Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014

The Maryland-based aerospace & defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LMT) announced on Wednesday that it is acquiring an IT firm based in the United Kingdom.

Specifically, Lockheed Martin is acquiring Armor Group, which is a company that specializes in providing information technology services to businesses in the energy, transport, and public services sectors. Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, Armor Group is a privately held company with offices in 15 countries and a staff of over 500 employees. One of the company’s biggest success stories is the Chroma Airport Suite, which is an operational system used in more tan 75 airports to help track both aircraft movements as well as passengers. Lockheed Martin did not disclose any specific terms regarding the acquisition.

Hot Oil Companies For 2015: Simmons First National Corp (SFNC)

Simmons First National Corporation is a multi-bank financial holding company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had total loans of $1.7 billion, deposits of $2.7 billion and equity capital of $408 million. As of December 31, 2011, it owned eight community banks, which are located throughout Arkansas and conduct its operations through 88 offices, of which 84 are branches, or financial centers, located in 47 communities in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. Its community banks are supported by its subsidiary bank, Simmons First National Bank (SFNB or lead bank), which allows its community banks to provide products and services, such as a bank-issued credit card. As of December 31, 2011, SFNB had total loans of $0.9 billion and total deposits of $1.5 billion. Simmons First Trust Company N.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of SFNB, performs the trust and fiduciary business operations for SFNB and for the Company. Simmons First Investment Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SFNB, is a broker-dealer and performs the broker-dealer operations for SFNB. Its subsidiary banks provide complete banking services to individuals and businesses throughout the market areas they serve. These banks offer consumer (credit card and other consumer), real estate (construction, single family residential and other commercial) and commercial (commercial, agriculture and financial institutions) loans, checking, savings and time deposits, trust and investment management services and securities and investment services. In September 2012, through its wholly owned bank subsidiary, Simmons First National Bank (SFNB), it acquired assets of Truman Bank of St. Louis from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC). In October 2012, SFNB acquired Excel Bank of Sedalia from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In November 2013, the Company acquired Metropolitan National Bank. Efffective November 25, 2013, the Company acquired Rogers Bancshares Inc.

Lending Activities

During the year ended December! 31, 2011, the Company�� loan portfolio, excluding loans covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) loss share arrangements, averaged $1.621 billion. As of December 31, 2011, total loans, excluding loans covered by FDIC loss share arrangements, were $1.580 billion. The components of the loan portfolio were loans to businesses (commercial loans, commercial real estate loans and agricultural loans) and individuals (consumer loans, credit card loans and single-family residential real estate loans).

Consumer loans consist of credit card loans, student loans and other consumer loans. As of December 31, 2011, consumer loans were $346.6 million or 21.9% of total loans. As of December 31, 2011, the student loan portfolio balance was $47.4 million. As of December 31, 2011, student loans were 3% of total loans. Real estate loans consist of construction loans, single family residential loans and commercial loans. As of December 31, 2011, real estate loans were $1.001 billion or 63.4% of total loans. As of December 31, 2011, its construction and development (C&D) loans represent 7% of its loan portfolio and commercial real estate (CRE) loans (excluding C&D) represent 34% of its loan portfolio. Commercial loans consist of commercial loans and agricultural loans. As of December 31, 2011, commercial loans were $227.2 million or 14.4% of total loans.

Investment Activities

Securities within the portfolio are classified as either held-to-maturity, available-for-sale or trading. Held-to-maturity securities include any security for which management has the positive intent and ability to hold until maturity, are carried at historical cost, adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts. As of December 31, 2011, held-to-maturity and available-for-sale investment securities were $525.4 million and $172.2 million. As of December 31, 2011, $312.8 million, or 59.5%, of the held-to-maturity securities were invested in United States Treasury securities and o! bligation! s of the United States government agencies, 60.0% of which will mature in less than five years. In the available-for-sale securities, $153.6 million, or 89.2%, were in the United States Treasury and the United States government agency securities.

Sources of Fund

Deposits are the Company�� source of funding for earning assets and are developed through its network of 84 financial centers. It offers a range of products designed to attract and retain customers with a continuing focus on developing core deposits. Its core deposits consist of all deposits excluding time deposits of $100,000 or more and brokered deposits. As of December 31, 2011, core deposits comprised 86.5% of its total deposits. As of December 31, 2011, its total deposits were $2.65 billion. As of December 31, 2011, non-interest bearing transaction accounts were $532.3 million. As of December 31, 2011, interest bearing transaction and savings accounts were $1.240 billion. As of December 31, 2011, it had $20.6 million of brokered deposits.

As of December 31, 2011, Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase were $114.8 million. As of December 31, 2011, its other short-term borrowings, consisting of the United States Treasury Tax and Loan (TT&L) Notes and short-term Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) borrowings were $272,000. As of December 31, 2011, its long-term debt was $120.8 million. As of December 31, 2011, the outstanding long-term debt balance includes $89.9 million in FHLB long-term advances and $30.9 million of trust preferred securities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Finally, Simonds First National Corp. (Nasdaq: SFNC) is a Midwestern bank with 96 branches in Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas. The stock has been strong this year, but CEO George Makris thinks there is additional upside ahead for the shares.

• [By CRWE]

  Simmons First National Corporation (Nasdaq:SFNC) reported, through its wholly-owned bank subsidiary, Simmons First National Bank (“SFNB”), that it has expanded into the St. Louis, Missouri market by acquiring approximately $282 million in assets of Truman Bank of St. Louis from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”).

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Union Pacific Corporation(UNP)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, provides rail transportation services in North America. It has approximately 31,953 route miles linking Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast ports with the Midwest and eastern United States gateways, and provides several corridors to Mexican gateways. The company offers freight transportation services for agricultural products, including whole grains and related commodities, food, beverage products, corn for ethanol products and its by-products, animal feeds, fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, and poultry products; and automotive products, such as imported and finished vehicles, and automotive parts and materials. It also provides transportation services for chemicals, such as industrial chemicals, plastics, and liquid petroleum products; energy products comprising coal and coke; industrial products, including lumber products, paper and consumer goods, furniture and appliances, and nonferrous and i ndustrial minerals, as well as steel and construction products, such as rock, cement, and roofing materials; and intermodal containers. Union Pacific Corporation was founded in 1862 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature an upgrade for Thomson Reuters Reuters (NYSE: TRI  ) , a new buy rating for Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX  ) -- but for Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP  ) , a downgrade. Let's get that bad news out of the way first.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Central Iron Ore Ltd (CIO)

Central Iron Ore, Ltd. is a Canada-based exploration and development company. The Company is engaged in the search for and development of iron ore and gold. Its projects include Yilgarn Iron Ore Project, South Darlot Gold Project and Eureka Gold Project. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  These four insiders made their buys during the public offering for $6 per share, and since their buys the price per share is down about -0.83%.� Highlighted below are the insiders��individual buys:

  Timothy Keating (CEO):� Bought 8,000 shares for $48,000.� Now holds 98,000 shares of KIPO stock. Taylor Simonton (D):� Bought 3,000 shares for $18,000. Now holds 13,000 shares of KIPO stock. Kyle Rogers (CIO):� Bought 3,072 shares for $18,432.� Now holds 8,096 shares of company stock. Frederic Schweiger (CFO/COO):� Bought 8,000 shares for $48,000.� Now holds on to 26,700 shares of KIPO stock.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Chesapeake Gold Corp (CHPGF.PK)

Chesapeake Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focusing on the discovery and development of gold-silver deposits in North and Central America. The Company�� primary asset is the Metates gold-silver project (Metates) located in Durango State, Mexico. The Company also has a portfolio of exploration properties in Mexico comprising 57,067 hectares in the states of Durango, Sinaloa, Oaxaca and Veracruz. The Escorpion property is located 85 kilometers by paved road southeast of Guatemala City. The Metates property is the undeveloped disseminated gold and silver deposits in Mexico. The property is consists of 14 mineral concessions totaling 14,727 hectares. Talapoosa property is a low-sulphidation gold/silver property in the Walker Lane gold trend of western Nevada, approximately 45 kilometers east of Reno. The property consists of 535 unpatented lode mining claims and seven additional fee land sections which cover 10,780 hectares. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Hebba Investments]

  Therefore the situation is still very bullish for investors in physical gold and the gold ETFs (GLD, CEF, and PHYS). Investors interested in leveraging this situation into higher potential profits may also consider buying gold miners such as Randgold (GOLD), Goldcorp (GG), Yamana Gold (AUY), and any of the other gold miners. Finally, those willing to shoulder much larger risks may consider some of the exploration and micro-cap companies that offer significant profits at a high risk such as Chesapeake Gold (CHPGF.PK), Pretium Resources (PVG), Western Copper (WRN), or any other of the junior exploration companies. Though investors should keep in mind that gold mining companies and explorers do not always rise with a rising gold price - do your research before you invest in the miners.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: bluebird bio Inc (BLUE)

bluebird bio, Inc., incorporated on April 16, 1992, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company, the Company is focused on transforming the lives of patients with severe genetic and orphan diseases using gene therapy. Gene therapy seeks to introduce a functional copy of the defective gene into a patient�� own cells, a process called gene transfer. Through gene transfer, a functional copy of the mutated gene is delivered to the patient�� cells, thereby correcting the underlying genetic defect that causes aberrant gene expression. As of December 31, 2012, the Company is conducting a Phase I/II clinical study in France evaluating an earlier generation of its LentiGlobin vector for the treatment of �-thalassemia major and SCD. Initial proof-of-concept data from this study were published in Nature. During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company plans to initiate an extension of this study under a revised protocol for LentiGlobin, which the Company refers to as the HGB-205 Study. The Company also plans o initiate a second Phase I/II clinical program in the United States for LentiGlobin, which the Company refers to as the HGB-204 Study, for �-thalassemia major. In March 2013, the Company entered into a strategic collaboration with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene, to discover, develop and commercialize, disease-altering gene therapies in oncology.

Its gene therapy platform is based on viral vectors that utilize a modified, non-replicating version of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) virus, that has been stripped of all of the components required for it to self-replicate and infect additional cells. The HIV-1 virus is part of the lentivirus family of viruses, as a result of which the Company refer to its vectors as lentiviral vectors. Its lentiviral vectors are used to introduce a functional copy of a gene to the patient�� own isolated blood stem cells, called hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which reside in a patient�� bone marrow and are capable of differentiating int! o a wide range of cell types. HSCs are dividing cells, thus its approach allows for sustained expression of the modified gene as the Company is able to take advantage of a lifetime of replication of the gene-modified HSCs. Additionally, the Company has developed a cell-based vector manufacturing process that is both reproducible and scalable.

Adrenoleukodystrophy

Adrenoleukodystrophy is a rare X-linked, inherited, neurological disorder that is often fatal. ALD is caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene which encodes for a protein called the ALD protein (ALDP), which plays a critical role in the breakdown and metabolism of long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA). Without functional ALDP, VLCFA accumulate in cells including neural cells in which they cause damage to the myelin sheath, a protective and insulating membrane that surrounds nerve cells in the brain. This damage can result in decreased motor coordination and function, visual and hearing disturbances, the loss of cognitive function, dementia, seizures, adrenal dysfunction and other complications, including death. ALD is divided into various sub-segments with three main phenotypes that impact brain function: CCALD (Childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy, AMN (Adrenomyeloneuropathy) and ACALD (Adult Cerebral ALD).

�-thalassemia

�-thalassemia is a rare hereditary blood disorder caused by a genetic abnormality of the �-globin gene resulting in defective red blood cells (RBCs). Genetic mutations cause the absence or reduced production of the beta chains of hemoglobin, or �-globin, thereby preventing the proper formation of hemoglobin A, which normally accounts for greater than 95% of the hemoglobin in the blood of adults. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein in the blood that carries oxygen from the respiratory organs to the rest of the body. Hemoglobin A consists of four chains-two chains each of a-globin and �-globin. Normally existing at an approximate 1:1 ratio, genetic mutations that impair t! he produc! tion of �-globin can lead to a relative excess of a-globin, premature death of red blood cells. The clinical implications of the a-globin/�-globin imbalance are two-fold: first, patients lack sufficient RBCs and hemoglobin to effectively transport oxygen throughout the body and can become severely anemic; and second, the shortened life span and ineffective production of RBCs can lead to other complications such as splenomegaly, marrow expansion, bone deformities, and iron overload in organs.

Sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder resulting from a mutation in the �-globin gene that causes polymerization of hemoglobin proteins and abnormal red blood cell function. The disease is characterized by anemia, vaso-occlusive pain crisis (a common complication of SCD in which there is severe pain due to obstructed blood flow in the bones, joints, lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, eye, or central nervous system), infections, stroke, overall poor life and early death in a subset of patients. Under low-oxygen conditions, which are exacerbated by the red blood cell abnormalities, the mutant hemoglobin aggregates causing the RBCs to take on a sickle shape (sickle cells), which causes them to aggregate and obstruct small blood vessels, thereby restricting blood flow to organs resulting in pain, cell death and organ damage. If oxygen levels are restored, the hemoglobin can disaggregate and the RBCs return to their normal shape, but over time, the sickling damages the cell membrane and the cells fail to return to the normal shape even in high-oxygen conditions.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Williamson]

  In this video, health-care analyst David Williamson takes a look at the tremendous success of the�Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ: BLUE  ) �IPO. The company increased the size of its initial public offering, and priced shares at $17 -- above the top end of its range -- but that still couldn't contain investor appetite for this stock. Shares shot up 50% on the opening day of trading, and have remained there.

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Aceto Corporation(ACET)

Aceto Corporation engages in the sourcing, regulatory support, marketing, and distribution of pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients, finished dosage form generics, nutraceutical products, agricultural protection products, and specialty chemicals worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Health Sciences, Specialty Chemicals, and Agricultural Protection Products. The Health Sciences segment supplies raw materials used in the production of nutritional and packaged dietary supplements, including vitamins, amino acids, iron compounds, and bio chemicals used in pharmaceutical and nutritional preparations. The Specialty Chemicals segment provides various chemicals used in plastics, surface coatings, textiles, fuels, and lubricants; organic intermediates used in the production of agrochemicals; and dye and pigment intermediates used in the color-producing industries, such as textiles, inks, paper, and coatings. This segment also offers diazos and couplers to the paper, film, and electronics industries. The Agricultural Protection Products segment sells herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other agricultural chemicals that control weed growth, as well as control the spread of insects and other microorganisms that can damage plant growth. This segment also provides sprout inhibitor for potatoes and an herbicide for sugar cane. It serves pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, agricultural, coatings, and industrial chemical consuming industries. Aceto Corporation was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Port Washington, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Aceto (NASDAQ: ACET) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.17 per share on revenue of $134.23 million.

  SeaChange International (NASDAQ: SEAC) is estimated to post a Q2 loss at $0.18 per share on revenue of $26.80 million.

• [By Richard Moroney]

  Aceto (ACET) announced a 9% increase in its per-share dividend in August, the first increase since it switched to a quarterly payout schedule in 2012.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Portfolio Grader has noted the strong fundamentals and upgraded HII stock to an “A” last month, making it a strong buy consideration at current prices.

  Aceto (ACET)

  Aceto (ACET) sources and sells the ingredients for pharmaceutical products. ACET operates in three divisions:

Top 10 Information Technology Stocks To Buy For 2014: Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM)

Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. operates as a seaborne shipping and logistics company. It focuses on the transportation and transshipment of dry bulk commodities, including iron ore, coal, fertilizers, and grains. The company controls a fleet of 31 owned vessels and 26 chartered-in vessels totaling 5.8 million dwt. Its owned fleet comprises 14 Ultra Handymax, 11 Capesize, 1 Handysize, and 3 Panamax vessels, as well as 2 Panamax vessels under construction; and chartered-in vessels consists of 8 Capesize, 11 Panamax, 1 Handysize, and 6 Ultra Handymax vessels under long-term time charters. The company also engages in port terminal, river barge, and coastal cabotage operations; and charters its vessels under medium to long-term charters to trading houses, producers, and government-owned entities. In addition, it engages in operating ports and transfer station terminals; and handles vessels, barges, and push boats, as well as operates upriver transport facilities in the Hidrovia region. Further, the company engages in the transportation and handling of liquid cargoes through the ownership, operation, and trading of tanker vessels. It has operations primarily in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. The company is headquartered in Piraeus, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nickey Friedman]

  Navios Maritime Holdings (NYSE: NM  ) has two operating segments: shipping and logistics. Analysts have already begun to raise their profit estimates for 2014, currently at $0.11 EPS up from $0.01 a week ago. Expect that number to continue to rise dramatically. Navios pays a $0.06 per share quarterly dividend and trades around 40% below its book value. It used to trade as high as $17 back in 2007.