Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now

Chinese growth stocks are back in favor.

LightInTheBox (NYSE: LITB  ) became the first Chinese company to go public on a stateside exchange since last year on Thursday.

The online retailer of apparel, gadgets, and home furnishings priced its IPO at $9.50 on Wednesday night, closing out the week 32% higher.

The IPO itself is a pretty big deal. You have to go all the way back to November of last year to find the last time that a Chinese company was able to go public on a U.S. exchange.

LightInTheBox has yet to turn an annual profit, but revenue did soar 72% to $200 million last year. LightInTheBox has some appeal in that it isn't merely limited to China. Its namesake website is offered in various different languages, and it even offers free worldwide shipping on some of its pricier items including wedding gowns. This is a Chinese e-tailer that is more along the lines of stateside e-commerce initiatives, and that may help it fare better than some of the China-centric online retailers that stumbled after hot starts. In short, you can kick the tires yourself.

Top 10 Gold Stocks To Invest In 2016: AZZ Inc (AZZ)

AZZ incorporated, incorporated on March 29, 1956, is an electrical equipment and components manufacturer, serving the global markets of power generation, transmission and distribution, and the general industrial markets, and a provider of hot dip galvanizing services to the North American steel fabrication market. The Company operates in two segments: the Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment and the Galvanizing Services Segment. On October 1, 2012, the Company completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Galvcast Manufacturing Inc. On January 2, 2013, the Company acquired G3 Galvanizing Limited (G3), a company with galvanizing operations in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On March 29, 2013, the Company completed its acquisition of Aquilex Specialty Repair and Overhaul LLC. In April 2013, it completed the acquisition of Aquilex Specialty Repair and Overhaul LLC (Aquilex SRO).

Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment

The Company�� Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment produces engineered specialty electrical products, industrial lighting and tubular products, all of which the Company market and sell both in domestic and international markets. The Company�� electrical products are designed, manufactured and configured to distribute electrical power to and from generators, transformers, switching devices and other electrical configurations and are supplied to the power generation, transmission and distribution markets and the general industrial market. The Company�� industrial products include industrial lighting and tubular products. The Company provides lighting products to the petroleum and food processing industries, and to other industries with lighting challenges. The Company also provides tubular products to the petroleum industry. In addition, the Company�� Electrical and Industrial Products and Services Segment provide electrical and mechanical equipment and services enhancing the safety of nuclear faci! lities.

Galvanizing Services Segment

The Galvanizing Services Segment provides hot dip galvanizing to the steel fabrication industry through facilities located throughout the South, Midwest, East Coast and Southwest of the United States and in the Canadian provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Hot dip galvanizing is a metallurgical process in which molten zinc is applied to a customer�� material. As of February 28, 2013, the Company operated thirty-five galvanizing plants, which are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia in the United States and Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia in Canada. The Company serves fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the electrical and telecommunications, bridge and highway, petrochemical and general industrial markets, and numerous original equipment manufacturers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  AZZ (NYSE: AZZ  ) is again opening its coffers for a shareholder payout. The company has decided to keep its dividend steady by declaring a fresh distribution of $0.14 per share. This will be paid on July 26 to shareholders of record as of July 12. That amount matches each of the firm's previous three distributions, the most recent of which was handed out in early May. Prior to that, AZZ paid $0.25 per share, although this was in advance of a two-for-one stock split effected in July 2012.

Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now: PAREXEL International Corporation(PRXL)

PAREXEL International Corporation, a biopharmaceutical services company, provides a range of clinical research, medical communications, consulting, commercialization, and technology products and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Clinical Research Services (CRS), PAREXEL Consulting and Medical Communications Services (PCMS), and Perceptive Informatics (Perceptive). The CRS segment offers clinical trials management, observational studies, patient/disease registries and post-marketing surveillance, data management and biostatistics, epidemiology and health economics/outcomes research, clinical logistics, and clinical pharmacology, as well as related medical advisory, patient recruitment, and investigator site services. This segment also manages various aspects of clinical trials, including study and protocol design; case report form design; paper or electronic questionnaires designed for use in clinical research; site and investigator recruitment; patient enrollment; study monitoring and data collection; data analysis; report writing; and medical services. The PCMS segment provides technical expertise and advice in various areas comprising drug development, regulatory affairs, product pricing and reimbursement, and GMP compliance; market development, product development, and targeted communications services in support of product launch. In addition, its consultants identify alternatives and propose solutions to address clients? product development, registration, and commercialization issues. The Perceptive segment provides information technology solutions comprising medical imaging and systems integration services; ClinPhone RTSM, CTMS, and EDC products; Web-based portals; systems integration; and patient diary applications. PAREXEL International Corporation was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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 PAREXEL International (Nasdaq: PRXL  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  PAREXEL (NASDAQ: PRXL  ) has purchased a complementary asset. The company announced it bought the entirety of HERON Group, a life sciences consultancy that according to PAREXEL "provides evidence-based commercialization services to support biopharmaceutical companies throughout the lifecycle of their products."

Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now: NewLink Genetics Corp (NLNK)

NewLink Genetics Corporation (NewLink), incorporated on June 4, 1999, is a development-stage company. The Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing immunotherapeutic products for cancer treatment. Its portfolio includes biologic and small-molecule immunotherapy product candidates focused to treat a range of oncology indications. Its product candidate, HyperAcute Pancreas cancer immunotherapy (HyperAcute Pancreas), is being studied in a Phase-III clinical trial in surgically-resected pancreatic cancer patients that is being performed under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA), with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has three additional product candidates in clinical development, including its HyperAcute Lung cancer immunotherapy (HyperAcute Lung), which is being studied in a Phase-I/II clinical trial conducted at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and its HyperAcute Melanoma cancer immunotherapy (HyperAcute Melanoma), which is being studied in an investigator-initiated Phase-II clinical trial.

The Company�� HyperAcute product candidates are based on its HyperAcute immunotherapy technology, which is designed to stimulate the human immune system. It is also conducting small-molecule based research and development to produce new drugs capable of breaking the immune system's tolerance to cancer through inhibition of the indoleamine-(2,3)-dioxygenase (IDO), pathway. It is engaged in the study of IDO pathway inhibitor product candidate, d-1-methyltryptophan (D-1MT), in collaboration with the NCI, in two Phase 1B/II clinical trials.

HyperAcute Cancer Immunotherapy Product Candidates

In May 2010, the Company initiated Phase-III clinical trial for HyperAcute Pancreas. Its second product candidate, HyperAcute Lung, is in a Phase I/II clinical trial that is enrolled with 54 patients for the treatment of refractory, recurrent or metastatic nonresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Its Hyper! Acute Melanoma product candidate is being studied in an investigator-initiated, fully enrolled 25 patient Phase-II clinical trial for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

HyperAcute Cancer Immunotherapy Technology

The Company�� HyperAcute immunotherapies operate by exploiting a natural barrier present in humans that protects against infection being transmitted from other mammals. This barrier is related to the enzyme, alpha (1,3) galactosyl transferase, which is expressed in the cells of lower mammals. The presence of this enzyme results in the expression of a non-human form of carbohydrate called alpha (1,3) galactosyl carbohydrates (a-Gal), on the surface of affected cells. Its HyperAcute immunotherapy product candidates are composed of irradiated, live, allogeneic human cancer cells modified to express the gene that makes a-Gal epitopes. This exposure to a-Gal stimulates the human immune system to attack and destroy the immunotherapy cells on, which a-Gal is present by activating complement.

IDO Pathway Inhibitor Product Candidate

The Company is developing D-1MT, a small-molecule, orally bioavailable product candidate designed to inhibit the IDO pathway. In preclinical models, IDO pathway inhibitors have shown anti-tumor effects in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Through its collaboration with the NCI, it is studying D-1MT in two Phase 1B/II safety and efficacy clinical trials in various chemotherapy and immunotherapy combinations. One clinical trial combines D-1MT with an Ad-p53 autologous dendritic cell vaccine for solid malignancies with p53 mutations, such as lung, breast and colon cancers. The other clinical trial involves the combined use of D-1MT and Taxotere for patients with advanced stage solid tumors, for which Taxotere is the standard-of-care treatment, such as metastatic breast, prostate, ovarian and lung cancers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Biotech companies that are most likely to benefit because they are “Ahead in clinical development and/or have established relationships with [the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or] BARDA which may facilitate getting a contract” include GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), NewLink Genetics (NLNK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Chimerix (CMRX). Kantor includes Tekmira�(TKMR) and Sarepta (SRPT) among “companies with viable programs” that are “moving forward and likely to attract additional funding.”

• [By Ben Rooney]

  NewLink Genetics (NLNK) is working with the World Health Organization and other agencies on an Ebola vaccine. Its shares have surged 57% in the past month.

Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now: Powershares Dynamic Leisure And Entertainment Portfolio (PEJ)

PowerShares Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment Portfolio (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex Index (the Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex). The Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex consists of stocks of 30 United States leisure and entertainment companies. These are companies that are principally engaged in the design, production or distribution of goods or services in the leisure and entertainment industries. These companies may include companies that provide goods or services, including television and radio broadcast or manufacture (including cable television); motion pictures and photography; recordings and musical instruments; publishing, including newspapers and magazines; sporting goods and camping and recreational equipment; toys and games, including video and other electronic games; amusement and theme parks; travel and travel-related services; leisure apparel or footwear, and owners and operators of sports arenas and gaming casinos, hotels and motels. Stocks are selected principally on the basis of their capital appreciation potential as identified by the AMEX (the Intellidex Provider) pursuant to its Intellidex methodology.

The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks of leisure companies and entertainment companies. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex. The Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex is adjusted quarterly, and the Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate the performance of the Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex. The Fund generally will invest in all of the stocks comprising the Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex in proportion to their weightings in the Leisure and Entertainment Intellidex. The Fund�� investment advisor is PowerShares Capital Management LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Labor Day weekend is coming and if you have travel plans, you might be making a stop at a facility owned by small cap TravelCenters of America LLC (NYSE: TA) which is also worth taking a closer look at from an investment standpoint along with the PowerShares Dynamic Leisure and Entertainment ETF (NYSEARCA: PEJ) and iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average ETF (NYSEARCA: IYT).

• [By John Udovich]

  The shares of small cap IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) have slipped more than 10% this week on growth concerns - meaning it might be a good idea to take a closer look at the stock plus its performance�verses other cinema stocks like Carmike Cinemas, Inc (NASDAQ: CKEC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) along with the PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment ETF�(NYSEARCA: PEJ).

Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now: Lam Research Corporation(LRCX)

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipments used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers etch products that remove portions of various films from the wafer in the creation of semiconductor devices. Its etch products include dielectric etch, conductor etch, three-dimensional integrated circuit etch, MEMS devices, CMOS image sensors, and power devices for etching process. Lam Research Corporation also provides wafer cleaning steps that comprise post-etch and post-strip cleans, and pre-diffusion and pre-deposition cleans; and single-wafer wet clean and plasma-based bevel clean systems. The company offers its products to semiconductor manufacturers. It operates in the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. Lam Research Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Another aspect about Richard Wallace's leadership is that it's led to solid cash-flow generation and a huge net cash position on KLA's balance sheet. KLA ended the most recent quarter with more than $2.1 billion in net cash, which can be used to make acquisitions, repurchase shares, pay dividends, or simply buffer the company against normal economic contractions. Over the past three years, KLA has delivered nearly $2.1 billion in cumulative free cash flow. Comparatively speaking, this is what gives KLA its greatest edge over both Applied Materials�and Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX  ) , which have a net debt position of $180 million and a net cash position of $1.06 billion.

• [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]

  $KLAC: KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) �shares rose 1.9%. Analysts at J.P. Morgan on Monday initiated coverage of KLA-Tencor and Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) �at overweight.

• [By Ben Axler]

  In addition, the company announced in December 2012 that it entered a strategic collaboration agreement on ion implant, dry-strip, etch processes, and photoresist strip applications, including material modification implants and high-dose implant strip (HDIS) with Lam Research (LRCX). Lam also agreed to acquire ACLS's dry strip intellectual property and technology for $10.7m ($8.7m received immediately, and $2.0m based on milestones). ACLS will indefinitely retain the entire service and support contracts of its dry strip installed base. In addition to the immediate financial benefits, ACLS benefits from a partnership with Lam by getting better visibility into end customer problems, and the ability to expand addressable market opportunities.

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  Ultratech isn't the only game in town, though, and there are multiple technologies and process steps that are going to play significant roles in the production of FinFETs and 3D circuits. With that, I would take a look at Mattson Technologies (MTSN), as this company has already accomplished the not-so-easy task of gaining meaningful share in the dry strip, rapid thermal processing (RTP), and etch markets despite competing with giants like Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Tokyo Electron (TOELY.PK).

Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now: CarMax Inc(KMX)

CarMax, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of used vehicles in the United States. It also sells vehicles that do not meet its retail standards to licensed dealers through on-site wholesale auctions, as well as sells new vehicles under franchise agreements. In addition, the company provides customers financing alternatives through its finance operation, CarMax Auto Finance, as well as through its third-party financing providers. Further, it offers a range of other related products and services, including the sale of extended service plans, guaranteed asset protection, and accessories; the appraisal and purchase of vehicles directly from consumers; and vehicle repair services. As of December 21, 2011, the company operated 107 used car superstores in 52 markets. CarMax, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By tonyg34]

  In a recent interview right here on GuruFocus, Tom Gayner of Markel (MKL) had a few things to say about CarMax (KMX). This prompted me to give the company a closer look. What follows is a business analysis. We will save considerations of stock analysis, such as price, for a later discussion.
  
  I think that is a business that will continue to grow. I don't see any reason why you can't have a Carmax in a lot of towns way beyond what they're talking about right now. I think being the number one dealer, and having the number one market share in used car arena gives you great information on what transaction prices are. Then you work on the process to be as quick and as cost efficient in fixing the car and getting it sold, and have the confidence from customers when you offer warranties on the products. Those factors create a virtuous cycle. The more you do, the more you can do, the better the pricing is, the more the customers like you, the more your brand matters. The company will be around for a good long time. The management has done a very good job of creating the system and executing it.
  CarMax was formed as a unit of Circuit City in 1993 and was spun off in 2002. Used-car sales account for about 80% of revenue. Competitors include, but certainly are not limited to, AutoNation (AN) and America's Car-Mart (CRMT) as well as private party sellers.

Top Shipping Companies To Buy Right Now: Canadian National Railway Co (CNR.TO)

Canadian National Railway Company (CN), incorporated on August 24, 1995, is engaged in the rail and related transportation business. CN�� network of approximately 20,100 route miles spans Canada and mid-America, connecting three coasts: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert (British Columbia), Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile (Alabama) and metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth (Minnesota)/Superior (Wisconsin), Green Bay (Wisconsin), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis and Jackson (Mississippi), with connections to all points in North America. CN�� network, and its co-production agreements, routing protocols, marketing alliances and interline agreements, provide CN customers access to all three North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) nations. In March 2012, the Company acquired a locomotive program.

Petroleum and chemicals

The petroleum and chemicals commodity group consists of a range of commodities, including chemicals, sulfur, plastics, petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas products. The Company�� petroleum and chemicals shipments originate in the Louisiana petrochemical corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge; in northern Alberta, and in eastern Canadian regional plants.

Metals and minerals

The metals and minerals commodity group consists primarily of non-ferrous base metals and ores, concentrates, iron ore, steel, construction materials, machinery and dimensional loads. The Company provides rail access to aluminum, mining, steel and iron ore producing regions.

Forest products

The forest products commodity group includes range of lumber, panels, paper, wood pulp and other fibers such as logs, recycled paper, wood chips, and wood pellets. The Company has rail access to the western and eastern Canadian fiber-producing regions. In United States, the Company is located to serve both the Midwest and southern United! States corridors with interline connections to other Class I railroads.

Coal

The coal commodity group consists of thermal grades of bituminous coal, metallurgical coal and petroleum coke. Canadian thermal and metallurgical coal is exported through terminals on the west coast of Canada to offshore markets. In United States, thermal coal is transported from mines served in southern Illinois, or from western United States mines through interchange with other railroads, to utilities in the Midwest and southeast United States, as well as offshore markets through terminals in the Gulf and the Port of Prince Rupert.

Grain and fertilizers

The grain and fertilizers commodity group depends primarily on crops grown and fertilizers processed in western Canada and the United States Midwest. The grain segment consists of three primary segments: food grains (mainly wheat, oats and malting barley), feed grains and feed grain products (including feed barley, feed wheat, peas, corn, ethanol and dried distillers grains), and oilseeds and oilseed nproducts (primarily canola seed, oil and meal, and soybeans).

Intermodal

The intermodal commodity group is consists of two segments: domestic and international. The domestic segment transports consumer products and manufactured goods, operating through both retail and wholesale channels, within domestic Canada, domestic United States., Mexico and transborder, while the international segment handles import and export container traffic, directly serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Montreal, Halifax and New Orleans.

Automotive

The automotive commodity group moves both finished vehicles and parts throughout North America, providing rail access to certain vehicle assembly plants in Canada, and Michigan and Mississippi in the United States. The Company also serves vehicle distribution facilities in Canada and the United States, as well as parts production facilities in Mi! chigan an! d Ontario. The Company serves shippers of import vehicles via the ports of Halifax and Vancouver, and through interchange with other railroads.

The Company competes with Canadian Pacific Railway Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roadmap2Retire]

  I am also considering various stocks that are not currently in my portfolio, but the current high valuations do not provide many options.

  Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) engages in transportation of goods including petroleum and chemicals, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals and minerals, forest products, intermodal, and automotive products. The company operates 20,100 route miles of track that spans Canada adn mid-America connecting the three coasts of Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. CNR is a dividend contender that has been raising its dividends for 17 consecutive years and has a 5-yr DGR of 13.9% and a 10-yr DGR of 17.4%. Norfolk Southern (NSC) engages in rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate and finished goods operating approximately 20,000 router miles across the southern and eastern US. NSC and other railroads stand to benefit from the oil boom in continental US, and before permanent pipelines are put in place, railroads are the only option available to transport the huge supplies. NSC is a dividend contender raising its dividends for 12 consecutive years and has a 5-yr DGR of 10.8% and 10-yr DGR of 21.1%. Procter & Gamble (PG) and Unilever plc (UL) are giants in the consumer packaged goods field. PG has five segments - beauty, grooming, healthcare, fabric care and home care. UL has four segments - personal care, foods, refreshment and home care. PG has been raising dividends for 57 years; has a 5-yr DGR of 10.2% and a 10-yr DGR of 10.8%. UL has been raising dividends for 25 years; has a 5-yr 7.07%. Aerospace & Defense Sector: With the global turmoils continuing and the rise of new conflicts across Eastern Europe and Middle East, I am considering adding some exposure to the Aerospace & Defense Sector. I recently posted an article regarding the current valuation of the stocks in the sector here. Index Funds - China ETF, Emerging Markets - I am considering adding a new index fund to my portfolio to track the Chinese marke