they are experiencing upward wage pressures while�staffing�firms�note that�candidates are often receiving multiple offers. Given that Texas is a deep ��ed state���ith a business friendly climate where taxes and regulations are much lighter than in any ��lue state,��there is no reason to believe the boom won�� continue.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: Dril-Quip Inc. (DRQ)

Dril-Quip, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services engineered offshore drilling and production equipment for use in deepwater, harsh environment, and severe service applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Western Hemisphere, Eastern Hemisphere, and Asia-Pacific. The company’s principal products consist of subsea and surface wellheads, subsea and surface production trees, subsea control systems and manifolds, mudline hanger systems, specialty connectors and associated pipe, drilling and production riser systems, liner hangers, wellhead connectors, and diverters. Its products are used for drilling and production of oil and gas wells on offshore platforms; tension leg platforms, which are floating production platforms connected to the ocean floor via vertical mooring tethers; Spars, a floating cylindrical structure; and floating production, storage, and offloading monohull moored vessels, as well as to explore for oil and gas from offshore drillin g rigs, such as floating rigs and jack-up rigs. The company also provides services, including technical advisory services, rework and reconditioning services, and rental of running tools for use in the installation and retrieval of its products. It primarily serves integrated, independent, and foreign national oil and gas companies, as well as offshore drilling contractors, and engineering and construction companies. Dril-Quip, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Fitzsimmons]

  General Electric's (GE) Oil & Gas division is on fire and growing much faster than the rest of the company. Yet it is such a small part of the company, its valuation is being diluted by GE's other businesses. However, the company has a cash hoard and CEO Jeff Immelt has spoken frequently about his desire to grow the industrial base while reducing the size of GE Capital. As a result, the best way to invest in GE Oil's & Gas business may be to invest companies which GE is likely to takeover. Two likely candidates are the Dresser Rand Corp. (DRC) and Dril-Quip (DRQ).

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  It takes an awful lot of muscle and technological know-how to frack and drill unconventional wells. So the oil service industry is poised to continue churning out hefty profits in years to come. That fact has benefited mid-cap maker of drill-bits, pipes and other rig equipment Dril-Quip (DRQ).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  While Schlumberger has a free-cash-flow yield of about 3.5%, Cameron International’s (CAM) and Dril-Quip’s (DRQ) are just over 3% and�FMC Technologies‘ (FTI) is just under 3%. Halliburton (HAL) has a free-cash-flow yield of just over 1%.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Dril-Quip (NYSE: DRQ) was also on the rise, gaining 12.27 percent to $107.68 after the company's fourth quarter report impressed the street.

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Endologix (NASDAQ: ELGX) were down 24.85 percent to $13.43 on lowered guidance, analyst downgrades. Oppenheimer downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and cut the price target from $20.00 to $16.00.

Hot China Companies To Watch In Right Now: Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.(ACTC)

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of human embryonic and adult stem cell technology in the field of regenerative medicine. Its embryonic stem cell research programs include cellular reprogramming, reduced complexity program, and stem cell differentiation research programs. The company?s cellular reprogramming involves in the development of therapies based on the use of genetically identical pluripotent stem cells generated by its cellular reprogramming technologies. Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. also generates stable cell lines with particular focus on blood lineage and vascular epithelial cell lines from hemangioblast cells. In addition, it is developing an autologous myoblast transplantation therapy to restore cardiac function in patients with advanced heart disease. The company?s stem cell-based therapy would provide treatment for a range of acute and chronic degenerative diseases. Further, it deve lops adult stem cell-based products that are specifically targeted at therapies for heart and other cardiovascular diseases. The company is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  As the the year comes to end, there is still a steady flow of interesting news coming from small cap biotech stocks like Organovo Holdings Inc (NYSEMKT: ONVO), Advanced Cell Technology, Inc (OTCMKTS: ACTC) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB)�plus still largely private biotech companies like Genocea Biosciences (NASDAQ: GNCA), Retrophin (OTCMKTS: RTRX), Auspex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ASPX) and GlycoMimetics (NASDAQ: GLYC) who have filed to become the next potentially hot biotech IPOs���presumably some time early�next year. Just consider the following biotech news:

• [By John Udovich]

  Summer and the slow news for the market that usually comes with it�is over with and both stem cell researchers or small� cap stem cell stocks like Advanced Cell Technology, Inc (OTCBB: ACTC), Neuralstem, Inc (NYSEMKT: CUR), NeoStem Inc (NASDAQ: NBS), International Stem Cell Corp (OTCMKTS: ISCO)�and BioRestorative Therapies (OTCBB: BRTX) having news for investors and traders alike. Consider the following:

• [By CRWE]

  Today, ACTC surged (+1.96%) up +0.0014 at $.0730 with 1,679,139 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 12:31PM EDT July 26, 2013).

  Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. previously reported the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), an independent group of medical experts closely monitoring the company�� three ongoing clinical trials, has authorized the company to move forward with enrollment and treatment of remaining two patients in the third cohort of each of the three clinical trials. The decision follows an interim review by the DSMB six weeks after the first patient was treated in the third cohort of each trial. ACT will proceed with screening and enrollment for the patients who, in keeping with trial protocol, will be injected with 150,000 retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

• [By CRWE]

  Today, ACTC has shed (-1.05%) down -0.0008 at $.0751 with 2,338,132 shares in play thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 11:55AM EDT July 22, 2013), but don�� let this get you down.

  Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. previously reported the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), an independent group of medical experts closely monitoring the company�� three ongoing clinical trials, has authorized the company to move forward with enrollment and treatment of remaining two patients in the third cohort of each of the three clinical trials. The decision follows an interim review by the DSMB six weeks after the first patient was treated in the third cohort of each trial. ACT will proceed with screening and enrollment for the patients who, in keeping with trial protocol, will be injected with 150,000 retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: Principal Financial Group Inc(PFG)

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement savings, investment, and insurance products and services worldwide. The company?s Retirement and Investor Services segment provides retirement savings and related investment products and services, including a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. This segment offers products and services to businesses for defined contribution pension plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, and employee stock ownership plan consulting services; and annuities, mutual funds, and bank products and services to the employees of its business customers and other individuals. Principal Financial Group?s Principal Global Investors segment offers a range of equity, fixed income, and real estate investments, as well as specialized overlay and advisory services to institutional inve stors. The company?s Principal International segment offers retirement products and services, annuities, mutual funds, institutional asset management, and life insurance accumulation products in Brazil, Chile, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Thailand. Principal Financial Group?s U.S. Insurance Solutions segment offers individual life insurance, as well as specialty benefits in the United States. Its individual life insurance products include universal and variable universal life insurance and traditional life insurance; and specialty benefit products comprise group dental and vision insurance, individual and group disability insurance, and group life insurance, as well as fee-for-service claims administration and wellness services. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Calia]

  Principal Financial Group Inc.(PFG) said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 8.6%, touting its strong results for the period amid continued economic concern.

• [By Patricio Kehoe] ts newest deal with private benefits company Liazon Corp., through which the firm will offer employer-sponsored group benefit plans to small and medium businesses. While the company already sells ancillary benefit plans, this deal will now also include dental, life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness coverage in an attempt to stay on top of the insurance industry. As an industry leader, Principal has over $466 billion in assets under management and 19 million customers, fragmented among small and medium-size businesses. Furthermore, its solid fourth quarter results have encouraged investment gurus like Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio) and Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio) to recently acquire large amounts of the company�� shares. So, let�� see what this insurer has in store for the future.

  Broadening Horizons

  Although Principal�� core business is in life insurance, the company has been pursuing a more diverse growth strategy lately, and is now focused on expanding its position in the retirement service and asset management segment. With almost 30,700 pension plans covering over 3.4 million customers, this business��growth rate has not only boosted overall profitability, marked by a 31% annual increase in operating earnings for fiscal 2013, but also helped offset the headwinds of low interest rates and volatility in the emerging markets. In fact, the fourth quarter showed a 65% boost in premium and fee income for the segmenta , consequence of the rollout of total retirement suite products.

  Moreover, Principal�� emphasis on retirement products and its use of capital salesforce for distribution has added on to the natural switching cost advantage in the insurance industry. Since plan sponsors provided with pension assets rarely switch providers, the company will likely benefit in the long term from its persistency, as seen in the quarterly 9% bump in recurring deposits.

  On another note, Principal�� fee-based b

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc.(PLCE)

The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. operates as a children's specialty apparel retailer in North America. It provides apparel, accessories, and shoes for children from newborn to 10 years of age. The company designs, contracts to manufacture, and sells merchandise under The Children's Place brand name. It serves the wardrobe needs of girls and boys, baby girls and boys, and newborn. As of January 28, 2012, the company operated 1,049 The Children's Place stores, including 732 stores located in malls, 140 in strip centers, 135 in outlet centers, and 42 street stores; and an Internet store at childrensplace.com. The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is based in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Children's Place Retail Stores (Nasdaq: PLCE  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: Glacier Water Services Inc (GWSV)

Glacier Water Services, Inc. (Glacier) is primarily engaged in the operation of self-service vending machines that dispense drinking water to consumers. The machines are placed at supermarkets and other retail outlets under commission arrangements with the retailers. The Company�� machines are primarily located throughout the Sunbelt and Midwest regions of the United States.

As of January 2, 2011, the Company operated approximately 19, 100 machines in 42 states and Canada. Glacier�� indoor water vending machine was introduced especially for inside the retail store. In addition to having the same multi-stage filtration/treatment system as the outdoor machine, many retailers make available a supply of empty containers near the indoor machine. Glacier also operates a line of PureFill and Water Island equipment.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap OTC drinking water stocks Glacier Water Services, Inc (OTCMKTS: GWSV), AWG International Water Corp (OTCBB: AWGI) and Alkaline Water Company Inc (OTCBB: WTER) all offer a product that many consumer, investors and traders alike might take for granted, but everyone needs to have. However, you can build a better mouse trap when it comes to drinking water or at least that what these three small caps are attempting to do with their own unique strategies:

Hot Consumer Service Stocks To Own For 2015: Cancer Genetics Inc (CGIX)

Cancer Genetics, Inc. (CGI), incorporated on April 8, 1999, is an early-stage, diagnostic company. The Company focuses on developing and commercializing genomic tests and services to improve the diagnosis, prognosis and response to treatment (theranosis) of cancer. These cancers include hematological, urogenital and human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers. It provides its tests and services to oncologists and pathologists at hospitals, cancer centers, and physician offices. In January 2012, the Company received CLIA approval for MatBA-SLL, its microarray for risk stratification in small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). In February 2013, the Company received CLIA approval for MatBA-DLBCL, its microarray for diagnosis, prognosis and patient monitoring in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In addition, the Company is developing a series of other genomic tests in its core oncology markets. The Company develops and produces two types of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based genomic tests: microarrays and probes.

The Company is in the final stages of validating MatBATM-SLL for risk stratification in small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), a subset of CLL that presents as a mass, with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Long Island Jewish / North Shore Hospital. The Company is also internally clinically validating the MatBATM microarray in a variety of additional lymphoma subtypes, including mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), and diffuses large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Its MatBATM array has been designed to measure genetic markers at 80 specific genomic sites where genetic alterations are associated with mature B cell neoplasms.

CGI is also developing microarray tests for the diagnosis, prognosis and theranosis of a range of urogenital cancers. These include the UroGenRA microarray for kidney, prostate and bladder cancers and the UGenRA microarray for endometrial (lining of the uterus), ovarian and cervical cancers. UroGenRA detects genomic changes in over 100 r! egions of the human genome with potential diagnostic and/or prognostic value in one or more of these types of cancer. It has initiated clinical validation for UroGenRA targeting kidney and prostate cancers in collaboration with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Its UGenRA microarray has been designed as a platform to detect genomic changes occurring in 83 regions of the human genome that have been linked to endometrial, ovarian and cervical cancers In addition, it develop and manufacture a portfolio of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) based DNA probes focused on blood-based and solid cancers that it sell outside the United States. The Company laboratory services include: Oncology Testing Services, which are based on its microarray tests and are available only in its clinical laboratory; Esoteric Oncology Testing Services, which it offers a suite of esoteric oncology testing services for hematological, urogenital and HPV-associated cancers, and Clinical Trial Services, which also utilize its clinical laboratory to provide clinical trial services to biopharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations.

Hematological Cancer Arrays: MatBA-CLL/SLL, Other Mat-BA and LeukA

MatBA is an oligonucleotide-based microarray the Company developed for the analysis of genomic alterations in mature B-cell neoplasms to determine prognosis and theranosis. MatBA incorporates a common architecture of specific genomic regions that can be applied across the seven major mature B-cell neoplasms. As a group, hematologic cancers (cancers of the blood, bone marrow or lymph nodes) display clinical, pathologic and genetic complexity. Importantly, the clinical course of the six main subtypes of these neoplasms ranges from indolent (follicular lymphoma) to aggressive (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma), or mixed (chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, or CLL/SLL).

MatBA is designed to detect genomic copy number chan! ges in ma! ture B-cell neoplasms. The test relies on the comparative genomic hybridization of fluorescently differentially-labeled normal DNA and DNA extracted from the cancer specimen (array-CGH). Array-CGH utilizes minimal biopsy material and uses DNA as the analyte (the component whose properties are being measured). MatBA was custom-designed to represent 80 regions of the human genome which have diagnostic and/or prognostic value in one or more of the mature B-cell neoplasm subtypes as identified through our research and analysis efforts. Unlike other technologies such as FISH, array-CGH using MatBA simultaneously permits the detection of genomic gains and losses at multiple locations on a chromosome (loci) that characterize the mature B-cell neoplasm subtypes. For each subtype of B-cell neoplasm, cohorts of specimens with full clinical annotation are evaluated using MatBA to identify associations between single and weighted combinations of genomic gains/losses and clinically relevant endpoints.

The Company offers the application of MatBA for prognostication in one subtype of mature B-cell neoplasm, CLL, where about half of patients experience indolent disease, or slow progression, and the remaining half, a relatively aggressive progression. MatBA-CLL provides genetic-based information to guide clinical management of this disease. In January 2012, MatBA-SLL was approved under CLIA and accordingly may now be offered as an LDT by its laboratory. In January 2013, this assay received approval by CLIA and New-York State for clinical use, and accordingly may now be offered as an LDT by our reference laboratory.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company had similar development of MatBA as a prognostic tool in two of the other main subtypes of mature B-cell lymphomas, namely DLBCL and FL. FL is characterized by a slow progression that in up to approximately 60% of cases transforms to DLBCL, an aggressive lymphoma. Prognostic and theranostic biomarkers of therapeutic options are req! uired for! these diseases.

Urogenital cancer arrays: UroGenRA, UGenRA

The UroGenRA microarray provides diagnostic and prognostic analysis for kidney, bladder and prostate cancer. Its initial launch, UroGenRA-Kidney targets kidney cancer. It also develops extensions of UroGenRA for bladder and prostate cancers. UGenRA provide diagnostic, prognostic and theranostic information for the primary gynecological cancers, cervical, ovarian and endometrial. UroGenRA is a CGH-based array which serves as a platform for the diagnosis, prognosis and theranosis of kidney, prostate and bladder cancers. It represents 101 regions of the human genome potentially with diagnostic, prognostic and/or theranostic value in one or more of these types of cancers. UroGenRA-Kidney For kidney cancer, UroGenRA is specifically designed to classify renal tumors into the four main subtypes (clear cell, papillary, chromophobe and oncocytoma), which is critical to patient management and treatment protocols.

UroGenRA-Prostate for prostate cancer, UroGenRA use prostate core/needle biopsy to assess genomic variability of the cancer and help in the identification of biomarkers for assessment of the risk of recurrence, to assess treatment options for intermediate risk patients, and to explore the genomic aberrations of circulating tumor cells. UroGenRA-Prostate is in the commercial development stage. UroGenRA-Bladder is a diagnosed bladder cancers are defined by the fact or extent of invasion of the muscle. UroGenRA-Bladder is in the clinical development stage.

UGenRA for Endometrial, Ovarian and Cervical Cancers

UGenRA is designed as a platform to detect gains and losses of genomic material in 83 regions of the chromosome associated with responses to particular therapies in patients with endometrial, ovarian and cervical. UGenRA-Endometrial Endometrial cancer is common cancer in women in the United States. In this disease, endometrial hyperplasia is a precursor lesion of endometr! ioid endo! metrial carcinoma (EEC). UGenRA Endometrial is in the clinical development stage.

UGenRA-Ovarian is cases of ovarian cancer. UGenRA Ovarian is in the clinical development stage. As of December 31, 2012, UGenRA-Cervical was approximately 11,270 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed and approximately 4,290 deaths from cervical cancer in the United States. UGenRA Cervical is in the clinical development stage.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Biotech and the cancer treatment segment of the biotech market has been a hot area for some time with important cancer stocks like large cap Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) and small caps�Array BioPharma (NASDAQ: ARRY), Cancer Genetics Inc (NASDAQ: CGIX), EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) and�MetaStat Inc (OTCMKTS: MTST) all producing a steady flow of important news�for investors this week or in recent weeks. Consider the following:

• [By RedChip]

  In an amended S-1 filed with the SEC this morning, Cancer Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGIX) added two new firms to its offering syndicate and upped its capital raise 25% to $50 million. With the underwriters��overallotment, the total raise is now forecasted to reach as much as $57.5 million.

• [By RedChip]

  Cancer Genetics (NASDAQ: CGIX), an emerging leader in DNA-based cancer diagnostics, priced a $15 million secondary offering and began trading on the NASDAQ today.
  The offering will bring in a sizable cash infusion to CGIX, setting the stage for continued expansion of the Company�� sales and marketing efforts, as well as further product development and commercialization. In addition, it will enable the Company to fund its joint venture investment with Mayo Clinic and retire mezzanine financing.