5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014

The focus on LinkedIn (LNKD) going into earnings was going to be whether or not they were going to be able to buck the trend of "momo" stocks like Amazon (AMZN), Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) that all didn't seem to please the market too much so far during earnings season.

LinkedIn seemed to continue a streak of apathy that we've had during earnings season thus far ��with the exception of a couple companies like Apple (AAPL) that the market liked.

As the company had warned previously, it has ramped up spending to move into the Chinese market and continue to innovate. It's been spending on investments in the business, including servers and infrastructure. The numbers for the first quarter bore the brunt of these expenditures, as the company posted a net loss of $13.4 million.

It has already been a rough year for LinkedIn ��share have gotten clipped over 20% since the beginning of the year. The technical picture for the company looks anything but promising.

Top Chemical Companies To Invest In 2015: Sterling Financial Corporation(STSA)

Sterling Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Sterling Savings Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, commercial organizations, and corporations in the United States. Its deposit products include transaction (checking) accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, certificates of deposit, interest and non-interest bearing checking accounts, and time deposits. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial lending products, such as lines of credit, receivable and inventory financing, equipment loans, and term real estate financing for owner-occupied properties; multifamily residential and commercial real estate loans; one-to four-family residential loans; and consumer loans for automobiles, boats and recreational vehicles, and lines of credit for personal use. Sterling Financial Corporation also markets fixed income and equity products, mutual funds, annuities, and other financial products. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 72 branches in Washington, 67 branches in Oregon, 13 branches in California, 18 branches in Idaho, and 8 branches in Montana, as well as 169 automated teller machines. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Spokane, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Washington state-based Sterling Financial Bank (NASDAQ: STSA  ) has added a California asset to its portfolio. The lender announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Commerce National Bank, headquartered in affluent Orange County. The price is $15.10 per share in cash. All told, the value of the transaction is just shy of $43 million.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Sterling Financial (STSA) is engaged in the business of purchasing, managing and collecting portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables, as well as offering accounts receivable management and payment services. This stock closed up 2% to $26.84 in Thursday's trading session.

  Thursday's Volume: 589,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 188,505
  
  Volume % Change: 201%

  From a technical perspective, STSA bounced modestly higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $25.61 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of STSA within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if STSA manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $27.47 to its 52-week high at $27.57 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in STSA as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $25.61 or above more near-term support at $25, and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 188,505 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then STSA will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $30 to $32.50.

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014: Hickory Tech Corporation (HTCO)

Hickory Tech Corporation provides integrated communications services to business and residential customers in the Midwest. The company operates in two segments, Business Sector and Telecom Sector. The Business Sector segment offers integrated data services, such as fiber, data and Internet, voice and voice over Internet protocol, managed and hosted, data center, equipment, and total care support services. This segment also distributes telecommunications and data processing equipment, as well as provides network and equipment monitoring, maintenance, and equipment consulting services; and offers fiber-based transport for regional and national telecommunications carriers, wireless carriers, and other providers. It serves businesses primarily in the upper Midwest. The Telecom Sector segment offers network access services; and broadband services, such as residential and business DSL access, high-speed Internet, digital TV, and business Ethernet services. It also provides local telephone, long distance, and calling features services; and directory assistance, operator service, and long distance private lines. In addition, this segment offers directory publishing, customer premise equipment sales, bill processing, and add/move/change services. It owns and operates approximately 900 mile fiber optic network and facilities in Minnesota. Hickory Tech Corporation was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Hickory Tech (HTCO), a communications provider in several Midwest states, announced a 3% dividend increase to 15 cents per share, payable Dec. 5 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 15.
  HTCO Dividend Yield: 5.5%

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014: Ishares Msci Italy Index Fund (EWI)

iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Italian market, as measured by the MSCI Italy Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the Italian equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization. Component companies are adjusted for available float and must meet objective criteria for inclusion in the Index. The Index is reviewed quarterly.

The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tom Aspray]

  This is quite a bit better than the 9.2% gain of the iShares MSCI Italy (EWI) or the 8.9% rise in the iShares MSCI Austria (EWO). All three have done significantly better than the Spyder Trust (SPY), which is up 3.6%. The French and German country ETFs have not yet moved above their late 2013 highs.

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014: Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN)

Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates resorts in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates eight ski resort properties, including the Vail Mountain, Breckenridge Ski, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Heavenly Mountain, Northstar, Kirkwood Mountain, and Canyons resorts; and two urban ski areas, such as Afton Alps and Mount Brighton Ski areas, as well as provides ancillary services, primarily ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations. Its resorts offer various recreational activities comprising skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowtubing, sightseeing, mountain biking, guided hiking, children's activities, and other recreational activities, as well as ski and snowboard lessons, equipment rental and retail merchandise services, dining venues, and private club services. This segment also leases its owned and leased commercial space; and provides real estate brokerage services. Th e Lodging segment owns and/or manages a collection of luxury hotels under the RockResorts brand, and other lodging properties; various condominiums located in and around the company�s ski resorts; destination resorts; and golf courses, as well as offers resort ground transportation services. This segment operates approximately 5,100 owned and managed hotel and condominium rooms. The Real Estate segment owns, develops, markets, and sells real estate properties in and around the company�s resort communities. Vail Resorts, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Broomfield, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  Finally, shares of Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN  ) were taking a spill, down 3.4%, as a lack of snow in the Lake Tahoe region put a dent in earnings during the all-important winter ski season. Earnings per share fell from $1.65 to $1.60, missing estimates of $1.88, while revenue increased 7% to $452.7 million, below the consensus at $471.2 million. Separately, Vail announced it was doubling its quarterly dividend to $0.415, giving investors a yield of 2.4%. Considering the unpredictable nature of the weather and therefore earnings for Vail, investors may want to overlook the bottom-line miss for now and take solace in the generous dividend hike.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
  Slow but steady -- that seems to be the new mantra here on Wall Street. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 plowed further into record territory on Friday. The catalyst for today's advance was the monthly jobs report, which showed the total number of people employed finally topped the 2008 peak it hit just before the Great Recession took hold. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 88 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose 9, and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) gained 25 points. Financial stocks helped lead the advance. Goldman Sachs (GS) and American Express (AXP) both gained more than 2 percent. Bank of America (BAC) rose 1 percent on reports that it's in talks with the Justice Department to settle another set of probes into the bank's handling of mortgages leading up to and during the financial crisis. News reports say the company could pay more than $12 billion, which is more than it earned in all of 2013. But this could allow Bank of America to finally put this long-running problem behind it. Its stock has been virtually flat over the past 6 months. Amazon (AMZN) posted a strong gain for second straight day, rising 2 percent, on indications that it's about to enter the smartphone business. And Sears (SHLD) gained nearly 2 percent on a Reuters report that the company's chairman has held talks with outgoing Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally, sparking rumors that he might head the retailer's turnaround effort. Elsewhere, Hertz (HRZ) drove into a ditch, sliding 9 percent after saying it will restate earnings from 2011 through 2013 because of accounting issues. Diamond Foods (DMND) fell 11 percent. Its quarterly loss widened, due to higher wholesale prices for nuts. But Vail Resorts (MTN), Men's Wearhouse (MW), and VeriFone (PAY) all gained after beating expectations. Vail was up 6 percent; Men's Wearhouse rose 5½ percent; and VeriFone jumped 9 percent. Demand for its merchant payment systems has been helped by growing con