10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014

With shares of Corning (NYSE:GLW) trading around $17, is GLW an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Corning produces and sells specialty glasses, ceramics, and related materials worldwide. It operates in five segments: Display Technologies, Telecommunications, Environmental Technologies, Specialty Materials, and Life Sciences. Corning has launched Corning Lotus Glass, an environmentally friendly display glass for organic LED and LCD displays that are used in portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers. Smart phones, tablets, notebook computers, and their related materials are seeing explosive growth in developed and developing countries around the world.

Corning on Tuesday announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2013.�Core earnings per share were 29 cents, an increase of 4 percent over last year�� fourth quarter and better than expected. GAAP earnings per share were 30 cents.�Core sales were $2 billion, a 2 percent decline from the comparable period last year.��013 was a very successful year for Corning,��Wendell P. Weeks, chairman, chief executive officer, and president, said in the earnings report. ��e achieved the company�� primary performance goal of restoring earnings growth. This was accomplished by regaining positive momentum in our LCD business and growing the earnings in our other segments. We also delivered on our commitment to enhance shareholder value by increasing the cash dividend and executing more than $1.5 billion in share repurchases. The company�� performance was recognized by a 41% improvement in the year�� share price, a result with which we are delighted.��/p>

Best Tech Stocks To Invest In Right Now: HomeServe PLC (HSV)

Homeserve plc is a United Kingdom-based company engaged in the provision of home emergency repairs. The Company operates in five segments: UK, USA, Domeo, Spain, and New Markets. Its products cover plumbing and drains, central heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrics and household appliances, such as showers and boilers. The Company provides home emergency and repair services to over 4.9 million customers across businesses in the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Spain. It also has developing businesses in Italy, Germany and France. The Company�� subsidiaries include HomeServe Assistance Limited, HomeServe Enterprises Limited, HomeServe International Limited, HomeServe Membership Limited and Reparalia Direct SL. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sarah Jones]

  Homeserve Plc (HSV) climbed 8.1 percent to 265.6 pence. Liberum Capital said the company may attract private-equity buyers after reporting its full-year results. The company may soon complete its discussions with the financial-services regulator about inappropriate sales practices.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014: Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF.PK)

Glencore Xstrata Plc is a diversified natural resource company. The Company operates in three segments: Metals and Minerals, which includes copper, nickel, zinc/lead, alloys, alumina/aluminum and iron ore; Energy Products, which includes controlled and non-controlled coal mining and oil production operations and investments in strategic handling, storage and freight equipment and facilities, and Agricultural Products, which focuses on grains, oils/oilseeds, cotton and sugar. The Company�� operations consist of over 150 mining and metallurgical sites, offshore oil production assets, farms and agricultural facilities. The Company is a producer and marketer of over 90 commodities, such as mobile phones, bicycles, cutlery, plastics and electricity. Effective January 2, 2014, Post Holdings Inc acquired Agricore United Holdings Inc from Viterra Inc, a unit of Glencore Xstrata PLC, and the transaction also included Dakota Growers Pasta Company, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Pendulum]

  Century Aluminum was founded in 1995 as a part of Glencore (GLCNF.PK). In 1996, Century Aluminum became a public company. As of December 31, 2012:

  "Glencore beneficially owned approximately 41.8% of our outstanding common stock and all of our outstanding Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. Through its ownership of common and preferred stock, Glencore has an overall 46.6% economic ownership of Century." (Source: Century Aluminum 2012 10-K)

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014: Ishares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB)

iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (the Index). The Index consists of securities of NASDAQ-listed companies that are classified according to the Industry Classification Benchmark as either biotechnology or pharmaceuticals, and which also meet other eligibility criteria. The Index is one of the eight sub-indices of the NASDAQ Composite, which measures all common stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.

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 John Udovich]

  Yesterday, small cap biopharmaceutical stock Puma Biotechnology Inc (NYSE: PBYI) jumped 11.98% after announcing they will have a conference call next week to update�investors on�its clinical trials of PB272 (neratinib) in cancer patients, meaning its probably time to take a closer look at the stock to see if investor might be counting the chickens before they hatch along with the performance of large cap AbbVie Inc (NYSE: ABBV) which also recently had positive news about its own breast cancer treatment plus biotech ETFs iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA: XBI).

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Who's weighing down the sector?
  The bad week has hit investors hard, as biotech's two big ETFs -- the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEMKT: XBI  ) and iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NASDAQ: IBB  ) -- fell 3.8% and 2%, respectively. Some of that drop can be blamed on the market's overall jitters this week. Yet health-care stocks have performed well over the past month: On the S&P 500, the health sector has ranked third in month-to-date performance behind only consumer staples and telecoms.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Gilead Sciences have ticked up 0.1% to $73.69 at 1:58 p.m. today, a solid day given Amen’s (AMGN) 0.7% drop to $125.53 and Biogen Idec’s (BIIB) 0.7% decline to $307.76.The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) has fallen 0.5% to $240.34, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) has dropped 1.2% to $1434.68.

• [By David Fabian]

  More aggressive investors may be interested in honing in on an industry group like biotech stocks that have been a rocket ship of momentum. The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF (IBB) has over $5 billion invested in 123 companies focused on developing new, innovative pharmaceutical and medical devices.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014: Textron Inc.(TXT)

Textron Inc. operates in the aircraft, defense, automobile, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates in five segments: Cessna, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, and Finance. The Cessna segment manufactures business jets, single engine turboprops, and single engine piston aircraft, as well as provides aftermarket services. The Bell segment manufactures and supplies military and commercial helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft, and related spare parts and services. The Textron Systems segment produces armored security vehicles, marine craft, precision weapons, airborne and ground-based surveillance systems and services, the unmanned aircraft system, training and simulation systems and countersniper devices, and intelligence and situational awareness software. The Industrial segment offers blow-molded plastic fuel systems, windshield and headlamp washer systems, engine camshafts, plastic bottles, and containers; powered equipment, electrical test and measurement i nstruments, hand and hydraulic powered tools, and electrical and fiber optic assemblies principally used in the electrical construction and maintenance, plumbing, wiring, telecommunications, and data communications industries; and golf cars, professional turf-maintenance equipment, and off-road, multipurpose utility, and specialized turf-care vehicles that are marketed to golf courses, resort communities, municipalities, sporting venues, and commercial and industrial users. The Finance segment provides finance for aircraft, helicopters, and golf and turf-care equipment. The company sells its products through a network of sales representatives, distributors, and authorized independent sales representatives, as well as directly to end users, home improvement retailers, and original equipment manufacturers. Textron Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Providence, the Rhode Island.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Barbara Kollmeyer]

  Among specific names, shares of Cessna maker Textron (TXT) �could gain after the company said it would pay $1.4 billion to buy U.S. plane maker Beechcraft Corp.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  The selling today has being driven by the industrial sector–the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) has dropped 1.5% to $45.79–and defense stocks are getting hammered. Textron (TXT) has fallen 3% to $26.82, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) has declined 2.5% to $92.82. Not a surprise as reports of government contracts being held up and orders delayed make the rounds.

• [By Rich Smith]

  And don't forget about the allies
  Foreign buyers of U.S. military equipment were behind a number of contracts awarded last week. Among them:

  Honeywell (NYSE: HON  ) won one of the week's biggest contracts to support the militaries of U.S. allies Australia, Morocco, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Honeywell will be shipping out to these countries a total of 440 T55-GA-714A engines and 365 T55-GA-714A engine fielding kits. Among other aircraft, the T55-GA-714A engine is used to power CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters, an aircraft that is present in (or, in the case of Turkey, on order by) the militaries of all four countries. The total value of this contract modification to Honeywell will be nearly $122 million. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT  ) won a $50 million contract to supply the militaries of South Korea and Finland with M934E6 and M934E7 warhead fuses for use with these countries' arsenals of Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles (often called "MANPADS," short for man-portable air defense systems). Deliveries of the fuses will continue through Aug. 25, 2018. Textron's (NYSE: TXT  ) Cessna unit won a $64 million contract to provide "support" and training services to Afghan pilots and mechanics servicing 26 C-208B "Caravan" and six T-182T "Skylane" utility aircraft through based at Kabul International Airport, Kandahar Air Base, and Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan through Jan. 31, 2016.

  Opportunities on the horizon
  So much for the contracts everyone knows about. Now, let's end last week's roundup with one contract that you may not yet have heard of.

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap heavy-lift helicopter maker Erickson Inc (NASDAQ: EAC), a peer of other helicopter or aviation stocks like large caps like Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Textron Inc (NYSE: TXT), is ranked as the thirteenth most shorted stock on the Nasdaq with short interest of 38.00% according to Highshortinterest.com.�Having exposure to the Department of Defense in an era of shrinking defense commitments along with the oil sector as oil prices hit multiyear lows seems to be impacting investor sentiment towards Erickson Inc.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014: Sensio Technologies Inc (PSN)

SENSIO Technologies Inc. (SENSIO) develops and markets stereoscopic technologies for the electronic consumer, digital broadcasting and digital cinema markets. The Company focuses on three dimensional (3D) video, develops and markets stereoscopic (3D) digital compression, decompression, and display-formatting technologies. Its solutions include content creators, games developers, broadcasters, specialty channels and digital cinemas. Its flagship technology, SENSIO 3D, allows distribution of 3D content through conventional two dimensional (2D) broadcast networks (cable, satellite, Internet Protocol) and playback on any 3D display device, as well as home theatre and digital cinema projectors. The Company operates in North America, Europe, Middle East and Oceania. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Countrywide Plc dropped 4.9 percent as Alchemy Partners LLP sold a 5.9 percent stake in the real estate broker. A gauge of London-listed mining stocks fell 1.7 percent, paring its best quarter since 2010. Persimmon Plc (PSN) led housebuilders lower after the U.K. government said it will carry out annual checks on its home-buying-assistance program amid criticism it may lead to excessive real estate prices.

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Bovis Homes Group Plc (BVS) climbed 4 percent to 790 pence. Liberum Capital Ltd. raised its rating on the housebuilder to buy from hold. Persimmon Plc (PSN), the U.K.�� largest residential property developer, gained 2.5 percent to 1,255 pence.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014: Standard Parking Corporation(STAN)

Standard Parking Corporation provides parking management, ground transportation, and other ancillary services to commercial, institutional, and municipal clients in the United States and Canada. Its services include collection and deposit of parking revenues; daily housekeeping; restriping of the parking stalls; maintenance of parking equipment, such as ticket dispensing machines, parking gate arms, and fee computers; painting of walkways, curbs, ceilings, walls, and other facility surfaces; and snow removal from sidewalks and driveways. The company also provides shuttle bus vehicles and drivers to operate them in support of on-airport car rental operations, as well as private off-airport parking locations; and ancillary ground transportation services at airports, such as taxi and livery dispatch, concierge-type ground transportation information, and support services for arriving passengers. In addition, it offers shuttle bus services, on-street parking meter collection, a nd other parking enforcement services for municipalities; and valet parking and shuttle bus services for the medical center and hospital markets. The company serves private and public owners, municipalities, managers and developers of office buildings, residential properties, commercial properties, shopping centers and other retail properties, sports and special event complexes, hotels, and hospitals and medical centers. As of December 31, 2011, it managed approximately 2,200 parking facility locations containing approximately 1.2 million parking spaces in approximately 345 cities; operated 147 parking-related service centers serving 61 airports; and a fleet of approximately 550 shuttle buses. The company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  Elekta AB dropped 4.3 percent after posting quarterly profit that missed forecasts. Standard Chartered (STAN) Plc slid 6.6 percent. PSA Peugeot Citroen advanced 2.4 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. added the shares to its conviction-buy list.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  A gauge of banking shares in the FTSE 350 Index reversed earlier gains, declining 0.5 percent. Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) fell 1.8 percent to 1,470 pence and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc lost 2.6 percent to 276.7 pence.

10 Best Life Sciences Stocks For 2014: Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (RNF)

Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. is a provider of clean energy solutions and nitrogen fertilizer, to own, operate and grow its nitrogen fertilizer business. The Company primarily produces anhydrous ammonia, or ammonia, and urea ammonium nitrate solution (UAN), at the Company�� facility, using natural gas as its primary feedstock. In November 2012, the Company acquired Agrifos LLC.

The Company�� facility is located in the center of the Mid Corn Belt. The Mid Corn Belt includes the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. The Company considers its market to be consisted of the States of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Gallagher]

  Mosaic (MOS), Agrium (AGU), Intrepid Potash (IPI) and CF Industries (CF) have been moving and trading hand-in-hand, with AGU, BHP and Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (RNF) trading the best, losing the least and rebounding the most since July 30th. IPI has sold off a lot more in the post-news period, as would be expected from a smaller, less established company with mine projects still in development. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) announced plans to proceed with its Jansen Mine Project in Saskatchewan, Canada, potentially tapping the largest and longest-lasting supply in the world known at this time. Scotiabank (BNS) recently commented on Jansen, stating that the added supply "could add the equivalent of 18%-20% of the potash market over recent years." Nearly all of the companies mentioned have had a pretty predictable mix of upgrades and downgrades. That's what makes a market.