Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015

You might not have noticed, but small cap stocks are actually leading the market higher. In fact, the Russell 2000 is within striking distance of its all-time high, while large cap benchmarks still have a bit more to go before they take out old highs.

The trend towards small caps has become particularly pronounced in the past three months with the capitalization level clearly beating out large caps in this time frame. Current performances show small cap ETFs like iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM) gaining about 13.5% in the time period, with SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) putting up gains of just 8.4% in comparison.

Behind the Surge

There are a couple of reasons for why investors might prefer small caps at this time including the following:

Higher growth potential- With the lack of a taper by the Fed, some are taking a more risk-on stance in the markets, boosting the appeal of pint-sized securities that have more robust growth opportunities. Domestic Focus- Although many international markets are coming back, there is still a broad perception that the U.S. is the place to be for equities. Since small caps tend to have less foreign exposure, many investors have looked to this segment instead of their large cap counterparts. Less of a yield play- Dividend plays have certainly come back a bit in light of the ��o taper��announcement, but the outlook for these plays is still quite uncertain. Small caps aren�� exactly known for their income potential, so undoubtedly this ��rowth over income��play has been some of the reason for the trend towards the space as of late.

However, some investors are starting to grow concerned by this run in small caps, thinking that this level of outperformance cannot continue. PEs are starting to get a little high for the segment (22.21 forward PE for the S&P 600), while some volatility thanks to D.C. could result in serious profit taking for small caps.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Haemonetics Corp (HAE)

Haemonetics Corporation, incorporated on August 29, 1985, is a healthcare company engaged in providing blood management solutions to its customers. The Company�� portfolio of integrated devices, information management and consulting services offers blood management solutions for each facet of the blood supply chain, helping improve clinical outcomes and reduce costs for blood and plasma collectors, hospitals, and patients around the world.The Company serves three markets: manufacturers of plasma derived pharmaceuticals, blood collectors and hospitals. Plasma includes plasma collection devices and consumables. Blood Center includes blood collection and processing devices and consumables. Hospital includes surgical blood salvage and blood demand diagnostic devices and consumables. Software Solutions includes information technology platforms and consulting services provided to all three markets. On April 30, 2013, the Company acquired of certain assets of Hemerus LLC.

The Company helps its customers create and maintain a safe and efficient blood supply chain. Specifically, it develops and markets a wide range of systems used with plasma and blood donors that collect and process blood into its components using both manual and automated methods. It also develops and markets a variety of systems to hospitals that automate the cleaning and reinfusion of a surgical patient's blood during surgery, automate the tracking and distribution of blood in the hospital, and enhance blood diagnostics. The Company sells information technology platforms to promote efficient and compliant operations for all of its customer groups. The Company provides consulting services to reduce costs and improve operating efficiencies in blood management. . Its products and services help prevent a transfusion to a patient who does not need one and provide the right blood product, at the right time, in the right dose to the patient who does.

Plasma

Human plasma is collected and processed by bio-ph! armaceutical companies into therapeutic and diagnostic products that aid in the treatment of immune diseases and coagulation disorders. While plasma is also used to aid patients with extreme blood loss, such as trauma victims, this portion of its business solely focuses on plasma's pharmaceutical uses. Automated plasma collection technology allows for the safe and efficient collection of plasma. The Company manufactures and market plasma collection devices and respective disposables, but do not make plasma-derived pharmaceuticals.

The Company�� portfolio of products and services is designed to support multiple facets of plasma collector operations. The Company with its PCS brand automated plasma collection technology, more plasma can be collected during any one donation event because the other blood components are returned to the donor through the sterile disposable sets used for the plasma donation procedure. The Company offers one stop shopping to its plasma collection customers, enabling them to source from them the full range of products necessary for plasma collection and storage, including PCS brand plasma collection equipment and consumables, plasma collection containers, and intravenous solutions. It also offers a robust portfolio of integrated information technology platforms for plasma customers to manage their donors, operations, and supply chain. Its products automate the donor interview and qualification process; streamline the workflow process in the plasma center; provide the controls necessary to evaluate donor suitability; determine the ability to release units collected; and manage unit distribution.

Blood Center

The Company offers automated blood component and manual whole blood collection systems to blood collection centers to collect blood products.The Company markets the MCS (Multicomponent Collection System) brand apheresis equipment which is designed to collect specific blood components integrated from the donor. Utilizing t! he MCS au! tomated platelet collection protocols, blood centers collect one or more therapeutic doses of platelets during a single donation by a volunteer blood donor. The MCS two-unit protocol or double red cell collection device helps blood collectors optimize the collection of red cells by automating the blood separation function, eliminating the need for laboratory processing, and enabling the collection of two units of red cells from a single donor thus maximizing the amount of red cells collected per eligible donor and helping to mitigate red cell shortages in countries where this problem exists. Blood collectors can also use the MCS system to collect one unit of red cells and a jumbo (double) unit of plasma, or one unit of red cells and one unit of platelets from a single donor. The MCS plasma protocol providing the possibility to collect 600-800ml of plasma for transfusion to patients or for pharmaceutical industry use completes the comprehensive portfolio of different blood component collection options on this device.

The Company offers a portfolio of products for manual whole blood collection and processing. Haemonetics' portfolio of disposable whole blood collection and component storage sets offer flexibility in collecting a unit of whole blood and the subsequent production and storage of the red blood cell, platelet, and/or plasma products, including options for in-line or dockable filters for leukoreduction of any blood component. In addition Acrodose product line provides a closed system for the pooling, storage, and bacteria testing of leukoreduced whole blood derived platelet concentrates, an Acrodose Platelet, that is transfusion ready for the hospital. Use of Acrodose platelets lowers hospital handling costs by eliminating the need for pooling and bacteria testing at the hospital.

The Company with ACP(Automated Cell Processor) brand offers a small bench-top solution to automate the washing and freezing of red cell components in the lab. The automated red cell was! hing proc! edure removes plasma proteins within the red cell units to provide a safer product for transfusion to frequently transfused patients, neonates, or patients with a history of transfusion reactions. The automated glycerolization and deglycerolization steps are required to prepare red cells for frozen storage. Freezing the red cell units can expand the shelf life of these products up to 10 years. Customers utilize this technology to implement strategic red cell inventories for catastrophe cases, storage of rare blood types, or enhanced inventory management.

Hospital

The Company offers a range of blood management solutions that significantly improve a hospital's systems for acquiring blood, storing it in the hospital, and dispensing it efficiently and correctly. Its products and integrated solution platforms help hospitals optimize performance of blood acquisition, storage, and distribution.The Company�� TEG Thrombelastograph Hemostasis Analyzer system is a blood diagnostic instrument that measures a patient's hemostasis or the ability to form and maintain blood clots.

The Cell Saver system is a surgical blood salvage system targeted to procedures that involve rapid, high-volume blood loss, such as cardiovascular surgeries. It has become the standard of care for high blood-loss surgeries. During the year ended December 31,2012, the Company launched the Cell Saver Elite system, which is autotransfusion option to minimize allogeneic blood use for surgeries with medium to high blood loss. The OrthoPAT surgical blood salvage system is targeted to procedures, such as orthopedic, that involve slower, lower volume blood loss that often occurs well after surgery. The cardioPAT system is a surgical blood salvage system targeted to open heart surgeries when there is less blood loss during surgery, but where the blood loss continues post-surgery. These systems are designed to remain with the patient following surgery, to recover blood and produce a washed red cell produ! ct for au! totransfusion. Their Quick-Connect feature permits customers to utilize the blood processing set selectively, depending on the patient's need.

The Company�� IMPACT Online Web-based software platform, which monitors and measures improvements in a hospital�� blood management practices, provides hospitals with a baseline view of their blood management metrics and helps monitor transfusion rates. Business consulting solutions are offered to support process and blood management efforts. It also provides blood management assessment tools to hospitals that enables its customers to monitor their progress in order to continually improve their blood management performance.

Software Solutions

The Companby has a suite of integrated software solutions for improving efficiencies and helping ensure donor and patient safety. This includes solutions for blood drive planning, donor recruitment and retention, blood collection, component manufacturing and distribution, transfusion management, and remote blood allocation. For its plasma customers, it also provides information technology platforms for managing donors and information associated with the collection of plasma products within fractionation facilities.

The Company�� software solutions , including information technology platforms and consulting services can be combined with its devices and sold through its plasma, blood center, and hospital sales forces. The Company�� software products help hospitals track and safely deliver stored blood products. SafeTrace Tx is its software solution that helps manage blood product inventory, perform patient cross-matching, and manage transfusions. In addition, its BloodTrack suite of solutions manages tracking and control of blood products from the hospital blood center through to transfusion to the patient. Smart refrigerators located in or near operating suites, emergency rooms, and other parts of the hospital dispense blood units with secure control and autom! ated trac! eability for efficient documentation. With its offerings, hospitals are better able to manage processes across the blood supply chain and identify increased opportunities to reduce costs and enhance processes. Its software solutions, such as its SafeTrace and El Dorado Donor donation and blood unit management systems, span blood center operations and automate and track operations from the recruitment of the blood donor to the disposition of the blood product. Its Hemasphere software solution provides support for more efficient blood drive planning, and Donor Doc and e-Donor software help to improve recruitment and retention.

The Company competes with Fenwal, Inc., Terumo BCT ,Caridian BCT, Rotem, MAK Systems, Mediware, MacoPharma , Medtronic, Fresenius, Sunquest Information Systems and Sorin Biomedica.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon]

    Haemonetics (HAE) is the market leader in blood management products for collection centers and hospitals. The company's equipment and related consumables allow collection centers to separate blood into the components of plasma, red cells and white cells. Hospital-based products include blood diagnostics, devices to salvage patient blood during surgery and software to manage blood supply. Earnings temporarily declined due to two product quality issues that management of Haemonetics has stated have been remedied. In our opinion, earnings growth may be expected to accelerate in the next few years as Haemonetics rolls out its automated whole blood collection solution to collection centers. Relative to the existing manual process, the company's automated solution speeds up the collection process and reduces discard rates. Cost and efficiency gains become more important to collection centers as hospitals better manage their blood supply. We believe the company is a compelling value at 12x our $3.50 estimate of earnings power.

  • [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

    Haemonetics (NYSE: HAE) tumbled 1.13 percent to $42.06 after analysts at Benchmark downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and lowered the target price from $49 to $46.

  • [By Monica Gerson]

    Analysts at Benchmark downgraded Haemonetics (NYSE: HAE) from ��uy��to ��old.��The target price for Haemonetics has been lowered from $49 to $46.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Plexus Corp.(PLXS)

Plexus Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers and other technology companies. The company offers product development and design services, including program management, feasibility studies, product conceptualization, specification development, circuit design, field programmable gate array design, printed circuit board layout, embedded software design, mechanical design, development of test specifications, and product verification testing. It also provides value-added services, such as engineering change-order management, cost reduction redesign, component obsolescence management, product feature expansion, test enhancement, and component re-sourcing. In addition, the company offers prototyping and new product introduction services comprising assembly of prototype products, materials management, analysis of the manufacturability and testability of a design, test implementation, and pilot productio n. Further, it provides test equipment development; material sourcing and procurement; agile manufacturing; fulfillment and logistic; after-market support; and regulatory requirements services. The company serves the wireline/networking, wireless infrastructure, medical, industrial/commercial, and defense/security/aerospace markets in the United States, Malaysia, China, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Romania. Plexus Corp. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Evan Niu, CFA]

    What: Shares of Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS  ) have jumped today by as much as 13% after the company reported earnings results.

    So what: Revenue in the fiscal third quarter totaled $571.9 million, well ahead of the Street consensus of $565 million. Earnings per share were $0.68, similarly topping expectations of just $0.58 per share. CEO Dean Foate said the strong results were driven by the networking and communications as well as the health care and life sciences sectors.

Top Casino Stocks To Buy For 2015: Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc(SVNT)

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing KRYSTEXXA, a biologic PEGylated uricase in the United States. The KRYSTEXXA is being developed as a treatment for chronic gout in patients refractory to conventional therapy. The company also sells and distributes branded and generic versions of oxandrolone, a drug used to promote weight gain following involuntary weight loss. It sells its products directly to drug wholesalers. The company, formerly known as Bio-Technology General Corp. and changed its name to Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in June 2003. Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By James E. Brumley]

    Since 2008's implosion from the stock, the interest in Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SVNT) has been waning. There was a brief burst of bullishness in September of last year, which stirred the bullish pot a little. But, when SVNT started to fade in October of that year - just as quickly as it had perked up - what lingering hopes there were for the stock finally started to melt away. By the middle of this year, pretty much everyone had written Savient Pharmaceuticals off as a lost cause. Big mistake. Over the last few days, SVNT has almost wiggled its way buck into a bullish zone.

  • [By James E. Brumley]

    It's still too soon to say Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SVNT) is off and running. In fact, the stock's decidedly NOT off and running yet. But, it's not too soon to put SVNT on your watchlist of potential breakout candidates, as it's much closer to a breakout than most anyone can see.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (AEL)

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in the insurance business in 50 states and the District of Columbia. The company underwrites fixed annuities, including fixed index annuities and fixed rate annuities, as well as single premium immediate annuities. It also offers life insurance products comprising traditional ordinary and term, universal life, and other interest-sensitive life insurance products. The company markets its products through a brokerage distribution network of approximately 60 national marketing organizations and approximately 24,000 independent agents. American Equity Investment Life Holding Company was founded in 1995 and is based in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By CRWE]

    American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE:AEL), a leading underwriter of index and fixed rate annuities, reported that Wendy C. Waugaman, Chief Executive Officer and President, will take a medical leave of absence, effective immediately. She will remain on American Equity�� Board of Directors and will participate in certain management and strategic discussions as her health permits.

  • [By U.S. News]

    In at least one Texas bank and one Ohio credit union, 3D video banking is currently undergoing testing, according to TheFinancialBrand.com, a website for bank and credit union marketing executives. Three-dimensional video banking is similar to a consumer video conference with a bank representative –- only in this case, the executive looks like a living, breathing person sitting across from you. Thanks to theater surround sound, the representative also sounds as if they're in the same room. And since the consumer is interacting with a real person and not an automated hologram, the experience apparently isn't much different than the real thing. Banking and managing money isn't what it used to be. The 1970s and 1980s brought us the rise of the ATM. Consumers became acquainted with online banking during the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s. The 2010s are shaping up as the era of mobile banking. That was underscored Sept. 10-11 in New York City when Mitek Systems Inc. (MITK), a San Diego-based technology company, debuted its Mobile Photo Account Opening product at Finovate, a trade show where banking tech products are often unveiled. The product allows consumers to open a bank account within 60 seconds. If you have your bank's app, you can use your smartphone's camera to take a photo of the front and back of your driver's license, and presto, your new checking, savings or credit card account is open. Here's a look at other financial products and services personal financial experts think we'll be using in the future. Within 10 years. "The economic payments system will begin to 'know us,' either through biometrics, optical sensor or facial recognition," says Joshua Siegel, managing principal of StoneCastle Partners, a New York-based asset management firm that invests in banks. That's already happening to some extent with smartphones –- the new Apple (AAPL) iPhone 5S, for example, uses fingerprint scanning to unlock the phone. Meanwhile, some fi

  • [By Louis Navellier]

    American Equity Life (AEL) specializes in fixed-rate and index annuities, and business has been booming as cautious investors and savers look for places to put their money. The company has posted four consecutive positive earnings surprises, causing analysts to raise their estimates for 2014 in the past few months. The shares are still cheap when viewed thought the lenses of the P/E ratio, but more importantly, AEL has the type of solid fundamentals and investor demand that signify a potential winning stock. Shares of American Equity were upgraded to an ����grade back in August, and AEL remains a ��trong buy.��/p>

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Echelon Corporation(ELON)

Echelon Corporation develops, markets, and supports energy control networking solutions worldwide. Its solutions enable everyday devices, such as air conditioners, appliances, electricity meters, light switches, thermostats, and valves to be inter-connected; and energy control networking platform powers energy-savings applications for smart grid, smart cities, and smart buildings. The company?s product portfolio includes twisted pair smart transceivers that can be embedded into building automation devices, such as sensors, thermostats, motion detectors, air handlers, and chillers; SmartServer controller, a system manager and field controller for building networks and smart-energy applications; LonWorks control networks software (LNS) and OpenLNS operating system, which are development and integration tools; and third party energy management or grid analytics software, and apps for the SmartServer in hosted or server-based configurations. It also offers PL/RF Bridge to con nect segments of streetlights to a SmartServer; smart meters that provide load profiling, time-of-use, display of energy consumption, and prepaid metering payment capabilities; edge control nodes that connect smart meters and open smart grid protocol (OGSP) -based grid devices; and networked energy system software to retrieve data from smart meters and other OSGP-based devices. In addition, the company provides Element Manager, a browser based software that provides network analysis, graphed statistics, and automated network management; and control point modules that enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to build OSGP compliant smart grid devices. It serves OEMs and systems integrators in the building, industrial, transportation, utility/home, and other automation markets through direct sales organization, electronics representatives, value-added resellers, and distributors. Echelon Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    Although small cap smart metering stock Silver Spring Networks Inc (NYSE: SSNI) recently soared on earnings, it also plunged yesterday�after loosing�out on important contract ��meaning it might be time to take a closer look at it along with other smart metering stocks like Itron, Inc (NASDAQ: ITRI) or Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) to see if they are smart investments.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: LCA-Vision Inc.(LCAV)

LCA-Vision Inc. provides fixed-site laser vision correction services through its LasikPlus vision centers. Its vision centers offer laser vision correction services for correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated 53 LasikPlus fixed-site laser vision correction centers located in metropolitan markets in the United States. LCA-Vision Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    LCA-Vision (LCAV) provides fixed-site laser vision correction services through its LasikPlus vision centers. This stock closed up 4.4% to $4 in Tuesday's trading session.

    Tuesday's Range: $3.85-$4.04

    52-Week Range: $2.67-$4.60

    Tuesday's Volume: 162,000

    Three-Month Average Volume: 47,256

    From a technical perspective, LCAV bounced sharply higher here right above some near-term support levels at $3.75 to $372 with above-average volume. This move is quickly pushing shares of LCAV within range of triggering a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if LCAV manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $4.04 to $4.26 and then once it takes out its 52-week high at $4.60 with high volume.

    Traders should now look for long-biased trades in LCAV as long as it's trending above some key near-term support levels at $3.75 to $3.72 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 47,256 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then LCAV will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $6.19 to $7.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Medical Practitioners: This industry jumped 2.82% by 10:15 am. The top performer in this industry was LCA-Vision (NASDAQ: LCAV), which rose 2.9%. LCA-Vision's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $91.12 million.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Panera Bread Company(PNRA)

Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. Its bakery-cafes offer fresh baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products, as well as provide catering services. The company also manufactures and supplies dough and other products to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of March 29, 2011, it owned and franchised 1,467 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Daniel Sparks]

    For Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) , the stakes are high. Can the bakery-cafe continue on its impressive growth trajectory? On Tuesday, shareholders will get a chance to check in on the company to see whether or not the company's growth story is still hot.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Some investors are still nervous about the high share price for the stock, suggesting that even solid growth isn't enough. But Starbucks has already demonstrated that it's up to the growth challenge. With its juice- and tea-company acquisitions, Starbucks has aimed at offering a complete line of beverages to beat out coffee offerings from Dunkin' Brands (NASDAQ: DNKN  ) while holding off other competitors seeking to carve away specialized niches from its grasp. At the same time, Starbucks' purchase of La Boulange should serve to fend off challenges from Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) , which has followed a similar strategy as Starbucks yet come at it from the opposite direction, starting with its healthy baked goods and then gradually expanding its offerings, including coffee. For Starbucks, offering panini sandwiches contributed to the company's 7% rise in U.S. sales, showing the value of combining food with its premium beverages.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: TearLab Corporation(TEAR)

TearLab Corporation operates as an ophthalmic device company. It engages in developing and commercializing TearLab Osmolarity System, a proprietary in vitro diagnostic tear testing platform that measures tear film osmolarity for the diagnosis of dry eye disease. The company?s system enables eye care practitioners to test for sensitive and specific biomarkers using nanoliters of tear film at the point-of-care. Its TearLab Osmolarity System consists of TearLab disposable, which is a single-use microfluidic microchip; TearLab pen, which is a hand-held device that interfaces with the TearLab disposable; and TearLab reader, which is a small desktop unit that allows for the docking of the TearLab disposable and the TearLab pen, as well as provides a quantitative reading for the operator. TearLab Corporation markets its system through a network of distributors in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company, formerly known as OccuLogix, Inc., was founded in 1996 and is headquart ered in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Seth Jayson]

    TearLab (Nasdaq: TEAR  ) reported earnings on May 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

    The 10-second takeaway
    For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), TearLab beat expectations on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

  • [By Roberto Pedone]

    One potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is in-vitro diagnostic player TearLab (TEAR), which is set to release numbers on Tuesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect TearLab to report revenue of $3.51 million on a loss of 13 cents per share.

    This company has managed to top Wall Street estimates two times over the last four quarters, which is a bullish earnings trend. If TearLab can delve another beat, then shares could be setting up for a large move higher.

    The current short interest as a percentage of the float for TearLab is extremely high at 37.1%. That means that out of the 25.54 million shares in the tradable float, 8.59 million shares are sold short by the bears. This is a huge short interest on a stock with a very low tradable float. If the bulls get the earnings news they're looking for, then shares of TEAR could easily explode higher post-earnings as the bears jump to cover some of their bets.

    From a technical perspective, TEAR is currently trending above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, which is bullish. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares moving higher from its low of $5.26 to its recent high of $15.18 a share. During that uptrend, shares of TEAR have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of TEAR within range of triggering a major breakout trade post-earnings.

    If you're bullish on TEAR, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $14.28 to its 52-week high at $15.18 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that registers near or above its three-month average action of 942,598 shares. If that breakout hits, then TEAR will set up to enter new 52-week high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ITUB)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., incorporated on September 9, 1943, is a bank in Brazil. The Company has four operational segments: Commercial Banking, Itau BBA, Consumer Credit and Corporate and Treasury. Commercial banking, including insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management and a variety of credit products and services for individuals, small and middle-market companies). Itau BBA includes corporate and investment banking. Consumer credit includes financial products and services to its non-accountholders. Corporate and treasury includes the results related to the trading activities in its portfolio, trading related to managing currency, interest rate and other market risk factors, gap management and arbitrage opportunities in domestic and foreign markets. It also includes the results associated with financial income from the investment of its excess capital.

On October 24, 2010, Itau Unibanco completed the integration of customer service locations throughout Brazil. In total, 998 branches and 245 customer site branches (CSB) of Unibanco were redesigned and integrated as Itau Unibanco customer service locations, thus creating a network of approximately 4,700 units in the country under the Itau brand. The Company is a financial holding company controlled by Itau Unibanco Participacoes S.A. (IUPAR). As of December 31, 2010, it had a network of 3,747 service branches throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 913 CSBs throughout Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 28,844 automated teller machines (ATMs) throughout Brazil.

Commercial banking

The commercial banking segment offers a range of banking services to a diversified base of individuals and companies. Services offered by the commercial banking segment include insurance, pension plan and capitalization products, credit cards, asset management, credit products and customized products and solutions. The commercial banking segment comprises the specialized! areas and products, such as retail banking (individuals); public sector banking; personnalite (banking for high-income individuals); private banking (banking and financial consulting for wealthy individuals); very small business banking; small business banking; middle-market banking; credit cards; real estate financing; asset management; corporate social responsibility fund; securities services for third parties; brokerage, and insurance, private retirement and capitalization products.

The Company�� credit products include personal loans, overdraft protection, payroll loans, vehicles, credit cards, mortgage and agricultural loans, working capital, trade note discount and export. Its investments products include pension plans, mutual funds, time deposits, demand deposit accounts, savings accounts and capitalization plans. Its services include insurance (life, home, credit/cash cards, vehicles, loan protection, among others), exchange, brokerage and others. Its core business is retail banking, which serves individuals with a monthly income below R$7,000. In October 2010, it completed the conversion of branches under the Unibanco brand to the Itau brand and as of December 31, 2010, it had over 15.2 million customers and 4,660 branches and CSBs. Its public sector business operates in all areas of the public sector, including the federal, state and municipal governments (in the executive, legislative and judicial branches). As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 2,300 public sector customers. Itau Personnalite�� focus is delivering financial advisory services by its managers, who understand the specific needs of its higher-income customers; a portfolio of exclusive products and services; special benefits based on the type and length of relationship with the customer, including discounts on various products and services. Itau Personnalite�� customer base reached more than 600,000 individuals as of December 31, 2010. Itau Personnalite customers also have access to Itau Unibanco netwo! rk of bra! nches and ATMs throughout the country, as well as Internet banking and phone.

Itau Private Bank is a Brazilian bank in the global private banking industry, providing wealth management services to approximately 17,951 Latin American clients as of December 31, 2010. The Company serves its customers��needs for offshore wealth management solutions in major jurisdictions through independent institutions in the United States through Banco Itau Europa International and Itau Europa Securities , in Luxembourg through Banco Itau Europa Luxembourg S.A. , in Switzerland through Banco Itau Suisse , in the Bahamas through BIE Bank & Trust Bahamas and in Cayman through Unicorp Bank & Trust Cayman. As of December 31, 2010, it had over 565 very small business banking offices located throughout Brazil and approximately 2,500 managers working for over 1,235,000 small business customers. Loans to very small businesses totaled R$5,981 million as of December 31, 2010. As of December 31, 2010, it had 374 small business banking offices located nationwide in Brazil and nearly 2,500 managers who worked for over 525,000 companies. Loans to small businesses totaled R$28,744 million as of December 31, 2010.

As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 115,000 middle-market corporate customers that represented a range of Brazilian companies located in over 83 cities in Brazil. The Company offers a range of financial products and services to middle-market customers, including deposit accounts, investment options, insurance, private retirement plans and credit products. Credit products include investment capital loans, working capital loans, inventory financing, trade financing, foreign currency services, equipment leasing services, letters of credit and guarantees. The Company also carries out financial transactions on behalf of middle-market customers, including interbank transactions, open market transactions and futures, swaps, hedging and arbitrage transactions. It also offers its middle-market custom! ers colle! ction services and electronic payment services. The Company is able to provide these services for virtually any kind of payment, including Internet office banking. It charges collection fees and fees for making payments, such as payroll, on behalf of its customers.

The Company is engaged in the Brazilian credit card market. Its subsidiaries, Banco Itaucard S.A. (Banco Itaucard) and Hipercard Banco Multiplo S.A. (Hipercard), offers a range of products to 26 million customers as of December 31, 2010, including both accountholders and non-accountholders. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately R$16,271 million in outstanding real estate loans. As of December 31, 2010, it had total net assets under management of R$291,748 million on behalf of approximately 2.1 million customers. The Company also provides portfolio management services for pension funds, corporations, private bank customers and foreign investors. As of December 31, 2010, it had R$184,496 million of assets under management for pension funds, corporations and private bank customers. As of December 31, 2010, the Company offered and managed about 1,791 mutual funds, which are mostly fixed-income and money market funds. For individual customers, it offered 154 funds to its retail customers and approximately 287 funds to its Itau Personnalite customers. Private banking customers may invest in over 600 funds, including those offered by other institutions. Itau BBA�� capital markets group also provides tailor-made mutual funds to institutional, corporate and private banking customers.

The Company provides securities services in the Brazilian capital markets. Its services also include acting as transfer agent, providing services relating to debentures and promissory notes, custody and control services for mutual funds, pension funds and portfolios, providing trustee services and non-resident investor services, and acting as custodian for depositary receipt programs. The Company also provides brokerage services to inte! rnational! customers through its broker-dealer operations in New York, through its London branch, and through its broker-dealers in Hong Kong and Dubai. Its main lines of insurance are life and casualty (excluding Vida Gerador de Benefucio Livre), extended warranties and property. Its policies are sold through its banking operations, independent local brokers, multinational brokers and other channels. As of December 31, 2010, it had 9.9 million in capitalization products outstanding, representing R$2,620 million in liabilities with assets that function as guarantees of R$2,646 million. The Company distributes these products through its retail network, Itau Personnalite and Itau Uniclass branches, electronic channels and ATMs. These products are sold by its subsidiary, Cia. Itau de Capitalizacao S.A.

Itau BBA

Itau BBA is responsible for its corporate and investment banking activities. As of December 31, 2010, Itau BBA offered a portfolio of products and services to approximately 2,400 companies and conglomerates in Brazil. Itau BBA�� activities range from typical operations of a commercial bank to capital markets operations and advisory services for mergers and acquisitions. As of December 31, 2010, its corporate loan portfolio was R$ 76,584 million. In investment banking, the fixed income department was responsible for the issuance of debentures and promissory notes that totaled R$18,888 million and securitization transactions that amounted to R$4,677 million in Brazil in 2010. In addition, Itau BBA advised 35 merger and acquisition transactions with an aggregate deal volume of R$16,973 million in 2010.

Itau BBA is also active in Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES) on-lending to finance large-scale projects, aiming at strengthening domestic infrastructure. In consolidated terms, total loans granted by Itau BBA under BNDES on-lending represented more than R$9,010 million in 2010. Itau BBA focuses on the products and initiatives in the international ! business ! unit, such as structuring long-term, bilateral and syndicated financing, and spot foreign exchange. In addition, in 2010 Itau BBA continued to offer a large number of lines of credit for foreign trade.

Consumer Credit

As of December 31, 2010, its portfolio of vehicle financing, leasing and consortium lending consisted of approximately 3.8 million contracts, of which approximately 71.1% were non-accountholder customers. The personal loan portfolio relating to vehicle financing and leasing reached R$60,254 million in 2010. The Company leased and financed vehicles through 13,706 dealers as of December 31, 2010. Sales are made through computer terminals installed in the dealerships that are connected to its computer network. Redecard S.A. (Redecard) is a multibrand credit card provider in Brazil, also responsible for the capturing, transmission, processing and settlement of credit, debit and benefit card transactions. As of December 31, 2010, the Company held approximately 50% interest in Redecard�� capital stock.

The Company competes with Bradesco, Banco do Brasil S.A. (Banco do Brasil), Banco Santander, Caixa Economica Federal (CEF), BNDES, HSBC, Banco Citibank S.A, Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil) S.A., Banco JP Morgan S.A., Banco Morgan Stanley S.A., Banco Merrill Lynch de Investimentos S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco Panamericano S.A, Citibank S.A., Banco GE Capital S.A. and Banco Ibi S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Charles Sizemore]

    And speaking of top dividend stocks with high capital gains potential, next on the list of are Brazilian banking groups Banco Bradesco (BBD) and Banco Itau (ITUB) — two monthly dividend stocks you must consider.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc.(WPI)

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and distribution of generic and brand pharmaceutical products in the United States, western Europe, Canada, Australasia, Asia, South America, and South Africa. The company offers its products for therapeutic categories, such as central nervous system, cardiovascular, hormones and synthetic substitutes, anti-infective agents, and urology. It operates in three segments: Global Generics, Global Brands, and Distribution. The Global Generics segment develops, manufactures, and sells generic pharmaceutical products, as well as distributes generic versions of third parties? brand products. This segment offers various dosage forms, such as oral solids, transdermals, injectables, inhalation products, and transmucosals for indications, including pregnancy prevention, pain management, depression, hypertension, and smoking cessation. The Global Brands segment pr omotes and co-promotes Rapaflo, Gelnique, Trelstar, Androderm, Crinone, ella, INFeD, Generess, sodium ferric gluconate, AndroGel, and Femring branded products; and markets its products through sales professionals. It also sells various non-promoted products. The Distribution segment distributes generic and select brand pharmaceutical products, vaccines, injectables, and over-the-counter medicines to independent pharmacies, alternate care providers, pharmacy chains, and physicians? offices. The company sells its generic and brand pharmaceutical products primarily to drug wholesalers, retailers, and distributors, including national retail drug and food store chains, hospitals, clinics, mail order, government agencies, and managed healthcare providers, such as health maintenance organizations and other institutions. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Holly LaFon] n Pharmaceuticals stock has been on a decidedly upward trajectory in the last five years, increasing 108 percent. It became slightly cheaper in 2011, however. Dalio has been trading the stock for years but most recently he bought 314,360 shares at about $65 per share in the fourth quarter of 2011 after the stock had ventured off of its 52-week high of $73.35 it climbed to in the middle of the year.

    Watson has a long-term record of profitability and growth, with an 11.9% 10-year revenue per share growth rate and 14.2% 10-year free cash flow per share growth rate.

    Though the stock price declined in late 2011, the company in November reported double-digit net revenue and earnings growth. The company also announced that month an exclusive agreement with Pfizer Inc. (PFE) to launch a generic version of Lipitor, the world�� best-selling drug in the history of pharmaceuticals. It also received approval from the FDA to start producing a generic version of the birth control drug Yaz that month, a drug with sales of $173 million in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2011.

    In February, Watson announced a full-year 2011 net revenue increase of 29 percent and EPS increase of 39 percent, due in large part to the successful launch of a total of 189 generic products globally for the year. Currently it is using its strong cash position to invest in growth markets, Canada and European operations.

    In spite of the good news and increasing its full-year revenue forecast by $100 million to about $5.4 billion, the stock is up just 0.05 percent year to date.

    Dalio�� next largest purchase was Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B), and three new buys: BCE Inc. (BCE), The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), and Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU).

    Dalio staking over 32 percent of his fund in emerging markets is tantamount to a forecast that emerging markets will outperform from the macro guru. His other top purchases have clear growth prospects. To see more of what Dalio

  • [By Louis Navellier]

    Actavis Plc is one of the world’s largest generic drugmakers. For the past three decades, this company was known as Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI), but the company rebranded itself as Actavis in 2013. With a portfolio of over 190 pharmaceutical product families, Actavis has its name on everything from antibiotics to contraceptives to smoking cessation treatments.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Semgroup Corporation(SEMG)

SemGroup Corporation provides gathering, transportation, storage, distribution, blending, marketing, and other midstream services primarily to independent producers, refiners of petroleum products, and other market participants in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States, Canada, and the West Coast of the United Kingdom. It also purchases, stores, and sells natural gas liquids in the United States; provides natural gas gathering and processing services in Canada and the United States; offers refined products and crude oil storage services in the United Kingdom; and purchases, produces, stores, and distributes liquid asphalt cement products in Mexico. The company owns, contracts, and leases various pipelines, gathering systems, storage facilities, terminals, processing plants, blending facilities, and other distribution assets. It operates approximately 1,400 miles of natural gas transportation, gathering, and distribution pipelines in Kansas, Oklahoma, T exas and Alberta, Canada. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Robert Rapier]

    Rose Rock Midstream (NYSE: RRMS) isn’t a name we have discussed much here. RRMS is an MLP that owns oil-gathering, storage and transportation assets in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas. The MLP was formed by midstream energy giant SemGroup (NYSE: SEMG), which acts as the general partner. RRMS had its IPO in December 2011 with an initial EV of $1.2 billion and a minimum yield of 4.7 percent.

  • [By Holly LaFon]

    In early August SemGroup (SEMG), an owner and operator of oil and gas midstream assets, including pipelines and storage and blending facilities, closed on an opportunistic purchase of assets from Chesapeake Energy. The assets nicely complement SemGroup's existing core assets that stretch from Colorado to Oklahoma. While SemGroup will have to spend money to complete the assets��oney that financially distressed Chesapeake likely could not justify��e view the expenditures favorably given their high return characteristics.From Third Avenue Management's fourth quarter 2013 commentary.

  • [By Aimee Duffy]

    At this point, it's not really news when Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK  ) reports that it's selling assets to anyone who will buy them. The company's quest to scrape together $4 billion to $7 billion to cover its budget shortfall this year has it in the news seemingly every other week. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy discusses Chesapeake's most recent divestiture, and why the real winner in this $300 million deal is the buyer: Tulsa's SemGroup (NYSE: SEMG  ) .

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Ishares S&P 500 (IVV)

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, formerly iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of United States large-cap stocks, as represented by the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market. The Index serves as the underlying index for the S&P 500/Citigroup Growth and Value Index series.

The Index is a capitalization-weighted index from a range of industries chosen for market size, liquidity and industry group representation. The component stocks are weighted according to the total float-adjusted market value of their outstanding shares. The Index is adjusted to reflect changes in capitalization resulting from mergers, acquisitions, stock rights, substitutions and other capital events. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisor.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By John Udovich]

    One of the most famous scenes in the cult classic, the Graduate, was when Mr. McGuire�took Dustin Hoffman�� character aside and said�"Ben, I want to say one word to you, just one word: Plastics"; but what about the Berry Plastics Group Inc (NYSE: BERY) and its performance verses that of the�iShares S&P 500 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV), iShares Russell Midcap Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: IWR) and iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: IJR)? I should mention that plastics and the Berry Plastics Group was not the place to be yesterday as the stock took a tumble on reduced guidance.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Much smaller is the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: IVV  ) . With about $43 billion under management, the iShares ETF comes with lower expenses of 0.07%, but much lower average daily volume of just 3.8 million shares. Like the Spiders, its share price roughly corresponds to a tenth of the value of the S&P 500 index.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Moreover, during extremely bullish periods, investors tend to drive up shares of investment management companies. Take a look at how BlackRock stock has performed over the past six months, compared to shares of its two largest ETFs, iShares Core S&P 500 (NYSEMKT: IVV  ) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSEMKT: EEM  ) :

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Nektar Therapeutics(NKTR)

Nektar Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing a pipeline of drug candidates that utilize its PEGylation and polymer conjugate technology platforms. The company?s product pipeline consists of drug candidates across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, pain, anti-infectives, anti-viral, and immunology. Its research and development activities involve small molecule drugs, peptides, and other potential biologic drug candidates. The company?s proprietary drug candidates in clinical development comprise NKTR-118, a peripheral opioid antagonist, which has completed Phase II clinical trail for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation; BAY41-6551 that has completed Phase II clinical trail to treat gram-negative pneumonias; NKTR-102, a topoisomerase I inhibitor-polymer conjugate, which is in Phase II clinical trail for multiple cancer indications, including breast, ovarian, and colorectal; and NKTR-105 that is in Phase I clinica l trail to treat solid tumors. Its preclinical products consists of NKTR-119 (Opioid/NKTR-118 combinations) for the treatment of pain; NKTR-181 (abuse deterrent, tamper-resistant opioid) to treat pain; NKTR-194 (non-scheduled opioid) for the treatment of mild to moderate pain; NKTR-171 (tricyclic antidepressant) to treat neuropathic pain; and NKTR-140 (protease inhibitor candidate) to treat HIV. The company has collaboration with Bayer Healthcare LLC to develop BAY41-6551 (NKTR-061, Amikacin Inhale), which is an inhaled solution of amikacin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic; and a license agreement with AstraZeneca AB for the development and commercialization of Oral NKTR-118 and NKTR-119. In addition, Nektar Therapeutics has various license, manufacturing, and supply agreements for its technology with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, such as Affymax, Amgen, Baxter, Roche, Merck, Pfizer, and UCB Pharma. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in San Franc isco, California.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Sean Williams]

    Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR  ) delivered a double-digit gain for shareholders this week after reporting positive top-line data for NKTR-181, its oral chronic pain-treatment drug. NKTR-181 is an opioid-based compound that's designed to enter the brain slower than traditional opiates like oxycodone without sacrificing effectiveness and ultimately reducing addiction-like qualities to the medication. In trials, the data demonstrated that NKTR-181 had a statistically significant lower "drug liking" and "feeling high" score than oxycodone. While I'd certainly exercise caution in getting too excited, as the Food and Drug Administration is very harsh with regard to its regulation of opioid-based drugs, it's nonetheless good news for Nektar.

  • [By John McCamant]

    Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) is expected to get FDA approval this year for its lead drug naloxegol, a once-a-day pill for opioid-induced constipation (OIC). The drug is licensed to AstraZeneca. NKTR will receive up to $245 million in milestone payments, plus royalties.

Top 10 Building Product Stocks To Invest In 2015: Sysco Corporation(SYY)

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, distributes food and related products primarily to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in North America and Europe. The company offers a line of frozen foods, such as meats, fully prepared entrees, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; a line of canned and dry foods; fresh meats, custom-cut fresh steaks, other meat, seafood, and poultry; dairy products; beverage products; imported specialties; and fresh produce. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products, such as disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware, which include china and silverware; cookware comprising pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. In addition, the company offers personal care guest amenities, equipment, housekeeping supplies, room accessories, and textiles to the lodging industry. It serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, schools and colleges, hotels and mote ls, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Sysco Corporation was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ben Levisohn]

    The S&P 500 got a lift from Sysco (SYY), which gained 10% to $37.62 after purchasing a competitor,� Davita HealthCare Partners (DVA), which rose 6.7% to $62.17, and Cabot Oil & Gas (COG), which reported stronger than expected production in the Marcellus region. Big losers include Newfield Exploration (NFX), which dropped 8% to $24.33 after offering disappointing production guidance, and Edwards Lifesciences (EW), which fell 5.4% to $62.73 after releasing disappointing earnings guidance.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    Next Monday, Sysco (NYSE: SYY  ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.

  • [By DAILYFINANCE]

    David J. Phillip/APSysco's Houston corporate office. HOUSTON -- One of the largest food supply companies is buying one of its key rivals, creating an even larger, global distribution company. Sysco is buying privately held US Foods for about $3.5 billion in cash and stock. When the deal closes, Sysco expects the addition of US Foods to boost its annual sales by about 46 percent to around $65 billion. Sysco shares jumped as much as 26 percent Monday, setting an all-time high. Houston's Sysco will pay $3 billion in common stock and $500 million in cash. It will also assume or refinance about $4.7 billion in debt. That puts the total value of the deal at about $8.2 billion. Sysco President and CEO Bill DeLaney said that the two companies have highly complementary core strengths including large product portfolios. For the fiscal year that ended in June, Sysco's sales totaled $44.41 billion. It trucks food and cooking supplies to about 425,000 customers through 193 locations in the U.S., Bahamas, Canada, Ireland and Northern Ireland. US Foods' customers include independent and chain restaurants, health care and hospitality companies, and government and educational institutions. Major stakeholders in the company, based just outside of Chicago, in Rosemont, Ill., include Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Representatives from both of those investment firms will join Sysco's board. When the deal closes, US Foods shareholders will own about 87 million shares, or about 13 percent, of Sysco's common stock. The buyout has been approved by the boards of both companies. Sysco said it expects the deal, which is set to close in the third calendar quarter of 2014, to immediately boost its profit after adjusting for acquisition-related costs and expenses. It's also expected to create annual cost savings of at least $600 million after three or four years. Moody's Investors Service placed all of Sysco's ratings, including its investment-g

  • [By Shauna O'Brien]

    Shares of SYSCO Corporation (SYY) were up over 29% on Monday morning after the company announced that it has agreed to acquire US Foods.

    Sysco will acquire US Foods for a total of $3.5 billion. The deal also include Sysco assuming or refinancing US Food’s net debt, which is approximately $4.7 billion. The total enterprise value of this deal will be $8.2 billion.

    The deal will result in equity holders of US Foods owning 87 million shares, or 13%, of SYY. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014. The combined company will be run by SYY’s president and CEO Bill DeLaney.

    DeLaney commented: “As we continue on our transformational journey at Sysco, this transaction will position us to significantly accelerate our progress in achieving the vision we have for our company: to be our customers’ most valued and trusted business partner. Sysco and US Foods have highly complementary core strengths including a broad product portfolio and passionate food people deeply committed to customer service, quality-assured products and safety. In particular we look forward to welcoming US Foods’ talented employees and continuing to invest in the development of all of our people. Together we will strive to enhance shareholder value by providing our customers with highly differentiated products and services.”

    SYSCO shares were up $10.19, or 29.70%, during pre-market trading Monday. The stock is up 8% YTD.

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