Detroit bankruptcy has surprising long-term implications

The bankruptcy court's Tuesday ruling that makes Detroit eligible to become the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history is not likely to have a major impact on the muni bond market, but it certainly won't help.

For much of the muni bond market, Detroit's pursuit of bankruptcy as a means of managing its $18 billion in long-term liabilities represents the classic example of headline risk.

Combine Detroit's troubles with similar stories in places such as Puerto Rico and other, smaller U.S. municipalities, add the growing concerns over rising interest rates, and you have a “perfect storm in the muni bond space,” according to Roberto Roffo, senior vice president and portfolio manager at Advisors Asset Management Inc.

“Everything combined at once and had investors running to the door,” he added.

Indeed. Through last week, muni bond mutual funds have experienced 27 consecutive weeks of net outflows, with $34.75 billion being drained. That brings total outflows for the year to more than $50 billion.

But while the investor exodus has not helped fund performance, it has contributed to the reality of basic bond math, which means higher yields. The average national long-term muni bond fund, as tracked by Morningstar Inc., is down 4.4% this year, but even the worst-performing funds in the category are generating yields in the 4% range.

“We look at this kind of market and know that higher yields translate to better income down the road,” said Ronald Bernardi, a muni bond trader and president of Bernardi Securities Inc. “From our perspective, 27 weeks of outflows isn't necessarily all bad.”

In essence, as investors have fled the muni space, the yields have climbed to levels that are difficult to ignore on an after-tax basis.

As Mr. Roffo explained, the yield on the average 10-year triple-A-rated muni bond is now equal to that of the 10-year Treasury, at approximately 2.77%. When factoring in the tax advantages of muni bond income, the 10-year Treasury would need to yield 4.1% to produce a comparable yield.

“All these outflows in the muni market have caused a relative cheapness in the muni market, and they are extremely attractive at these levels,” Mr. Roffo said. “Anytime you see munis at or cheaper than Treasurys, you should buy munis.”

Top 10 Cheap Companies To Watch In Right Now

But even with muni yields already at attractive levels, most muni market watchers don't see the pattern reversing anytime soon because of the headline risks and realities associated with a reduction in quantitative easing.

“The talk about tapering triggered the fi! rst muni fund outflows earlier this year, and from there investors saw better returns in equities,” said Dan Toboja, senior vice president of fixed income at Ziegler Capital Markets.

“People are seeing stories like Detroit and Stockton [Calif.], and it is changing the way they feel about the safety of municipal bonds,” he added. “Remember, people buy munis to stay rich, not to get rich.”

Mr. Bernardi said he also believes some of the muni fund outflows is proof that many of the investors were not truly there for traditional muni benefits.

“I have felt for many months that a lot of the money that had moved into muni funds was hot money,” he said. “It was investment capital that would have been in money market funds or CDs, but in the early part of the year, it went to muni funds and was never consistent with the risk profile of many of those investors.”

John Loffredo, senior managing director and co-head of municipal managers at McKay Shields, said he doesn't believe investors are particularly focused on situations like Detroit's bankruptcy. But he does think investors are keenly aware of how rising interest rates will impact muni bond mutual funds.

“The mutual platforms will continue to suffer because investors are seeing negative returns and rising rates,” he said. “It's more a factor of where rates are going and less a factor of what's happening in Detroit.”

4 Tech Stocks Spiking on Big Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Stocks Poised for Breakouts

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Big Stocks to Trade for Big Gains

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume today.

Phoenix New Media

Phoenix New Media (FENG) is a new media company providing premium content on an integrated platform across Internet, mobile and TV channels in China. This stock closed up 13.9% to $10.36 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 3.81 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.13 million

Volume % Change: 331%

>>5 Stocks With Big Insider Buying

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From a technical perspective, FENG ripped sharply higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $10.35 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been uptrending modestly for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $8.08 to its intraday high of $10.38. During that move, shares of FENG have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of FENG within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if FENG manages to take out Friday's high of $10.38 and its 50-day moving average of $10.94 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in FENG as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $9.65 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.13 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then FENG will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $12.50 to its 52-week high at $13.38.

21Vianet Group

21Vianet Group (VNET) is a carrier-neutral Internet data center service provider. This stock closed up 6.8% at $20.54 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 1.45 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 522,358

Volume % Change: 215%

>>5 Tech Stocks to Trade in November

From a technical perspective, VNET spiked sharply higher here and broke out above some near-term overhead resistance at $20.53 with strong upside volume. This move briefly pushed shares of VNET into new 52-week high territory, since the stock flirted with some more near-term overhead resistance at $20.90. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $8.98 to its intraday high on Friday of $21.09. During that move, shares of VNET have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in VNET as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $18.99 or above more support at $18 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $21.09 with volume that's near or above 522,358 shares. If we get that move soon, then VNET will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that move are $25 to $27.

II-VI

II-VI (IIVI) develops, manufactures and markets products for a diversified customer base including industrial manufacturing, military and aerospace, electronics and telecommunications, and thermo-electronics applications. This stock closed up 2.7% at $15.77 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 838,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 296,220

Volume % Change: 250%

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar

From a technical perspective, IIVI skyrocketed higher here right off its recent low of $15.13 with heavy upside volume. This stock has been downtrending badly for the last few weeks, with shares plunging lower from its high of $19.15 to its recent low of $15.13. During that downtrend, shares of IIVI have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of IIVI have now started to bounce off oversold territory, since its current relative strength index reading is 33. This bounce could be signaling that the downside volatility for IIVI is over in the short-term, and the stock is ready to rip much higher.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in IIVI as long as it's trending above its recent low of $15.13 and then once it sustains a move or close above Friday's high of $15.97 with volume that hits near or above 296,220 shares. If we get that move soon, then IIVI will set up to rebound sharply higher towards its 200-day at $17.48 to its 50-day at $18.05.

Yoku Tudou

Yoku Tudou (YOKU) is an Internet television company in China. This stock closed up 11.1% at $29.30 in Friday's trading session.

Friday's Volume: 13.71 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 3.47 million

Volume % Change: 320%

From a technical perspective, YOKU exploded higher here and gapped up back above its 50-day moving average of $27.66 with monster upside volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of YOKU within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if YOKU manages to take out Friday's high of $29.73 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $32.49 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in YOKU as long as it's trending above Friday's low of $28 or above its 50-day at $27.66 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 3.47 million shares. If that breakout hits soon, then YOKU will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are its next major overhead resistance levels at $33 to $40.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

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ON THE MARKET - More technical worries surface -- 10-14-2013

Pre-market – Monday 10-14-2013

"The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit."

~ Milton Friedman ~

Dr. John L. Faessel

ON THE MARKET

Commentary and Insights

Quotes of the day

"No pecuniary consideration is more urgent, than the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt."

~ George Washington ~

Stocks boom on declining and below average volume

Up trend remains intact

ALERT:

Best High Tech Companies To Own In Right Now

1.A divergence in New Highs vs. Price in indexes suggests significant internal weakness. Link here.

2.McClellan Summation Index also suggests that there is not sufficient liquidity in the market to continue the uptrend. Link here for the details.

3.The 50-day moving average in the S&P 500 (SPX) has turned down.

MARKET

The Market / S&P 500 price advances again above the 50-day moving average.

The McClellan Oscillator is in Neutral at a plus 37. Tuesday's McClellan Oscillator was into the oversold at a minus 193. The weekly picture puts in a solid 'end of trend' Hammer candle. Key channel support off the trendline from November 2012 at (SPX) 1667 violated but the advance keeps "price" trendbound.

Today another down day looms as the Obama administration / House Republican Senate Democrat 'shutdown' debt / spending impasse grinds on. In three days the government's borrowing authority lapses.

However stock market indexes remain in strong uptrends and continue to look constructive, but there are some technical underpinnings that are deteriorating. Add that top line revenue has turned down as havw earnings.

Also very important - the important Bank Index (BKX) "price' remains below the now declining 50-day moving average and has the look of a failing chart.

After "price" in the S&P 500 (SPX) slid in a 16 session retreat off the channel top trendline from the March 2009 lows, (while coincidentally on that high tick day on 9/18/2013 the McClellan Oscillator posted the highest read in the last 12-months at an OVERBOUGHT plus 268) we has a nice 3-day reversal off a hammer candle when on Wednesday the McClellan posted a minus and oversold 193 on an increase in volume that was above average. On Friday volume fell sharply on both major exchanges. Nasdaq, trading was the slowest in almost three weeks. Weekly volume also remains in decline and below average.

It's all about jobs

Unemployment numbers rose 21% last week to 374,000, up 66,000 from 308,000 the previous week. And the markets love the fact that the $85 billion monthly mortgage and bond securities buying will continue. So much for the tapering….

Weekly S&P 500

The S&P 500 (SPX) closed Friday at 1703.20 - the prior Friday it was 1690.50

The 50-day moving average support is in decline at 1678 - the prior Friday it was 1679

Short term 'Price' support is at 1692. Then at 1682

The a bit further out 1646 and 1627

The 200-day moving average support is at 1602

Channel and trend line support of (November 2012) is at 1667

Then deep channel and trend line support of (October 2011) is at 1573.

Then the deepest channel and trend line support of (March 2009) is at 1375

Reality re Debt Limit - WSJ

"According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress voted 53 times from 1978 to 2013 to change the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling has increased to about $16 trillion from $752 billion. Of these 53 votes, 29 occurred in a Congress run by Democrats, 17 in a split Congress, and seven in a Republican-controlled Congress." "While large increases that give the U.S. Treasury a healthy amount of borrowing space happen occasionally, small short-term increases are common. In 1990 alone, while Republican George H.W. Bush was in the White House, a Democratic-controlled Congress voted to increase the debt limit seven times." "Republicans today are playing a role that has been played many times. While the debt-limit kabuki inevitably roils markets as deadlines approach, the alternative absence of fiscal discipline would make government insolvency more probable in the fullness of time." Link here for WSJ article.

This Week's Investor Sentiment

In general the Bullishness / Bearishness complex overview is in the high end of a mid-range

(High BULLISH readings in the Investor Sentiment Readings usually are signs of Market tops; low ones, market bottoms.)

The American Association of Individual Investors [AAII] Investor Survey of BEARISHNESS moved up to 33.6% from 30.1% the prior week. 13-weeks ago it posted its lowest read since 1/12/2012 when it slipped to 18.3%. Cycle highs of Bearishness of 54.5% were posted 13 weeks ago. Long-Term Average: Bearish: 30.5%

The American Association of Individual Investors [AAII]Investor Sentiment Survey of BULLISHNESS slid to 41% from 33.8% the prior week.

The "Bullish" survey posted recent highs of 52.3% 8-months ago. It posted cycle lows of 22.2% on 7/23/2012 the lowest percentile since August 2010. Long-Term Average: Bullish: 39.0%

Consensus Index BULLISH is 41% up from last week's 37%. New Cycle highs in Bullishness of 77% were posted 4-months ago matching the top tick of 77% on 10/11/2007.

The Market Vane (Market Letter Survey) slid a bit to 57% from 61% the prior week. In October 2007 it topped at 70% bullish.

The Citigroup "Panic / Euphoria" Model remains in neutral 0.25. Cycle Highs (and Euphoria zone) of plus 0.49 occurred in February and that posting was the highest since May 2008. At the end of June, 2011 it ticked cycle lows of minus0.31 in the Panic mode.

The BARRON's Confidence Index is 73.6.Last week it was 72.9 - One-year ago it was 67.1.

The Confidence Index is the premier measure of how the bond markets trillions (total global is around $93 trillion and USA is about 39% of that) are allocated: (The bond market is twice the size of the stock market.) The Index is the High-grade bond index divided by intermediate-grade index. A decline in latter vs. former - generally indicates rising confidence, pointing to higher stocks.

Friday's key indicators and metrics:

Cycle highs or lows are in red

·McClellan Oscillator in Neutral at plus 37

·3-month $ LIBOR hangs at new lows of 0.24885%

·CBOE Put / Call Volume Ratio – 0.95

·VIX – 15.72 - the cycle high was on June 20th at 21.32

·Aussie Dollar –0.9430

·Natural Gas (Globex) – 3.776

·Copper – 3.2690

·Gold (COMEX) – 1268.2

·Crude oil (NYMEX) 102.02– cycle and 2-year highs at 110.53 were ticked in August

·Brent crude 110.47

·The Treasury 10-year yield – 2.68% - cycle high was on 9/10/2013 at 2.98%

·The 30-year Treasury – 3.73% - cycle high was on August 22nd at 3.93%

·Canadian Dollar – 0.9654

·US Dollar Index – 80.45 – 8-month lows were ticked a week ago Thursday at 79.72

·Silver (COMEX) – 23.891

·Japanese Yen – 1.0157

·Swiss Franc – 1.0979

·Euro – 1.3557

·Platinum 1375.6

·Palladium 713.30

·Lumber (CME) – 331.20

.

5 Trades to Take for October Gains

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- The drama surrounding the government shutdown held a gun to Wall Street's head to start the week. Well, kinda, sorta.

Stocks actually held their ground pretty well in spite of yesterday's headlines. And the sky isn't falling today either.

In fact, looking back on a historical basis since 1976, research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Equity and Quant Strategy group shows that markets tend to perform well in the wake of a government shutdown threats on Capitol Hill. The timing is pretty good too: "New month, new market" has been stocks' mantra all year long. So investors should brace themselves for more of the same now that October trading kicked off at the opening bell this morning.

To take full advantage of a change in trend, we're taking a technical look at five stock trades worth trading this week.

For the unfamiliar, technical analysis is a way for investors to quantify qualitative factors, such as investor psychology, based on a stock's price action and trends. Once the domain of cloistered trading teams on Wall Street, technicals can help top traders make consistently profitable trades and can aid fundamental investors in better planning their stock execution.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at five technical setups worth trading now.

Atlas Pipeline Partners

Up first is natgas pipeline stock Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL). Natural gas spot prices have sported some pretty lackluster performance so far in 2013, tumbling mid-single digits year-to-date, but not APL. APL has managed to claw its way nearly 22% higher since the calendar flipped over to January, and it's positioned for even better performance for the rest of the year.

APL is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish setup that's formed by horizontal resistance above shares at $39.25 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as APL gets bounced in between those two technical levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above resistance. When that happens, traders have their buy signal.

Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

That resistance level at $290 is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above $290 so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

Wait for $290 to get taken out before you buy.

Boston Scientific

You don't have to be an expert technical analyst to figure out what's going on in shares of Boston Scientific (BSX). Shares of the $16 billion medical device maker have been bouncing higher in a textbook uptrend for the better part of the year. Now, with shares coming down to test support, we're coming up on a big buying opportunity for this stock.

BSX has been stuck in a tight range in between parallel uptrend lines, levels that provide a high-probability range for shares. While there's really no bad time to buy a stock that's in an uptrend, the ideal time to jump in comes on a bounce off of trendline support. Buying off a support bounce makes sense for two big reasons: It's the spot where shares have the furthest to move up before they hit resistance, and it's the spot where the risk is the least (because shares have the least room to move lower before you know you're wrong).

The 50-day moving average has been a stellar proxy for support on the way up -- it's where I'd put a protective stop in this name.

Dover

Dover (DOV) is another stock that's in a solid uptrend this fall. Like BSX, the manufacturing conglomerate has been trending higher since the start of the summer – beating the S&P 500 on a relative strength basis all the way up.

And just like BSX, the ideal time to buy comes on a bounce off of trendline support.

DOV pushed higher off of support in yesterday's session, catching a bid before it got down to the 50-day moving average. At this point, Dover's bounce is still a little tentative. While buyers did step in and bid shares up, yesterday's price action left things close to the support line. So while now might be a good time to build a starter position in DOV, I'd recommend waiting for a more confirmed more off of support before putting cash on this trade.

If you decide to jump in here, keep a tight protective stop in place.

DirecTV

Last up is satellite television operator DirecTV (DTV). While DTV has more or less matched the market so far this year, shares of the TV provider are starting to look a little "toppy" now. Here's how to trade it.

DirecTV is forming the late stages of a head and shoulder top, a reversal setup that indicates exhaustion among buyers. The head and shoulders is formed by two swing highs that top out around the same level (the shoulders), separated by a bigger peak called the head; the sell signal comes on the breakdown below the pattern's "neckline" level, which is right above $56 at the moment for DTV.

The head and shoulder pattern is well know because it works: a recent academic study conducted by the Federal Reserve Board of New York found that the results of 10,000 computer-simulated head-and-shoulders trades resulted in "profits [that] would have been both statistically and economically significant." If you decide to short this stock on a move below $56, it makes sense to keep a stop above $64.

To see this week's trades in action, check out the Technical Setups for the Week portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Jonas Elmerraji in Baltimore.

JP Morgan to Pay $920M in “London Whale” Settlements (JPM)

On Thursday, investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) announced that it will pay $920 million in a “London Whale” settlement.

JPM will pay $920 in penalties in the U.S. and the U.K. to settle liabilities from its $6.2 billion derivatives loss. The company will pay $300 million to the U.S. Office of the Controller of the Currency, $200 million to the Federal Reserve, $200 million to the SEC and 137.6 million pounds to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

JPM’s CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon commented: "We have accepted responsibility and acknowledged our mistakes from the start, and we have learned from them and worked to fix them. We will continue to strive towards being considered the best bank – across all measures – not only by our shareholders and customers, but also by our regulators. Since these losses occurred, we have made numerous changes that have made us a stronger, smarter, better Company."

JPMorgan shares were down 55 cents, or 1.03%, during Thursday morning trading. The stock is up 20% YTD.

What’s Wrong With Twitter’s IPO?

If you want any evidence that Facebook's (ticker: FB ) botched May 2012 initial public offering was a traumatic event, just look at the following headlines regarding the most anticipated IPO since the "Facebook fiasco", which I culled from today's Yahoo! Finance homepage:

Challenges abound for Twitter heading into the IPO (Associated Press)

Success of Twitter's Business Model Questioned Ahead of IPO (Breakout/Yahoo! Finance)

As Twitter IPO prices, poll says it's not worth hype (CNBC.com)

Good News for Twitter IPO: Small Investors Are Skipping It (The Exchange/Yahoo! Finance)

But who, exactly, was traumatized? Investors or financial journalists? One headline tells a different story from those I just cited -- one of enthusiasm, rather than skepticism:

Twitter boosts IPO range amid strong investor demand (Reuters)

Although they maintained the size of the offering at 70 million shares, Twitter and its underwriters have raised the previous $17 to $20 pricing range for the stock to $20 to $25. If the underwriters exercise the overallotment option for an additional 10 million shares, Twitter will end up raising $2 billion at the top end of that range. The final pricing is expected for Wednesday, and the shares will begin trading on Thursday.

The truth is that this is a fantastic time for Twitter to go public: The stock market has had a great run this year and growth-stock IPOs have been making eye-popping debuts (witness the shares of sandwich chain Potbelly, which more than doubled on their first day of trading). Finally, the most highly visible social networking stocks -- Twitter's peer group -- have way outpaced the market, as the following performance graph of Facebook and LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD ) illustrates:

With those precedents in mind, should investors ignore the skeptical articles regarding Twitter and plow into the stock? My answer: No.

Where Facebook and LinkedIn are solidly profitable, Twitter isn't. In that regard, it's closer to local-bus! iness review site Yelp, which has yet to turn a quarterly profit (although that hasn't stopped the stock from gaining 241% this year.) Twitter is a fascinating platform, and it has already made a massive impact on business and popular culture, but as a business model, it's still finding its feet. Several ad buyers at major advertising firms recently told the Financial Times that the funds they allocate to Twitter come out of their "experimental" budgets.

I think the odds are excellent that Twitter's stock will post muscular gains once the shares begin trading in the secondary market on Tuesday, but whether it will prove an excellent long-term investment looks much more uncertain. Investors who are interested in buying the shares should first ask themselves what they expect to achieve, over what timeframe ... and how much they are prepared to lose in an adverse scenario.

The Motley Fool is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news, analysis and commentary designed to help people take control of their financial lives. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

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Pipeline Setback for Roche - Analyst Blog

Hot Energy Stocks To Watch Right Now

Roche (RHHBY) recently suffered a setback when it announced the termination of its phase III trial, AleCardio, on pipeline candidate aleglitazar.

The decision to terminate the trial came after the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) recommended the company halt the trial due to safety signals and lack of efficacy following a regular safety review.

We note that the trial was being conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of aleglitazar in patients with a recent acute coronary syndrome event and type II diabetes.

In addition to scrapping the AleCardio trial, Roche said that it has terminated all other trials related to aleglitazar.

We note that aleglitazar was designed to provide balanced dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) alpha/gamma activation.

We remind investors that companies like AstraZeneca (AZN) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) had also attempted to develop a diabetes drug using this dual mechanism but failed.

We remind investors that Roche had suffered a setback in 2012 as well when it terminated its phase III trial on dalcetrapib after the independent DSMB cited lack of efficacy.

The trial was evaluating dalcetrapib's efficacy and safety when added to the existing standard of care for the treatment of patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD) following an acute coronary syndrome.

Nevertheless, Roche has another candidate, tofogliflozin in phase III, which is being developed to increase renal glucose excretion in patients with type II diabetes.

We expect investor focus on tofogliflozin henceforth.

Roche currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Right now, Santarus, Inc (SNTS) looks attractive with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Groupon trims 3Q loss, revenue lags estimates

CHICAGO (AP) — Groupon whittled its losses during the third quarter, but weak revenue growth underscored the challenges facing the online daily deal service as it tries to morph into a more comprehensive destination for Internet bargain hunters.

As part of its expansion efforts, Groupon announced Thursday that it is buying Korea-based Ticket Monster from its daily deal rival Living Social for $260 million in cash and stock. The deal provides Groupon with a springboard for selling more products and travel packages in Korea.

"We're pleased with our progress, but we still have work to do as we transform the business from our daily deal email roots to a full e-commerce marketplace," said Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofsky.

The stock rose 5.3% to $10 in extended trading Thursday after being down sharply during the regular trading session and shortly after the earnings were released.

Lefkofsky is trying to train Groupon's 43.5 million customers to regularly check for deals on their mobile devices whenever they are about to buy something, rather than waiting for an offer to be emailed to them each day. That effort is beginning to bear fruit in North America, where more than half of all Groupon's third-quarter purchases were completed on smartphones and tablet computers.

The results announced Thursday came out shortly as the stock of another young Internet company, Twitter urged to a 73% gain to end its opening day of trading with a market value of $31 billion despite a history of uninterrupted losses.

Like Twitter, Groupon once was considered to be a hot commodity among investors looking for a piece of rapidly growing companies with large audiences.

Despite questions about the company's ability to make money, Groupon ended its first day of trading two years ago with a market value of $17 billion. The fears about Groupon's turned out to be justified. As its growth stalled and losses mounted, Groupon replaced co-founder Andrew Mason as CEO earlier this year. Since Mason left i! n February, Groupon's stock has more than doubled, but remains well below its initial public offering price of $20. Groupon's market value Thursday: About $6 billion.

The Chicago company lost $2.6 million during the three months ending in September, compared with a loss of $3 million at the same time last year. On a per-share basis, that translated into break-even for both quarters.

If not for expenses for employee stock compensation and charges for past acquisitions, Groupon said it would have earned 2 cents per share. That figure was a penny above the average estimate among analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue rose 5% to $595.1 million, short of analysts' projection by $20 million.

Groupon is counting on the holiday shopping season to boost its revenue during the current quarter ending in December, to $690 million to $740 million. Analysts predict $725 million. It expects adjusted earnings to range from break-even to 2 cents. Analysts predicted profit of 6 cents.

2.5 Million Reasons to Like Pandora

Pandora (NYSE: P  ) is turning more of its freeloaders into paying music fans.

The leading music streaming service posted blowout quarterly results on Thursday night, but the cherry on top of its great report is that its subscription revenue is once again growing faster than online ad revenue.

The number of subscribers to its premium Pandora One platform soared 114% over the past year to top 2.5 million users. A whopping 700,000 have joined over the past three months alone!

This still means that more than 96% of its active listeners aren't paying a dime, but it's a start.

The crowd wants an encore
It was a strong quarter.

Adjusted revenue rose 58% to $128.5 million, ahead of the $123.8 million that Wall Street was targeting. Pandora's loss of $0.10 a share isn't applause-worthy, but it did match the deficit that analysts were expecting.

Shares of Pandora had hit a fresh 52-week high on Thursday ahead of the report. It's been a good week for Pandora.

Earlier in the week it announced that it would be teaming up with T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS  ) to sponsor Pandora Premieres, a new channel that features album releases before they hit the market. It's a great way to woo music labels to help promote their upcoming retail releases, but it's also just neat to see Pandora teaming up with the country's fourth-largest mobile carrier on a branding opportunity. Creating sponsored channel opportunities is one more way for Pandora to make money as it claws its way back to profitability.

Pandora also revealed that it's making it easier for listeners to share their music through Facebook (NASDAQ: FB  ) . Pandora is one of the many streaming sites that allow users to divulge what they're listening to with their Facebook friends, but a new timeline app enhances the sharing capability by making it customizable and automatic. This should give Pandora more of a viral push through the social networking website with more than a billion registered users.

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Pandora's initiatives are paying off. Its guidance for the current quarter calls for $155 million to $160 million in revenue. Wall Street had been projecting revenue to fall just short of $150 million.

At a time when Pandora finds itself competing with Spotify and now Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) All Access -- the online giant's new premium music streaming service -- it can never do too much to grow its audience, keep them close, and ideally get them paying.

Spotify and All Access are marketed as premium experiences. Pandora has stood out in the past as a haven for freeloaders willing to put up with ads for free music, but if even Google is gunning for subscription revenue, it's clearly where Pandora needs to make sure it doesn't get lost.

Having 2.5 million Pandora One listeners is good. Growing that audience will be even better.

Cracking open Pandora's box
Pandora has won millions of devotees among music fans but few supporters on Wall Street. The online jukebox seems to be redefining the way we consume music, a transformation that's only likely to grow. But high royalty rates and competition from all corners threatens to silence the company. Can Pandora translate success with its listeners into a prosperous business model that will deliver for investors? Learn about the key opportunities and potential pitfalls facing the upstart radio streamer in The Motley Fool's premium research report. All you have to do is click here now to subscribe to this invaluable investor's resource.

Why KLA-Tencor Shares Crashed

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC  ) are down today by about 8% after bottoming at a 10% loss in the morning. The market is not happy with the company's forward guidance, despite a decent earnings report for the fiscal third quarter.

So what: KLA's revenue of $729 million represented a 13% year-over-year decline, but still narrowly beat the $726.8 million consensus. Earnings per share of $1.01 were better, as that figure bested the $0.85 consensus by 19% on the upside. However, the company's upcoming quarter looks to be ugly -- KLA expects revenue in the $670 million to $730 million range, and EPS in the $0.66 to $0.86 range. Not only are these well below the current quarter's results, they also undershoot the Street's consensus figures of $763.2 million in revenue, and $0.97 in EPS.

Now what: This wasn't a pretty quarter, and guidance isn't pleasant, but KLA looks rather cheap at a 12.6 P/E with a 3% dividend yield after the drop. However, the guidance begs the question -- is this company simply becoming a value trap now? The stock has moved around a lot over the past year, but appears largely range-bound and, until today, KLA was near the top of its range. Without forward momentum, cheap won't matter. Investors need to see growth over the long term.

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Want more news and updates? Add KLA-Tencor to your Watchlist now.

It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

Oil Boom Shakes the Industry

Recent oil and natural gas news, coming from the US Energy Information Administration, forecasts big numbers in the coming years that will rock, not only the industry, but the entire global economy, thinks MoneyShow's Jim Jubak, also of Jubak's Picks.

The US oil—and natural gas—boom continues to shake up the global oil industry (and, actually, the global economy).

The latest energy-shaking news comes from projections in the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) annual energy outlook: US crude production will hit 9.5 million barrels a day in 2016. That's significantly higher than the 7.5 million barrels a day that the EIA was projecting just a year ago, and close to the peak production level of 9.6 million barrels a day in 1970. (For the record, the low in US crude production was 5 million barrels a day in 2008.)

US oil output, the EIA estimates, will start to tail off slowly after 2020, but that projection, the agency notes, is close to a guess since no one knows the precise decline rates of wells drilled in oil shale geologies.

Natural gas production, the EIA projects, will keep growing indefinitely—or at least to the end of the study period. By 2040, production will be 56% higher than in 2012.

What effects can investors expect from the boom?

1. Natural gas will continue to expand its share of the market for power generation at the expense of coal. Natural gas will, the agency projects, pass coal in that market in 2030. (This isn't good news for coal companies. How bad the news is will depend on whether current big coal export markets in China and India decide to tighten environmental regulations on coal.)

2. Exports of natural gas, after changes in rules prohibiting US oil exports, will boom with, surprise(!), the largest volume of natural gas exports going through, as yet to be built, pipelines to Mexico. Shipments of liquefied natural gas will also soar. (Think of the effect on pipeline MLPs and on economic growth in Mexico as energy prices in that country fall toward US levels.

3. Despite exports, the US will have lower energy costs than any country outside the Middle East. (Think of the advantages to US manufacturers, and of the continued movement of energy-intensive industries to the United States in order to take advantage of those lower costs. Think of the relative cost disadvantage facing European and Japanese manufacturers.)

The high cost of US oil production from shale geologies will put a floor under oil prices (short of a big drop in global oil demand). US production volumes will also help set a rough ceiling too. Production from US shales will be profitable at $90 a barrel, and oil producers will probably be willing to pump oil from these reserves at $80 to $85 a barrel. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate sold at $97.31 a barrel yesterday and the European benchmark Brent sold at $108.35. The US floor will make life very pleasant indeed for producers (the Middle East, for example) with lower costs.

But the rising tide of US production at these price levels is also going to call into question the investment logic of even higher cost sources, such as Brazil's deep-water pre-salt reserves in the South Atlantic. If the US oil export ban falls—and I'm pretty sure it will—oil producers in high cost and infrastructure challenged regions—the Russia off-shore Arctic and some of the undeveloped reserves in Siberia—could well find it very difficult to raise the necessary—and huge—amounts of investment capital they'll need. I think we're already seeing evidence that the more hard nosed number crunchers in the oil industry—such as Norway's Statoil ((STO) in New York and (STL:NO) in Oslo) are already rethinking investments in high cost projects, such as Mozambique and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, that would bring natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe. Statoil and Total (TOT) recently decided not to exercise options to acquire 12% and 5% of the pipeline, respectively. Projected construction costs have climbed to $12 billion from $7.5 billion. (Statoil is a member of my Jubak's Picks portfolio.)

Full disclosure: I don't own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this post in my personal portfolio. When in 2010 I started the mutual fund I manage, Jubak Global Equity Fund, I liquidated all my individual stock holdings and put the money into the fund. The fund may or may not now own positions in any stock mentioned in this post. The fund did own shares of Statoil as of the end of June. For a full list of the stocks in the fund as of the end of June see the fund's portfolio here.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now

The CFPB has ordered GE Capital's health care credit card business to refund customers $34.1 million.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) GE Capital's medical credit card business is being ordered to repay $34.1 million to more than one million customers over deceptive enrollment practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau brought the enforcement action against GE Capital and its subsidiary, CareCredit, after receiving hundreds of complaints from consumers about the card, which is used to pay for a range of health care services.

The agency said the issuer was misleading consumers into thinking they were signing up for an interest-free line of credit. In reality, it was a deferred-interest program, in which cardholders were hit with months' worth of interest if they didn't pay off their balance by the time the promotional period ended.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Compugen Ltd.(CGEN)

Compugen Ltd. operates as a drug and diagnostic discovery company based on computer-based discovery capabilities to predict and select novel product candidates. Through in silico prediction and selection, the resulting novel molecules are synthesized and validated utilizing traditional in vitro and in vivo experimental procedures. The company provides these validated product candidates to pharmaceutical, biotech, and diagnostic companies under licensing and other commercialization arrangements. Its research and discovery efforts are focused primarily on therapeutic proteins and peptides, and monoclonal antibodies, and primarily in the fields of immunology and oncology. Its therapeutic peptide and protein related platforms include Protein Family Members Discovery Platform, Protein-Protein Interaction Blockers, GPCR Therapeutic Peptide Ligands, Disease-Associated Conformation Blockers, Intracellular Drug Delivery, Viral Peptides, and Splice Variant based Therapeutic Proteins . The company?s monoclonal antibody related platforms comprise Monoclonal Antibody Targets. Its other therapeutic and diagnostic platforms consist of Nucleic-Acid Disease Markers, Protein Disease Markers, Nucleic-Acid Preclinical Toxicity Markers, Non-SNP Drug Response Markers, and New Indications. Its therapeutic peptide and protein product candidates comprise CGEN-15001, a novel protein for the treatment of autoimmune disorders; CGEN-25017, a novel peptide antagonist of the Angiopoietin/Tie-2 pathway; CGEN-855, a peptide agonist of the FPRL1 GPCR receptor; CGEN-856 and CGEN-857, which are MAS GPCR peptide agonists; CGEN-25007, an antagonist of the gp96 protein; and CGEN-25009, a peptide of the LGR7 receptor. The company also offers monoclonal antibody target product candidates, including CGEN-671, a drug for multiple epithelial tumors; CGEN-928, a drug for multiple myeloma; and CGEN-15001T, a novel B7/CD28 family member. Compugen Ltd. was founded in 1993 and is based in Te l Aviv, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  On Monday, small-cap biotechnology company Compugen (NASDAQ: CGEN  ) gave investors something to cheer about when it announced a collaboration and licensing agreement with Bayer for two of its antibody-based immunotherapies. The deal could be worth as much as $540 million for Compugen and gives the company $10 million upfront, as well as the potential for $30 million more in milestone payments during preclinical trials. The two companies will co-develop these drugs, with Bayer getting worldwide rights upon commercialization (though Compugen would still receive a mid- to high-single-digit royalty). This is great news for Compugen, as it solves the problem of seeking out a partner later, helps reduce its clinical testing costs, and staves off the need to dilute shareholders with a secondary offering to raise cash. Shares added 44% this week.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Medtronic Inc (MDT)

Medtronic, Inc. (Medtronic), incorporated on April 23, 1957, is engaged in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people worldwide. As of April, 27, 2012, the Company functions in two operating segments that manufacture and sells device-based medical therapies. The Company's operating segments include Cardiac and Vascular Group, which consists of Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management (CRDM) and CardioVascular, and Restorative Therapies Group, which consists of Spinal, Neuromodulation, Diabetes and Surgical Technologies. Medtronic serves hospitals, physicians, clinicians, and patients in more than 120 countries worldwide. The Company's primary customers include hospitals, clinics, third-party health care providers, distributors, and other institutions, including governmental health care programs and group purchasing organizations. In August 2013, Medtronic, Inc. announced the closing of the acquisition of Cardiocom. Effective September 3, 2013, Medtronic Inc acquired a 30% stake in NGC Medical SpA.

Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management

CRDM develops, manufactures, and markets products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of heart rhythm disorders and heart failure, including implantable devices, leads and delivery systems, products for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), and information systems for the management of patients with CRDM devices. The Company's principal products offered by CRDM business include Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers (Pacemakers), Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs), Implantable Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices (CRT-Ds and CRT-Ps), AF Products, Diagnostics and Monitoring Devices and Patient Management Tools. The Company's pacemaker systems are compatible with certain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. This includes the Revo MRI SureScan with United States Food and Drug Administration approval and the Advisa and Ensura MRI SureScan models with Conformite Europeene (CE)! Mark approval. Medtronic also continues to market the Adapta product family, which includes the Adapta, Versa, Sensia, and Relia models.

The Medtronic ICDs is the Protecta family with SmartShock technology, including the Lead Integrity Alert, a technology designed to improve the detection of lead fractures. Devices in the ICD family are the Protecta XT, Protecta, Cardia, and Egida models. Medtronic also continues to market the Secura and Maximo II devices. The Medtronic CRT-Ds is the Protecta family with SmartShock technology, including Protecta XT and Protecta, and the CRT-P devices are Consulta and Syncra. Medtronic also continues to market the Consulta, Cardia, Egida, and Maximo II CRT-D devices. In addition to these devices, Medtronic has an offering of left heart leads and delivery catheters with its Attain family of products. The Company's portfolio of AF products includes the Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter designed to treat paroxysmal AF by performing pulmonary vein isolation. The Company also offers the Reveal XT Insertable Cardiac Monitor, which is designed to identify and quantify episodes of AF. The Reveal DX and Reveal XT Insertable Cardiac Monitors devices are used to record the heart's electrical activity before, during, and after transient symptoms such as syncope and palpitations to help provide a diagnosis. It has a number of patient management tools, such as CareLink, Paceart, and CardioSight Service. CareLink enables patients to transmit data from their pacemaker, ICD, CRT-D, or Insertable Cardiac Monitors using a portable monitor that is connected to a standard telephone line or cellular network using the Medtronic M-Link accessory.

The Company competes with St. Jude Medical, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Biotronik, Inc. and Sorin Group.

CardioVascular

CardioVascular is comprised of three businesses: Coronary, Endovascular and Peripheral, and Structural Heart. The Coronary business includes therapies to treat ! coronary ! artery disease (CAD) and hypertension. The products contained within this business include coronary stents and related delivery systems, along with a broad line of balloon angioplasty catheters, guide catheters, guidewires, diagnostic catheters, and accessories. The products offered by its Coronary business include Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and Renal Denervation. The Endovascular and Peripheral business is comprised of a range of products and therapies to treat abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms and peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The Company's products include endovascular stent graft systems, embolic protection systems, and stent systems for the treatment of narrowed iliac arteries. The products offered by the Company's Endovascular and Peripheral business include Endovascular Stent Grafts and Peripheral Vascular Intervention (PVI). The Structural Heart business offers a range of products and therapies to treat a variety of heart valve disorders. The Company's products include products for the repair and replacement of heart valves, perfusion systems, positioning and stabilization systems for beating heart revascularization surgery, and surgical ablation products. The Company's principal products offered by its Structural Heart business include Heart Valves, Transcatheter Heart Valves, Arrested Heart Surgery, Beating Heart Surgery and Surgical Ablation.

The Company competes with Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson, Cook, Inc., W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Endologix, Inc., C.R. Bard, Inc., Edwards LifeSciences Corporation, St. Jude, Terumo Medical Corporation and Sorin Group.

Spinal

The Company's Spinal business develops, manufactures, and markets a range of medical devices and implants used in the treatment of the spine and musculoskeletal system. The Company's products and therapies treat a range of conditions affecting the spine, including degenerative disc disease, spinal deformity, spinal tumours, fractures ! of the sp! ine, and stenosis. The Company's Spinal business also provides biologic solutions for the dental and orthopedic markets. The Company's Spinal products are used in spinal fusion of both the thoracolumbar region, referring to the mid to lower vertebrae, as well as of the cervical region, or upper spine and neck vertebrae. Products used to treat spinal conditions include rods, pedicle screws, hooks, plates, and interbody devices, as well as biologics products, primarily bone growth substitutes including bone graft extenders and structural allografts such as dowels and wedges. The products offered by the Company's Spinal business include Thoracolumbar Products, Cervical Products and Biologics Products.

The Company competes with DePuy Spine, Inc., Synthes, Inc., Stryker Corporation, NuVasive, Inc., Globus Medical, Inc., Zimmer, Inc., Alphatec Spine, Inc., Orthofix International N.V., Biomet, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

Neuromodulation

The Company's Neuromodulation business develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for the treatment of chronic pain, movement disorders, psychological disorders, and urological, fecal, and gastroenterological disorders. The l products offered by the Company's Neuromodulation business includes Neurostimulators for Chronic Pain, Implantable Drug Delivery Systems, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Systems and Urology, Fecal, & Gastroenterology Devices. The Company's portfolio of products includes the RestoreSensor (rechargeable), with the Company's AdaptiveStim technology, as well as the RestoreULTRA (rechargeable), RestoreADVANCED (rechargeable), and PrimeADVANCED (non-rechargeable) neurostimulation systems. The SynchroMed II Programmable Infusion System delivers small quantities of drug directly into the intrathecal space surrounding the spinal cord. These devices are used to treat chronic, intractable pain and severe spasticity associated with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, and stroke.

DBS uses a surgically implanted medical device, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver carefully controlled electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas in the brain. The Company's family of Activa Neurostimulators for DBS includes Activa SC (single-channel primary cell), Activa PC (dual channel primary cell), and Activa RC (dual channel rechargeable). The Company's therapeutic portfolio for urology and gastroenterology includes the InterStim Therapy System, which treats the symptoms of overactive bladder, urinary retention, and chronic fecal incontinence, and the Enterra Therapy System for the treatment of chronic nausea and vomiting caused by gastroparesis of diabetic or idiopathic origin for drug refractory patients.

The Company's competes with Boston Scientific, St. Jude., Urologix, Inc. and Allergan.

Diabetes

The Company's Diabetes business develops, manufactures, and markets advanced, integrated diabetes management solutions that include insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring systems, and therapy management software. The products offered by the Company's Diabetes business includes Integrated Diabetes Management Solutions, Professional CGM and CareLink Therapy Management Software. Outside the United States, the Company offers its Paradigm Veo System, an integrated system that includes a Low Glucose Suspend feature that automatically suspends insulin delivery when glucose levels become too low. In the United States, the Company offers the Paradigm Revel System, which incorporates new CGM features, including predictive alerts that can give early warning to people with diabetes so they can take action to prevent dangerous high or low glucose events. Medtronic offers physicians a Professional CGM product called the iPro CGM and iPro2 Professional CGM. The Company offers Web-based therapy management software solutions, including CareLink Personal software for patients and CareLink Pro software, to helps patients and their health care prov! iders con! trol their diabetes.

The Company competes with DexCom, Inc., Insulet Corporation, Johnson & Johnson and Roche Ltd.

Surgical Technologies

The Company's Surgical Technologies business develops, manufactures, and markets products and therapies to treat diseases and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and certain neurological disorders. In addition, the business develops, manufactures, and markets image-guided surgery and intra-operative imaging systems that facilitate surgical planning during precision cranial, spinal, sinus, and orthopedic surgeries. The products offered by the Company's Surgical Technologies business includes ENT, Neurological Technologies, Navigation and Advanced Energy. The ENT products treat diseases and conditions, such as NIM Nerve Monitoring Systems, Fusion ENT Navigation System, Hydrodebrider Endoscopic Sinus Irrigation System, Meniett Device for Meniere's Disease, Pillar Procedure for Snoring and Sleep Apnea, and Repose System for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The Neurological Technologies products treat certain neurological disorders and conditions, such as Midas Rex Spine Shaver, the Midas Rex MR7 Pneumatic Platform, the Midas Rex Legend EHS High Speed Surgical Drill, the Strata Family of Adjustable Valves for the treatment of Hydrocephalus, Duet External Drainage & Monitoring System, the IPC System, and the Subdural Evacuating Port System.

The Navigation products are used in cranial, spinal, sinus, and orthopedic surgeries, such as the StealthStation S7 Navigation and i7 Integrated Navigation Systems, the O-Arm 2D/3D Surgical Imaging System, and the PoleStar Surgical MRI System. The products make up the Advanced Energy business: PEAK Surgery System, a tissue dissection system that consists of the PEAK PlasmaBlade and the PULSAR Generator and is cleared for use in a variety of settings, including ENT, plastic reconstructive and general surgery; and the Aquamantys System, which uses patented Transcollation technology to ! provide h! aemostatic sealing of soft tissue and bone and is cleared for use in a range of surgical procedures, including orthopedic surgery, spine, solid organ resection and thoracic procedures.

The Company competes with Gyrus ACMI, Stryker Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, BrainLAB, Inc., GE Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Philips Medical Systems, Covidien and ArthroCare Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Medtronic (NYSE: MDT  ) is expanding its products for endovascular aortic repair in the U.S. with two new devices: the FDA-approved Endurant II Aorto-Uni-Iliac (AUI) Stent Graft System and the FDA 510(k)-cleared Sentrant Introducer Sheath.

Hot Biotech Companies For 2014: Amarantus Bioscience Holdings Inc (AMBS)

Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc., formerly Amarantus BioSciences, Inc., incorporated on March 22, 2013, is focuses on developing intellectual property and proprietary technology in order to develop drug candidates and diagnostic blood tests to diagnose and treat human diseases. The Company owns the intellectual property rights to a therapeutic protein known as Mesencephalic-Astrocyte-derived Neurotrophic Factor (MANF), owns the intellectual property rights to biomarkers related to oncology and neurodegeneration named BC-SeraPro and NuroPro respectively, has a license to an Alzheimer�� disease blood test named LymPro, and owns a number of proprietary cell lines called PhenoGuard. MANF was the first therapeutic protein discovered from a PhenoGuard Cell Line. In December 2012, the Company acquired neurodegenerative diagnostic portfolio from Power3 Medical Products. On March 22, 2013, the Company was merged with into Amarantus Bioscience Inc.

The Company also owns an inventory of 88 cell lines that Amarantus refers to as PhenoGuard Cell Lines. MANF is a protein that corrects protein misfolding. The Company�� MANF product development effort is centered on a therapy for Parkinson�� disease.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Two weeks ago I penned some bullish thoughts on Amarantus BioScience, Inc. (OTC:AMBS). In simplest terms, I liked the way the stock had spent some time in consolidation mode, and looked like was testing the upper boundary of that zone - I figured a breakout from AMBS was imminent. So I waited... and waited.... and waited. Nothing. A week and a half later, I let the stock fall off my mental radar. As it turns out, I should have been a little more patient. Amarantus BioScience finally did the deed yesterday, and is following through today.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Cell Therapeutics Inc (CTIC)

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI), incorporated in 1991, develops, acquires and commercializes treatments for cancer. The Company�� research, development, acquisition and in-licensing activities concentrate on identifying and developing new ways to treat cancer. As of December 31, 2011, CTI focused its efforts on Pixuvri (pixantrone dimaleate) (Pixuvri), OPAXIO (paclitaxel poliglumex) (OPAXIO), tosedostat, brostallicin and bisplatinates. As of December 31, 2011, it developed Pixuvri, an anthracycline derivative for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Another late-stage drug candidate of the Company, OPAXIO, is being studied as a potential maintenance therapy for women with advanced stage ovarian cancer, who achieve a complete remission following first-line therapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin. As of December 31, 2011, it also developed tosedostat in collaboration with Chroma Therapeutics, Ltd. (Chroma). On May 31, 2012, CTI completed its acquisition gaining worldwide rights to S*BIO Pte Ltd.'s (S*BIO) pacritinib.

Pixuvri

As of December 31, 2011, the Company developed Pixuvri, an aza-anthracenedione derivative, for the treatment of non-Hodgkin�� lymphoma (NHL), and various other hematologic malignancies, and solid tumors. Pixuvri was studied in the Company�� EXTEND, or PIX301, clinical trial, which was a phase III single-agent trial of Pixuvri for patients with relapsed, refractory aggressive NHL who received two or more prior therapies and who were sensitive to treatment with anthracyclines. On September 28, 2011, CTI announced that a second independent radiology assessment of response and progression endpoint data from its PIX301 clinical trial of Pixuvri was achieved with statistical significance. The results of the EXTEND trial met its primary endpoint and showed that patients randomized to treatment with Pixuvri achieved a significantly higher rate of confirmed and unconfirmed complete response compared to patients treated with standard chem! otherapy had a significantly increased overall response rate and experienced a statistically significant improvement in median progression free survival. Pixuvri had predictable and manageable toxicities when administered at the proposed dose and schedule in the EXTEND clinical trial in heavily pre-treated patients. In March 2011, the Company initiated the PIX-R trial to study Pixuvri in combination with rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Pixuvri has also been studied in patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who have tumor progression after at least two, but not more than three, prior chemotherapy regimens. In the second quarter of 2010, the NCCTG opened this phase II study for enrollment. The study is closed to accrual and results are expected to be reported by the NCCTG later in 2012.

OPAXIO

OPAXIO is the Company�� biologically-enhanced chemotherapeutic agent that links paclitaxel to a biodegradable polyglutamate polymer, resulting in a new chemical entity. As of December 31, 2011, the Company focused its development of OPAXIO on ovarian, brain, esophageal, head and neck cancer. OPAXIO was designed to improve the delivery of paclitaxel to tumor tissue while protecting normal tissue from toxic side effects. In November 2010, results were presented by the Brown University Oncology Group from a phase II trial of OPAXIO combined with temozolomide (TMZ), and radiotherapy in patients with newly-diagnosed, high-grade gliomas, a type of brain cancer. The trial demonstrated a high rate of complete and partial responses and a high rate of six month progression free survival (PFS). Based on these results, the Brown University Oncology Group has initiated a randomized, multicenter, phase II study of OPAXIO and standard radiotherapy versus TMZ and radiotherapy for newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma with an active gene termed MGMT that reduces responsiveness to TMZ. A phase I/II study of OPAXIO combined with radi! otherapy ! and cisplatin was initiated by SUNY Upstate Medical University, in patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Tosedostat

In March 2011, the Company entered into a co-development and license agreement with Chroma Therapeutics, Ltd. (Chroma), providing the Company with marketing and co-development rights to Chroma�� drug candidate, tosedostat, in North, Central and South America. Tosedostat is an oral, aminopeptidase inhibitor that has demonstrated anti-tumor responses in blood related cancers and solid tumors in phase I-II clinical trials. Interim results from the phase II OPAL study of tosedostat in elderly patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) showed that once-daily, oral doses of tosedostat had predictable and manageable toxicities and results demonstrated response rates, including a high-response rate among patients who received prior hypomethylating agents, which are used to treat myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a precursor of AML.

Brostallicin

As of December 31, 2011, the Company developed brostallicin through its wholly owned subsidiary, Systems Medicine LLC, which holds rights to use, develop, import and export brostallicin. Brostallicin is a synthetic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) minor groove binding agent that has demonstrated anti-tumor activity and a favorable safety profile in clinical trials, in which more than 230 patients have been treated as of December 31, 2011. The Company uses a genomic-based platform to guide the development of brostallicin. A phase II study of brostallicin in relapsed, refractory soft tissue sarcoma met its predefined activity and safety hurdles and resulted in a first-line phase II clinical trial study that was conducted by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

The Company competes with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Roche Group, Genentech, Inc., Astellas Pharma, Eli Lilly and Company, Celgene, Telik, I! nc., TEVA! Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. and PharmaMar.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  If you're reading this, then odds are you already know that the last two weeks (not even a full two weeks) have been more fruitful for Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CTIC) shareholders than the prior two years have been - the stock's up 28% since last Thursday. And, odds are you already know why. The question most of you are asking now is, can CTIC actually keep climbing at this pace, or even keep climbing at any pace? The answer is "yes", though floating that answer almost inherently requires a deeper explanation.

• [By John Udovich]

  If you have not been watching the biotech sector lately, you should start paying attention as the sector along with small cap biotech stocks like Cell Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CTIC), BIND Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: BIND) and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) continue to produce a steady stream of good news for investors thanks to positive industry trends. Moreover, Ophthotech Corp (NASDAQ: OPHT), Foundation Medicine Inc (NASDAQ: FMI), Evoke Pharma and Fate Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: FATE) are this week's biotech IPOs that will no doubt be watched closely by Wall Street and industry observers in general. With that in mind, consider the following biotech news or recent articles about the industry and the small cap players in it:

• [By John Udovich]

  Large and small cap cancer stocks Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD), Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), Veracyte (NASDAQ: VCYT), Genomic Health, Inc (NASDAQ: GHDX), Cell Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: CTIC) and MetaStat Inc (OTCMKTS: MTST) have all been producing a steady stream of news lately for biotech investors looking for a way to cash in on the growth in development of�cancer treatments. Just consider the following news:

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp (RXII)

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (RXi), incorporated on September 8, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies addressing medical needs using RNA interference (RNAi)-targeted technologies. As of July 12, 2012, RXi was focusing on its internal therapeutic development efforts in fibrosis. RXI-109 is its RNAi product candidate, which is a dermal anti-scarring therapy that targets connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). The Company�� therapeutic platform consists of two main components: RNAi Compounds (rxRNA) and Advanced Delivery Technologies. RNAi compounds include rxRNAori, rxRNAsolo and sd-rxRNA, or self-delivering RNA. On April 26, 2012, it completed the spin-off transaction from Galena Biopharma, Inc. (Galena).

In January 2011, the Company announced research results in collaboration with Generex Biotechnology Corporation, and RXi�� wholly owned subsidiary Antigen Express, Inc., in developing vaccine formulations for immunotherapy. In January 2011, it announced initial results as part of its collaboration with miRagen Therapeutics, Inc. in creating microRNA mimics, or artificial copies of microRNAs, using the Company�� sd-rxRNA technology. In February 2011, it announced the initiation of RXi�� development program for RXI-109.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Prima BioMed Ltd (PRR)

Prima BioMed Ltd is a biotechnology company is engaged in the development and commercialization of medical therapies with a focus on oncology. Its product candidates in development include Cvac, an autologous dendritic cell vaccine for ovarian cancer, monoclonal antibodies for multiple tumour types, and an oral formulation for the human papilloma virus (HPV), vaccine. Its product candidate Cvac is a dendritic cell therapy, for which it is conducting a Phase IIb trial for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Cvac is designed to target the tumour antigen mucin-1, which is expressed at high levels on different tumour types. It also has two preclinical product development programs. In May 2011, Prima BioMed GmbH, a 100 % owned subsidiary of Prima BioMed Ltd, was incorporated in Germany. In May 2011, Prima BioMed Middle East FZLLC, a 100 % owned subsidiary of Prima BioMed Ltd, was incorporated in the United Arab Emirates.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Baxano Surgical Inc (BAXS)

Baxano Surgical Inc, formerly TranS1 Inc., incorporated in May 2000, is a medical device company focused on designing, developing and marketing products that implement its approach to treat degenerative conditions of the spine affecting the lower lumbar region. It develops its pre-sacral approach to allow spine surgeons to access and treat intervertebral spaces without compromising important surrounding soft tissue, nerves and bone structures. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was marketing the AxiaLIF family of products for single and multilevel lumbar fusion, the Vectre and Avatar lumbar posterior fixation systems and Bi-Ostetic bone void filler, a biologics product. All of the Company�� AxiaLIF products are delivered using its pre-sacral approach. It generates revenue from the sales of itsimplants and disposable surgical instruments. It has two distinct sales methods. The first method is when implants and/or disposable surgical instruments are sold directly to hospitals or surgical centers for the purpose of conducting a scheduled surgery. In November 2011, the Company launched its VEO Lateral Access and Interbody Fusion System.

The Company sells its products directly to hospitals and surgical centers in the United States and certain European countries, and to independent distributors elsewhere. The Company also markets its products at various industry conferences and through industry organized surgical training course. The Company has developed and markets two fusion products that are delivered using its pre-sacral approach include AxiaLIF 1L and AxiaLIF 2L+. Its products include surgical instruments for creating an access route to the L4/L5/S1 vertebral bodies, fusion implants, as well as supplemental stabilization products.

AxiaLIF Lumbar Fusion Implants

The Company markets AxiaLIF family of products for single and two level lumbar fusion, the VEO lateral access and interbody fusion system, the Vectre and Avatar posterior fixation systems and Bi-Ostet! ic bone void filler, a biologics product. The Company also market products that may be used with its AxiaLIF surgical approach, including bowel retractors, a bone graft harvesting system and additional discectomy tools. Its AxiaLIF implants and instruments, combined with facet screws or pedicle screws, provide surgeons with the tools necessary to perform a lumbar fusion.

The Company's AxiaLIF 1L and AxiaLIF 2L+ implants are threaded titanium rods, that come in varying lengths to enable one-level L5/S1 fusions and two-level L4/L5/S1 fusions. As they are implanted, its design allows for the separation of the vertebrae to restore disc height.

VEO Lateral Access and Interbody Fusion System

This system features a two-stage retraction method that focuses on nerve visualization followed by controlled retraction. The VEO Lateral System is designed for direct visualization of the psoas muscles and adjacent nerves prior to muscle dissection, and features a full range of PEEK lateral interbody implants and a variety of ergonomic instruments.

TranS1 Access and Disc Preparation Instruments

The Company�� pre-sacral approach requires the use of a sterile set of surgical instruments that are used to create a safe and reproducible working channel and to prepare the disc and vertebrae for its implant. The instrumentation contained in the set includes stainless steel navigation tools and tubular dissectors to create the working channel, as well as nitinol cutters and brushes to cut and remove the degenerated disc material and prepares the disc space for its implant and the bone graft material.

Vectre Facet Screw System

The Company's Vectre facet screw system offers a cannulated facet screw inserted over a guidewire to provide stability while reducing the muscle and tissue trauma associated with conventional pedicle screws. The Vectre system features offer a reproducible posterior fixation option in select patients.

A! VATAR Ped! icle Screw System

In January 2010, the Company entered into an agreement to distribute Avatar, a pedicle screw system. Avatar can be used with or without its implants to provide lumbar posterior fixation. The AVATAR MIS System offers cannulated pedicle screws inserted over a guidewire to reduce muscle and tissue trauma. Extended tabs integrated to the screws provide a pathway for implantation of the rod while minimizing tissue dissection.

Bi-Ostetic Bone Void Filler

In February 2010, TranS1 entered into an agreement to sell Bi-Ostetic, an osteoconductive bone substitute. Bi-Ostetic is an alternative to allografts or cadaver bone. The spongy granules are bioceramics with interconnected porosity that mimic the cancellous bone structure.

Iliac Crest Bone Graft Harvesting System

The Company�� Iliac Crest Bone Graft Harvesting System is developed to aid surgeons in harvesting iliac crest autograft via a minimally invasive approach. Use of autograft, which is osteogenic, osteoinductive and osteoconductive, further improves the chances of fusion success. It provides structural support as well as scaffolding for new bone growth.

The Company competes with Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Johnson & Johnson DePuy Spine, Stryker Spine, NuVasive, Zimmer Spine, Synthes, Orthofix International, Globus Medical and Alphatec Spine.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Antares Pharma Inc (ATRS)

Antares Pharma, Inc. (Antares) is a pharma company that focuses on self-injection pharmaceutical products and technologies and topical gel-based products. The Company�� subcutaneous and intramuscular injection technology platforms include Vibex disposable pressure-assisted auto injectors, Vision reusable needle-free injectors, and disposable multi-use pen injectors. In the injector area, it has licensed its reusable needle-free injection device for use with human growth hormone (hGH) to Teva, Ferring Pharmaceuticals BV (Ferring) and JCR Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (JCR), with Teva and Ferring being its two primary customers. The Company has also licensed both disposable auto and pen injection devices to Teva for use in certain fields and territories and is engaged in product development activities for Teva utilizing these devices.

In the gel-based area, it received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in December 2011 for its oxybutynin gel 3% product, Anturol, for the treatment of overactive bladder. Antares also has a licensing agreement with Watson Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Watson) under which Watson will commercialize its topical oxybutynin gel 3% product in the United States and Canada. Its gel portfolio also includes Elestrin (estradiol gel) in the United States for the treatment of moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. Antares has designed disposable, pressure assisted auto injector devices to address acute medical needs, such as allergic reactions, migraine headaches, acute pain, emesis and other daily therapies.

Pressure Assisted Injection Devices

The Company�� Pressure Assisted Injection Devices consists of three products: reusable needle-free injectors, disposable pressure assisted auto injectors and disposable pen injectors. Reusable needle-free injectors deliver precise medication doses through high-speed, pressurized liquid penetration of the skin without a needle. The injector employs a disposable pl! astic needle-free syringe, which offers liquid medication delivery through an opening that is approximately half the diameter of a standard, 30-gauge needle.

Disposable pressure assisted auto injectors is a technology of controlled pressure delivery of drugs into the body utilizing a spring power source. The Vibex is designed to provide fast subcutaneous or intramuscular injections of up to 0.5ml with minimal discomfort and improved convenience in conjunction with the enhanced safety of a shielded needle. Disposable pen injectors are needle-based devices designed to deliver multiple injections from multi-dose drug cartridges. The devices contain mechanisms that specify the dose to be delivered by defining the amount of movement by the stopper in the cartridge with each device actuation.

The Vision/Tjet has been sold for use in more than 30 countries to deliver either insulin or hGH. The product features a reusable, spring-based power source and disposable needle-free syringe, which acts as the pathway for the injectable drug through the skin and allows for viewing of the medication dose prior to injection. The product is also reusable, with each device designed to last for approximately 3,000 injections (or approximately two years) while the needle-free syringe, when used with insulin or hGH, is disposable after approximately one week when used by a single patient for injecting from multi-dose vials. The Vision/Tjet administers injectables by using a spring to push the active ingredient in solution or suspension through a micro-fine opening in the needle-free syringe. The opening is approximately half the diameter of a 30-gauge needle. The Vision/Tjet is primarily used in the United States, Europe, Asia and Japan.

Antares has designed disposable, pressure assisted auto injector devices to address acute medical needs, such as allergic reactions, migraine headaches, acute pain, emesis and other daily therapies. Its Vibex disposable product combines a low-energy, spr! ing-based! power source with a hidden needle, which delivers up to 0.5ml of the needed drug solution subcutaneously or intramuscularly. Antares is also developing a Vibex MTX auto injector for delivery of methotrexate for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The Company�� multi use, disposable pen injector complements its portfolio of single-use pressure assisted auto injector devices. The disposable pen injector device is designed to deliver drugs by injection through needles from multi- dose cartridges. The disposable pen is in the stage of development where devices are being used in clinical evaluations.

Transdermal Products

The Company�� ATD system penetrates the skin to deliver a variety of treatments. The gels consist of a hydro-alcoholic base, including a combination of permeation enhancers. Products being developed/ commercialized include Anturol, Elestrin and Nestragel. Elestrin is a transdermal estradiol gel for the treatment of moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. Its other injectable drugs that are presently self-administered and may be suitable for injection with its systems include therapies for the prevention of blood clots and treatments for multiple sclerosis, migraine headaches, inflammatory diseases, impotence, infertility, acquired immune deficiency symdrome (AIDS) and hepatitis.

The Company competes with Ypsomed AG, SHL Group AB, OwenMumford Ltd., West Pharmaceuticals, Becton Dickinson, Haselmeir GmbH, Elcam Medical, Vetter Pharma, Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., The Medical House PLC, Watson, Abbott, Eli Lilly, Auxillium, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Teva, Mylan, Roxane, Bedford Labs, APP Pharmaceuticals, Hospira, Pfizer, GSK/Astellas, Warner Chilcott and Allergan.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Keith Speights]

  Antares Pharma (NASDAQ: ATRS  ) announced its first-quarter results �Wednesday morning but failed to impress the market. Shares were down around 3% in midday trading. Here are the highlights from the company's results.

• [By Keith Speights]

  1. Antares Pharma (NASDAQ: ATRS  )
  Antares has experienced a roller-coaster ride so far this year. The stock was up more than 10% early in January, then proceeded to fall by more than 20% by late February. Since then, Antares has clawed its way back and now stands up a little over 10% for the year.�

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Antares Pharma (NASDAQ: ATRS) added 6.65 percent to close at $4.33 following the announcement that an FDA decision is expected on its drug on October 14. Equities

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Prima BioMed Ltd (PBMD)

Prima BioMed Ltd is a biotechnology company is engaged in the development and commercialization of medical therapies with a focus on oncology. Its product candidates in development include Cvac, an autologous dendritic cell vaccine for ovarian cancer, monoclonal antibodies for multiple tumour types, and an oral formulation for the human papilloma virus (HPV), vaccine. Its product candidate Cvac is a dendritic cell therapy, for which it is conducting a Phase IIb trial for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Cvac is designed to target the tumour antigen mucin-1, which is expressed at high levels on different tumour types. It also has two preclinical product development programs. In May 2011, Prima BioMed GmbH, a 100 % owned subsidiary of Prima BioMed Ltd, was incorporated in Germany. In May 2011, Prima BioMed Middle East FZLLC, a 100 % owned subsidiary of Prima BioMed Ltd, was incorporated in the United Arab Emirates. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Prima Biomed (NASDAQ: PBMD) dropped 38.17% to $1.45 after the company reported top-line analysis of CVac Phase 2 trial.

  Tower Group International (NASDAQ: TWGP) plummeted 24.31% to $10.49. Tower Group announced its plans to release its Q2 results during the week of October 7, 2013. FBR Capital downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Prima Biomed (NASDAQ: PBMD) shares dipped 38.59% to touch a new 52-week low of $1.44 after the company reported top-line analysis of CVac Phase 2 trial.

Top 10 Medical Stocks To Own Right Now: Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc (NAVB.A)

Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Navidea), formerly Neoprobe Corporation, incorporated in 1983, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of precision diagnostic agents. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� radiopharmaceutical development programs included Lymphoseek (Lymphoseek, Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m for Injection), a radiopharmaceutical agent for lymph node mapping; AZD4694, an imaging agent, and RIGScan, a tumor antigen-specific targeting agent. In January 2012, the Company executed an option agreement with Alseres Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Alseres) to license [123I]-E-IACFT Injection, also called Altropane, an Iodine-123 radiolabeled imaging agent, being developed as an aid in the diagnosis of Parkinson�� disease, movement disorders and dementia. In August 2011, the Company sold its gamma detection device line of business (the GDS Business) to Devicor Medical Products, Inc.

Lymphoseek

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Navidea�� pipeline includes clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical agents used to identify the presence and status of disease. Lymphoseek (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m for Injection) is a lymph node targeting agent intended for use in intraoperative lymphatic mapping (ILM) procedures and lymphoscintigraphy employed in the overall diagnostic assessment of certain solid tumor cancers. The lymph system is a component of the body�� immune system. The key components of the lymph system are lymph nodes-small anatomic structures that contain disease-fighting lymphocytes, filter lymph of bacteria and cancer cells, and signal infection in response to heightened levels of pathogens. In Navidea�� Phase III clinical studies of Lymphoseek, it detected over 99% of positive nodes identified by vital blue dye (VBD). As of December 31, 2011, Navidea, in co-operation with UC, San Diego affiliate (UCSD), completed or initiated five Phase I clinical trials, one multi-c enter Phase II trial and three multi-center Phase II trial! s ! involving Lymphoseek. Two Phase III studies were completed in subjects with breast cancer and melanoma. During the year ended December 31, 2011, data from NEO3-09 were released, which indicated that all primary and secondary endpoints for the study were met. As of December 31, 2011, third Phase III clinical trial for Lymphoseek in subjects with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (NEO3-06) was in progress.

AZD4694

AZD4694 is a Fluorine-18 labeled precision radiopharmaceutical candidate for use in the imaging and evaluation of patients with signs or symptoms of cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). It binds to beta-amyloid deposits in the brain that can then be imaged in positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Amyloid plaque pathology is a required feature of AD and the presence of amyloid pathology is a supportive feature for diagnosis of probable AD. Patients who are negative for amyloid pathology do not have AD. AZD4694 has b een studied in several clinical trials. Clinical studies through Phase IIa have included more than 80 patients to date, both suspected AD patients and healthy volunteers. No significant adverse events have been observed. Results suggest that AZD4694 has the ability to image patients quickly and safely with high sensitivity.

RadioImmunoGuided Surgery

As of December 31, 2011, RIGScan had been studied in a number of clinical trials, including Phase III studies. Navidea has conducted two Phase III studies, NEO2-13 and NEO2-14, of RIGScan in patients with primary and metastatic colorectal cancer, respectively. Both studies were multi-institutional involving cancer treatment institutions in the United States, Israel, and the European Union.

The Company competes with Pharmalucence, Eli Lilly, Bayer Schering, General Electric and GE Healthcare.

Amazon - A Not-So-Merry Christmas

Christmas is one of the peak seasons for shopping where people shop their heart out. Most of the companies try and give the best possible offers to lure more and more customers towards them, especially the online websites. The internet mammoth Amazon (AMZN) will need to rethink its strategies for Christmas this year, as the employees in Germany are going in for a strike as depicted by the Verdi Union.

The Verdi union said workers would strike at Amazon's logistic centers in Bad Hersfeld and Leipzig and also in Graben. Next, they will target Seattle –Amazon's headquarters, on Monday. On Tuesday, the strike continues in Werne. They are trying to convince the top management to match the payment terms which they believe is biased and not justified in comparison with the other centers. The union believes that the distinction of payment based on the fact that these workers are Logistic workers and qualify for a lower term of payment is not justified.

On the other hand, Amazon is on a hiring spree as they have planned to hire 15,000 extra staff to meet the requirements for Christmas. Amazon Europe's vice president Tim Collins said that these temporary staffs would become permanent staffs.

The battle between management and staff could prove vital for the year-end performance. One side they need extra staffs to meet the requirements, the other side, the existing pool of around 9000 workers are planning to strike out. Amazon's management better try to resolve these union issues or else this would prove to be a golden opportunity for its competitors especially eBay(eBay). eBay is using Facebook(FB) and its database to help users select the appropriate gift with the development of its e-Bay Gift Engine. E-bay will surely keep a close eye on this activity to ensure they can leverage the maximum out of it.

Way-out?

The Management on the other side believes that the category of these workers classified as 'Logisitic Workers' are already paid above average as compared t! o the industry standards. This conflict of interest could prove trivial and thus they need to look into this matter seriously. They need to not only ensure that they can come up with a reasonable solution but also come up with it very fast. As the union has planned it very strategically to strike at a time when the company needs its employees the most. This has already given Verdi union an upper hand on the possible round table discussions.

With Christmas closing by, the expectations of customers shopping online is to not only get a good deal but also to get the gifts and items on time. This will test the mettle of all these online websites to ensure customer satisfaction. Will Amazon be able to resolve these problems? Or will e-bay have the last laugh?

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