Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now

My top idea for conservative, income-oriented investors in the coming year is a closed-end fund that invests in public and privately-held companies doing work in the life sciences arena, writes Nate Pile of Nate's Notes.

The life sciences industry includes stocks in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, managed healthcare and medical equipment, and healthcare information technology and services.

This recommended fund��ambrecht & Quist Life Sciences Fund (HQL)��as also our top pick last year, and the fund rose 44% in 2013.

In addition to rising in value, the fund has a dividend policy of paying out 2% of its net asset value of each quarter.

By choosing to take this payout in the form of a dividend reinvestment, rather than cash, investors have done very well for themselves as they've watched, both the size of their holdings, and the share price itself, increase as the years have rolled by.

To be sure, you will always be able to get more bang for your buck by owning individual biotech stocks.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Technip (TEC)

Technip, formerly known as Technip SA, is a France-based company that is engaged in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry, and holds a portfolio of solutions and technologies. The Company operates in three segments: Subsea, Onshore and Offshore. Its main markets include onshore plants, offshore platforms and subsea construction. The Company is present in around 48 countries, and had industrial assets on continents and operates a fleet of vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction. It operates several subsidiaries, such as AETech, EPD, Subocean group and Front End Re, among others. On August 31, 2012, the Company announced the completion of the Stone & Webster process technologies and associated oil and gas engineering capabilities acquisition from The Shaw Group Inc. In March 13, 2013, it acquired Ingenium AS, an offshore engineering and services company. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Technip SA (TEC) sank 15 percent, its biggest weekly retreat in more than two years after third-quarter profit missed the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The oilfield-services provider also cut full-year forecasts for the operating margin and sales at its subsea unit, meaning total sales will miss an earlier target of as much as 9.5 billion euros.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: American Strategic Income Portfolio Inc (ASP)

American Strategic Income Portfolio Inc. (the Fund) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund's primary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income. Its secondary investment objective is capital appreciation. The Fund invests in mortgage-related assets that directly or indirectly represent a participation in or are secured by and payable from mortgage loans. American Strategic Income Portfolio Inc. may also invest in the United States Government securities, corporate debt securities, preferred stock issued by real estate investment trusts and mortgage servicing rights.

The Fund's portfolio includes the United States Government Agency mortgage-backed securities, commercial loans, multi-family loans, preferred stocks, corporate notes, short-term securities and single-family loans. The Fund's investment advisor is FAF Advisors, Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. Bank National Association.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By jaggom]

  However, the good news for the investors is that this trend of strong prices is set to continue and the company is expected to yield better financial and operating results with surging demand for these products in the market. For example, a 16% jump in the average selling prices (ASP) of DRAM along with a 6% jump in volume propelled revenue from the segment 23% higher, while an 8% increase in NAND flash prices led to a 7% jump in revenue from this segment.

• [By Nicolas73]

  We can go through a long list of complicated reasoning, but the reason is very simple: Seagate increased its gross margin by around 50% (31.6% vs. 19.5%). This was accomplished thanks to the increased average selling price (ASP) of the hard disk drives.

Top 10 Integrated Utility Stocks To Own For 2015: Omega Commercial Finance Corp (OCFN)

Omega Commercial Finance Corporation (Omega), incorporated on November 6, 1973, is a commercial real estate financing company that also provides asset backed lending services located in the Miami, Florida area. The Company consults on various financing programs with an emphasis on Loans secured by commercial real estate such as core assets that include office buildings, multi-family residences, shopping centers, industrial, and hotels, as well as asset backed loans secured by account receivables from established companies.

On February 20, 2012, CCRE Capital, LLC (CCRE), its wholly owned subsidiary entered into the Strategic Alliance Agreement (the Strategic Alliance) with Gardens VE Limited (Company No. 07071936), a British Company (Gardens). In January 2013, the Company acquired VFG Securities Incorporated and VFG Advisors Inc. The Company�� subsidiaries include CCRE (CCRE), OMEGA FACTORI and Omega Capital Street LLC.

The Company competes with CapitalSource Inc, Goldman Sachs Commercial Real Estate, Morgan Stanley Real Estate and JP Morgan Chase.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Virginia Harrison]

  The other big Olympic sponsors are Visa (V, Fortune 500), Samsung (SSNLF), Panasonic (PCRFF), General Electric (GE, Fortune 500), Dow Chemical (DOW, Fortune 500), Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500), Omega (OCFN) and Atos (ATOS). They're staying tight-lipped about the issue in public but a senior official at the International Olympic Committee said this month that several had raised concerns about how the law could affect the Games.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Madison Square Garden Inc.(MSG)

The Madison Square Garden Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates in the sports, entertainment, and media businesses primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: MSG Media, MSG Entertainment, and MSG Sports. The MSG Media segment produces and develops content for various distribution platforms, including content originating from the company?s venues. It consists of the MSG Networks and the Fuse Networks, which offer sports and musical content. This segment also manages interactive businesses that comprise a range of targeted websites; and wireless, video on demand, and digital platforms. The MSG Entertainment segment creates, produces, and/or presents various live productions, as well as presents or hosts other live entertainment events, such as concerts, family shows, special events, and theatrical productions. The MSG Sports segment owns and operates sports franchises. This segment also owns other sports properties, including the pre sentation of a range of live sporting events, such as professional boxing, college basketball, track and field, and tennis. The company owns the Madison Square Garden complex in New York City, which includes an arena and a theater; and The Chicago Theatre in Chicago. It leases Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre in New York City. The company is based in New York, New York. As of February 09, 2010, Madison Square Garden, Inc. operates independently of Cablevision Systems Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  If you’re not a sports fan, two things happened yesterday that it are really great news for Madison Square Garden (MSG), the owner of the legendary arena, as well as the New York Rangers and the New York Knicks.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Telecom Italia S.P.A.(TI)

Telecom Italia S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides fixed-line and mobile telecommunications, Internet, and media services. The company also operates in office and system solutions. Its portfolio ranges from consumer-focused convergent communications services to business-oriented advanced ICT solutions. The company?s integrated range of offerings, proprietary platforms, and network architecture leverage the potential of fixed-line and mobile broadband to offer convergent solutions for communication, Web surfing, always-in-touch services, and serve as a gateway to the digital world from the home, the office, and on the move, from fixed-line telephone, cell phone, PC, or TV. Its business portfolio covers various categories of business needs, from freelance professionals to SMEs, corporations, institutions, and public government bodies. The company?s Web offerings combine Italy?s Virgilio portal with Web 2.0 ventures, such as Yalp!, a TV community where users p ublish their own content and create their own TV channels. Its media operations span traditional broadcasting over analogue and digital networks, and mobile broadcasting through TIM/MTV partnership vehicle, MTV Mobile. The company has operations in Italy, Latin America, Germany, Holland, and the Mediterranean basin. As of December 31, 2009, it provided fixed telecommunications services with approximately 16.1 million physical accesses in Italy. The company?s wholesale customer portfolio consisted of approximately 6.2 million accesses for telephone services; and broadband portfolio had approximately 8.7 million accesses in Italy, as well as 30.8 million mobile telephone lines. Telecom Italia was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Telecom Italia (NYSE: TI) was started as Buy at Goldman Sachs, just a day after J.P. Morgan raised it to Neutral from Underperform.

  Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) was raised to Neutral from Underweight at J.P. Morgan.

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Steven Senne/AP NEW YORK -- Target (TGT) massive data breach over the holidays helped push its fourth-quarter profit down 46 percent. The discount retailer also said Wednesday that sales fell 5.3 percent as the breach scared off customers. The nation's second-largest discounter also offered a profit outlook below Wall Street expectations as the costs of the breach that affected millions of credit and debit card customers linger. The discounter, based in Minneapolis, said it earned $520 million, or 81 cents a share, for the three months that ended Feb. 1. That compares with a profit of $961 million, or $1.47 a share a year earlier. Revenue fell to $21.5 billion from $22.7 billion. Revenue at stores open at least a year, an important retail measurement, fell 2.5 percent. Analysts had expected a profit of 80 cents on revenue of 21.5 billion, according to FactSet estimates. The breach resulted in $17 million of net expenses in the fourth quarter, Target said, with $61 million of total expenses partially offset by the recognition of a $44 million insurance receivable. Shares of Target rose 99 cents to $57.50 in premarket trading Wednesday as earnings results beat Wall Street estimates by a penny. The stock has fallen about 10 percent since the company disclosed the breach in mid-December. "As we plan for the new fiscal year, we will continue to work tirelessly to win back the confidence of our guests. We are encouraged that sales trends have improved in recent weeks," Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and CEO of Target, said in a statement. The results underscore the big challenges that Steinhafel faces. Even before the breach, Target has struggled with uneven sales since the recession as its middle-income shoppers are still not comfortable in spending. And the company has also grappled with the perception that its prices are too high. Critics also say that the discounter, known for its exclusive limited partnerships with designers, has lost its

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Brent Lewin/Bloomberg via Getty Images NEW YORK -- Facebook (FB) is placing a $19 billion bet on reaching its next billion mobile users with the acquisition of WhatsApp, a popular messaging service that lets people send texts, photos and videos on their smartphones. The $19 billion deal is by far Facebook's largest and bigger than any that Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) or Apple (AAPL) have ever done. But it is likely to raise worries that Facebook and other technology companies are starting to become overzealous in their pursuit of promising new products and services, said Anthony Michael Sabino, a St. John's University business professor. "This could be seen as a microcosm of a bubble," Sabino said. "I expect there to be a lot of skepticism about this deal. People are going to look at this and say, 'Uh-oh, did they pay way too much for this?" Facebook, for its part, is taking the long view. WhatsApp has 450 million monthly users, 70 percent of whom use it every day. The service is adding a million new users a day. There are 19 billion messages sent and 34 billion received via WhatsApp each day, in addition to 600 million photos and 100 million video messages. At this rate, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is confident the app will reach a billion users. Services that reach that milestone, Zuckerberg said in a statement, "are all incredibly valuable." It's an elite group to be sure -- one that includes Google (which owns YouTube), Facebook itself and little else. Facebook said Wednesday that it's paying $12 billion in stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the app's founders and employees -- 55 in all -- will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will vest over four years after the deal closes. The transaction translates to roughly 11 percent of Facebook's market value. In comparison, Google's biggest deal was its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, while Microsoft's largest was Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, meanwhil

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Telecom Italia SpA (NYSE: TI) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at J.P. Morgan.

  Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) was raised to Outperform from Sector Perform with a $55 price target (versus $a 46.54 close) at Pacific Crest.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Brunswick Corp (BC)

Brunswick Corporation (Brunswick), incorporated on December 31, 1907, is a worldwide designer, manufacturer and marketer of recreation products, including marine engines, boats, fitness equipment and bowling and billiards equipment. Brunswick�� engine products include outboard, sterndrive and inboard engines; trolling motors; propellers; engine control systems, and marine parts and accessories. The Company�� boat offerings include fiberglass boats; sportfishing convertibles and motoryachts; offshore fishing boats; aluminum fishing boats, and pontoon and deck boats. Brunswick�� fitness products include both cardiovascular and strength training equipment for the commercial and consumer markets. Brunswick�� bowling products include capital equipment, aftermarket and consumer goods. The Company also sells a range of billiards tables and other gaming tables and accessories. In addition, the Company owns and operates Brunswick bowling family entertainment centers in the United States and other countries. In August 2013, Brunswick Corporation completed the sale of the Hatteras and CABO brands of motoryachts and sportfishing convertibles to Navis HCY Acquisition.

The Company, through its Brunswick Financial Services Corporation (BFS) subsidiary, owns a 49% interest in a joint venture, Brunswick Acceptance Company, LLC (BAC). CDF Ventures, LLC (CDFV), a subsidiary of GE Capital Corporation, owns the remaining 51%. Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, BAC provides secured wholesale inventory floorplan financing to the Company�� engine and boat dealers.

Marine Engine Segment

Mercury Marine manufactures and markets a range of sterndrive propulsion systems, inboard engines and outboard engines under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury SportJet and Mercury Jet Drive, MotorGuide, Axius and Zeus brand names. In addition, Mercury Marine manufactures and markets marine parts and accessories under the Quicksilver, Mercury Precision! Parts, Mercury Propellers, Attwood, Land ����Sea, Kellogg Marine Supply, Diversified Marine Products, Sea Choice and MotorGuide brand names, including marine electronics and control integration systems, steering systems, instruments, controls, propellers, trolling motors, service parts and marine lubricants. Mercury Marine�� sterndrive engines, inboard engines and outboard engines are sold to independent boat builders, local, state and foreign governments, and to the Company�� Boat segment. In addition, Mercury Marine�� outboard engines are sold to end-users through a global network of more than 7,000 marine dealers and distributors, specialty marine retailers and marine service centers.

Mercury Marine, through Cummins MerCruiser Diesel Marine LLC (CMD), a joint venture between Brunswick�� Mercury Marine division and Cummins Marine, a division of Cummins Inc., supplies integrated diesel propulsion systems to the worldwide recreational and commercial marine markets, including the Company�� Boat segment. Mercury Marine manufactures two-stroke OptiMax outboard engines ranging from 75 to 300 horsepower, all of which feature Mercury�� direct fuel injection (DFI) technology, and four-stroke outboard engine include Verado, a collection of supercharged outboards ranging from 150 to 350 horsepower, and Mercury Marine's naturally aspirated four-stroke outboards, ranging from 2.5 to 150 horsepower including the introduction of the 150 FourStroke, which is quickly becoming known for its light weight, fuel efficiency and performance. In addition, most of Mercury�� sterndrive and inboard engines are available with catalyst exhaust monitoring and treatment systems.

Mercury Marine�� sterndrive and outboard engines are produced domestically in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with outboard engines also produced internationally in China and Japan. Mercury Marine manufactures 40, 50 and 60 horsepower four-stroke outboard engines in a facility in China, and produces smaller outboard en! gines in ! Japan pursuant to a joint venture with its partner, Tohatsu Corporation. CMD manufactures diesel marine propulsion systems in South Carolina.

Mercury Marine also operates a remanufacturing business for engines and service parts in Wisconsin. In addition, Mercury Marine has an equity ownership interest in a company that manufactures boats under the brand names Bella, Flipper and Aquador in Finland. Mercury Marine also has an interest in a company that manufactures boats under the brand names Bella, Flipper and Aquador in Finland. Mercury Marine�� parts and accessories distribution businesses include Land ����Sea, Kellogg Marine Supply and Diversified Marine Products. These businesses are the distributors of marine parts and accessories throughout North America.

Boat Segment

The Boat Group consists of the boat brands, such Sea Ray yachts, sport yachts, sport cruisers and runabouts; Bayliner sport cruisers and runabouts; Meridian motoryachts; Boston Whaler, Lund and Trophy fiberglass fishing boats, and Crestliner, Cypress Cay, Harris FloteBote, Lowe, Lund, Princecraft, Suncruiser and Triton aluminum fishing, utility, pontoon and deck boats. The Boat Group also includes a commercial and governmental sales unit that sells products to commercial customers, as well as the United States Government and state, local and foreign governments. The Boat Group procures most of its outboard engines, gasoline sterndrive engines and gasoline inboard engines from Brunswick�� Marine Engine segment.

The Boat Group has active manufacturing facilities in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Canada, Mexico and Portugal, as well as additional inactive manufacturing facilities in Florida, Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee. The Boat Group utilizes contract manufacturing facilities in Argentina and Poland. The Boat Group has constructed a manufacturing plant in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil, which has nearly 150,000 square feet of man! ufacturin! g space. The Boat Group�� products are sold to end-users through a worldwide network of approximately 2,850 dealers and distributors, each of which carries one or more of Brunswick�� boat brands.

Fitness Segment

Brunswick�� Fitness segment consists of its Life Fitness division (Life Fitness), which designs, manufactures and markets a range of cardiovascular fitness equipment (including treadmills, total body cross-trainers, stair climbers and stationary exercise bicycles) and strength-training equipment under the Life Fitness and Hammer Strength brands. Life Fitness��commercial sales customers include health clubs, fitness facilities operated by professional sports teams, the military, governmental agencies, corporations, hotels, schools and universities. Consumer products are available at specialty retailers, select mass merchants, sporting goods stores, through international distributors, and on Life Fitness��Website. The Fitness segment�� principal manufacturing facilities are located in Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and Hungary. Life Fitness distributes its products worldwide from regional warehouses and production facilities.

Bowling & Billiards Segment

The Bowling & Billiards segment consists of the Brunswick Bowling & Billiards division (BB&B). BB&B is a worldwide designer, manufacturer and marketer of bowling products. BB&B's bowling products business designs, manufactures and markets a variety of bowling products, including capital equipment (such as automatic pinsetters and scoring devices), bowling balls and aftermarket products (such as lane machines, pinsetter parts, lane conditioners and lane cleaners). Through licensing arrangements, BB&B also offers an array of bowling consumer products, including bowling shoes, bags and accessories.

BB&B operates 95 bowling centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. BB&B retail bowling centers offer bowling and, depending on size and location, may also offer activities a! nd facili! ties: restaurants, lounges, snack bars, billiards, video and redemption games, laser tag, pro shops and meeting and party rooms. Of the Company's 95 bowling centers, 42 have been converted into Brunswick Zones, which are bowling centers that offer an array of active entertainment activities for its guests. BB&B designs and/or markets billiards tables, table tennis tables, air powered table hockey games, billiard balls, cues and other gaming tables, as well as game room furniture and related accessories, under the Brunswick and Contender brands. BB&B's primary manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in Michigan, Wisconsin, Hungary and Mexico. Brunswick�� bowling and billiards products are sold through a variety of channels, including distributors, dealers, mass merchandisers, bowling centers and retailers, and directly to consumers on the Internet and through other outlets.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Brunswick (NYSE: BC  ) were getting fired up today, climbing as much as 12% after issuing a strong quarterly report and improved guidance. �

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Basic guidelines
  In this series, I examine inventory using a simple rule of thumb: Inventory increases ought to roughly parallel revenue increases. If inventory bloats more quickly than sales grow, this might be a sign that expected sales haven't materialized. Is the current inventory situation at Brunswick (NYSE: BC  ) out of line? To figure that out, start by comparing the company's inventory growth to sales growth. How is Brunswick doing by this quick checkup? At first glance, not so great. Trailing-12-month revenue increased 3.0%, and inventory increased 8.4%. Comparing the latest quarter to the prior-year quarter, the story looks decent. Revenue increased 3.7%, and inventory increased 8.4%. Over the sequential quarterly period, the trend looks healthy. Revenue grew 19.9%, and inventory grew 5.0%.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VBHLF)

Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (VAH) is an Australia-based company engaged in the development and operation of domestic and international airlines. VAH�� fleet includes ATR-72, Embraer 190, Boeing 737-700, Boeing 737-800, AIRBUS A330 and Boeing 777-300ER. It product includes Airbus A330 Business Class. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012, the Company carried 19,468,929 guests on 216 city pairs to 52 destinations, and operated 162,817 flights. On February 22, 2012, under the proposal, all of the shares in the international airline business of Virgin Australia were transferred to a new holding company, Virgin Australia International Holdings Pty Ltd. In April 2013, it acquired 100% of the issued share capital in Skywest Airlines Ltd. In July 2013, Virgin Australia Holdings Limited announced that it has acquired 60% interest of Tiger Airways Australia Pty Limited from Tiger Airways Holdings Limited. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MARKETWATCH]

  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks gave ground in early Friday trading, with banks broadly lower after overnight losses in the U.S., where investors worried that better-than-expected data would prompt the Federal Reserve to roll back stimulus soon. The S&P/ASX 200 (AU:XJO) lost 0.4% to 5,178.30, as National Australia Bank Ltd. (AU:NAB) (NAUBF) fell 1.8%, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (AU:ANZ) (ANEWF) lost 0.8%, and Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) (MCQEF) retreated 1.3%. Among the resource shares, losses for gold both in New York and in early Asian electronic trade helped send Evolution Mining Ltd. (AU:EVN) (CAHPF) down 1.9% and Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd. (AU:KCN) (KSKGF) off 4.5%, though Newcrest Mining Ltd. (AU:NCM) (NCMGF) held the drop to 0.4%. Oil prices managed a modest gain, however, resulting in a 0.2% rise for Oil Search Ltd. (AU:OSH) (OISHF) and Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (AU:KAR) (KRNGF) , while Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (AU:WPL)

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Solitron Devices Inc (SODI)

Solitron Devices, Inc., incorporated on March 12, 1987, designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The Company manufactures a variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) power transistors, power and controls hybrids, junction and power MOS field effect transistors (Power MOSFETS), field effect transistors and other related products. It's products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United States government. The Company�� semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic components. The Company�� active electronic components include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.

The Company�� semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and spacecraft. Its products have been used on the space shuttle and on the spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars Sojourner).

Power Transistors

The Company manufactures a variety of power bipolar transistors for applications requiring currents in the range of 0.1 ampere to 300 ampere or voltages in the range of 30 volts to 1000 volts. It also manufactures power diodes under the same military specification. In addition, it manufactures power N-Channel and P-Channel MOSFET transistors and is expanding that line in accordance with customers��requirements.

Hybrids

The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. The hybrids are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and aerospace systems. Some of the Company�� hybrids include high power voltage regulators, p! ower amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom hybrids.

Voltage Regulators

Voltage regulators provide the power required to activate electronic components such as the integrated circuits. These circuits are found in all electronic devices from radar and missile systems to smart phones.

Field Effect Transistors

The Company manufactures about 30 different types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor types. The Company�� field effect transistors conform to standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors, commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. It manufactures both standard and custom field effect transistors.

The Competes with IXYS Corporation, Motorola Inc., International Rectifier, Microsemi Corporation, M.S. Kennedy Corporation, Natel Engineering Company and Sensitron Semiconductor.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon] strong>OPT-Sciences (OPST)

  Micropac

  Micropac is 76% owned by Heinz-Werner Hempel. He�� a German businessman. You can see the German company he founded here. He�� had control of Micropac for a long-time. I don�� have an exact number in front of me. But I would guess it�� been something like 25 years.

  ADDvantage

  ADDvantage Technologies is controlled by the Chymiak brothers. See the company�� April 4 press release explaining their decision to turn over the CEO position to an outsider. Regardless, the Chymiaks still control 47% of the company. Ken Chymiak is now chairman. And David Chymiak is still a director and now the company�� chief technology officer. Clearly, it�� still their company.

  By the way, the name ADDvantage Technologies has nothing to do with the Chymiaks. Today�� AEY really traces its roots to a private company called Tulsat. The Chymiak brothers acquired that company about 27 years ago. So, effectively, when you buy shares of AEY you are buying into a 27-year-old family-controlled company.

  That�� pretty typical in the world of net-nets.

  Solitron

  Solitron Devices is 29% owned by Shevach Saraf. He has been the CEO for 20 years. The post-bankruptcy Solitron has never known another CEO. Before the bankruptcy, Solitron was a much bigger, much different company. So even though we are not talking about the founder here ��and even though 70% of the company�� shares are not held by the CEO ��we��e still talking about a company where one person has a lot of control. Solitron only has three directors. Saraf is the chairman, CEO, president, CFO and treasurer. Neither of the other two directors joined the board within the last 15 years. So, we aren�� talking about a lot of tumult at the top.

  In fact, profitable net-nets seem to be especially common candidates for abandoning the responsibilities of a public company without actually getting taken private.

  OPT-Sciences

  This

• [By Geoff Gannon] on the amount of stock you can buy and the position size you like. For me, I try not to start buying a stock that I think will never make up 10% of my portfolio. If you don�� mind having 5% positions in your portfolio, your portfolio can obviously be twice as big as mine and you can still consider buying the same small stocks I do. In terms of specific stocks, it depends on the amount of float and the volume the stock trades in an average month. We are really getting into specifics here. And I may be boring people. But if you�� like to hear more about the minutiae of how you actually buy and sell tiny stocks like these, let me know, and I��l do an article on the subject.

  By the way, there is a hard and fast rule of thumb that it usually makes no sense to invest in a company with a market cap that is smaller than your portfolio. This is true for both fund and individual investors. Funds break it all the time. But, frankly, it is probably a waste of an analyst/fund manager�� time to even analyze such tiny positions relative to the size of the whole portfolio. Since even when we are discussing very small stocks we are still talking about millions and millions of dollars in market cap, this is hardly a concern for most individuals.

  So, for individual investors, actual inability to acquire enough shares of a company to meaningful influence their portfolio is rarely the problem. If you bid for a stock month after month ��you��l get your shares.

  The concern for individual investors is not whether buying enough shares is possible. The concern is how quickly and easily you can buy and sell. This is what we call ��iquidity.��/p>

  Instead of thinking about stocks as liquid or illiquid, you should think in terms of your portfolio and your liquidity needs. It doesn't make much sense to use what I'll call an "objective" (as in stock-oriented) approach to liquidity rather than a "subjective" (as in investor-oriented) approach to liquidity.

  <
• [By Geoff Gannon]

  Solitron (SODI) sells at 74% of NCAV, has decent z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 5.3% and an ROA of 12%.
  
  Micropac (MPAD) sells at 83% of NCAV, has similar (slightly better) z- and f-scores, a FCF margin of 6%, but has ROA of 28%.
  
  ADDvantage (AEY) sells at 95% of NCAV, has similar (in the ballpark) scores and FCF and ROA of 23%.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Pegasystems Inc.(PEGA)

Pegasystems Inc. develops, markets, licenses, and supports software to automate business processes primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and rest of Europe. The company offers PegaRULES Process Commander, which provides a platform to build, deploy, and change enterprise applications; purpose or industry-specific solution frameworks that enable organizations to implement new customer-facing practices and processes, and provide customized or specialized processing to meet the needs of different customers, departments, geographies, or regulatory requirements; and Pega customer relationship management software to automate customer service inquiries and marketing, and apply analytics to predict and adapt customer service processes. It also offers Pega decision management products, which include Pega Decision Strategy Manager and Next-Best-Action Advisor that support decision-making for offer management, risk, and other marketing and customer management solutions; and Pega Cloud, which enables customers to create and/or run Pega applications using an Internet-based infrastructure. In addition, the company provides implementation, consulting, training, and technical support services to its customers. The company markets its software and services primarily through its direct sales force to financial services organizations, healthcare organizations, insurance companies, communications and media organizations, and government agencies. Pegasystems Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Patricio Kehoe]

  The firm is currently Zacks Rank # 3 - Hold, and it also has a longer-term recommendation of ��utperfom�� For investors looking for a Zacks Rank # 1 ��Strong Buy, Dealertrack Technologies Inc (TRAK), Open Text Corporation (OTEX), Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) Solera Holdings (SLH) or Ultimate Software Group Inc. (ULTI) could be the options.

Top Information Technology Companies To Buy Right Now: Material Sciences Corporation(MASC)

Material Sciences Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of material-based solutions for acoustical and coated applications in the United States and internationally. It offers acoustical material-based solutions, which include multilayer composites consisting of metals, polymers, and other coated materials used to manage noise and vibration in automotive body panel parts, brake dampers, engine parts, appliances, and computer disk drives, as well as heating, ventilating, and air conditioning products. The company also provides coated material-based solutions that comprise painted, electrogalvanized protective, decorative, and functional coatings applied to coils of metals for automotive fuel tanks, building products, gaskets, appliances, and lighting fixtures. Material Sciences Corporation primarily serves customers in the automotive, appliance, building and construction, lighting, and electronic markets. The company m arkets its products, services, and technologies through sales and marketing organization, as well as through agents and licensees. Material Sciences Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Material Sciences (NASDAQ: MASC) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.16 per share.

  Blackhawk Network Holdings (NASDAQ: HAWK) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.05 per share on revenue of $210.94 million.