Top High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014

I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.

I predicted that BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY  ) would close lower on the week. The hype that's been building for months surrounding the domestic launch of the Z10 hasn't matched the reality now that the country's two largest carriers have the new BlackBerry device available. Still, the stock rallied earlier in the week, holding on to enough of those gains to close out the week 1.7% higher. I was wrong. I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) . This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, it didn't. The Nasdaq got blasted for a 1.9% hit, and the Dow managed to close barely unchanged, with only a marginal downtick. I was wrong. My final call was for Conn's (NASDAQ: CONN  ) to beat Wall Street's quarterly profit target. The consumer-electronics retailer has been able to sidestep the stagnancy taking place at larger chains because Conn's offers larger items, including mattresses and lawn-maintenance equipment, that can't be easily replaced online. The company also has been beating Wall Street estimates consistently over the past year. Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.55 a share during the quarter, and it came through with net income of $0.54. I was wrong.

I missed on all three. That doesn't happen often, and I know I can do better. So let me once again whip out my trusty, dusty, and occasionally accurate crystal ball to make three calls that may play out over the next few trading days.

Top 5 Gas Companies To Buy Right Now: Constellation Brands Inc (STZ.B)

Constellation Brands, Inc., incorporated on December 4, 1972, is a producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits with operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Italy. The Company�� beer brands include Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo and Pacifico. Its wine brands consist of Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Kim Crawford, Rex Goliath, Mark West, Franciscan Estate, Ruffino and Jackson-Triggs. The Company�� spirits brands include SVEDKA Vodka and Black Velvet Canadian Whisky. The Company has more than 100 brands in its portfolio, sales in approximately 100 countries and has about 40 facilities.

Beer

The Company imports markets and sells Mexican Beer Brands in all 50 states of the United States, which includes Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Pacifico, Negra Modelo and Victoria. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2014 (fiscal 2014), the Company had 15 imported beer brands in the United States. During fiscal 2014, the Company introduced Modelo Especial Chelada, a blend of Modelo Especial with flavors of tomato, salt and lime.

Wine and Spirits

The Company sells a range of wine brands across all categories, such as table wine, sparkling wine and dessert wine in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Its wine produced in the United States is primarily marketed domestically and in Canada and the United Kingdom. The wine produced in Canada is primarily marketed domestically. Wine produced in New Zealand is primarily marketed in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and domestically. Wine produced in Italy is primarily marketed in the United States, Canada and domestically. In addition, it also exports its wine products to other world markets. Its spirits business, Svedka Vodka is imported from Sweden.

The Company sells its wine brands in the United States, which comprise its United States Focus Brands (Focus Brands) includes Arbor Mist, Inniskillin, Rex Go! liath, Black Box, Kim Crawford, Robert Mondavi, Blackstone, Mark West, Ruffino, Clos du Bois, Mount Veeder, Simi, Estancia, Nobilo, Toasted Head, Franciscan Estate, Ravenswood and Wild Horse. Its spirits brands include Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and Svedka Vodka.

Corporate Operations and Other

The Corporate Operations and Other segment includes corporate-related items, including executive management, corporate development, corporate finance, human resources, internal audit, investor relations, legal, public relations and global information technology.

The Company competes with Anheuser-Busch InBev, MillerCoors, Heineken, E&J Gallo Winery, The Wine Group, Trinchero, Treasury Wine Estates, Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Kendall-Jackson, Andrew Peller, Kruger, Pernod Ricard, Lion Nathan, Diageo, Beam, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi and Brown-Forman.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By sandyinvestment]

  As the craft beer industry has a considerable measure of room to develop, Boston Beer confronts rivalry from Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) and Constellation Brands (STZ) (STZ.B). Each of the three organizations have had great runs on the Street, however Boston Beer and Constellation Brands have been the greatest outperformers. We should investigate each of them.

Top High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Collectors Universe Inc. (CLCT)

Collectors Universe, Inc. provides authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value coins, trading cards, event tickets, autographs, memorabilia, and stamps in the United States. It offers authentication and grading services for coins under the Professional Coin Grading Service brand name; sports and trading cards under the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) brand name; vintage autographs and memorabilia under the PSA/DNA authentication services brand name; and stamps under the Professional Stamp Experts brand name. The company also publishes authoritative price guides, rarity reports, and other collectibles data to provide collectors with information. In addition, it operates the Certified Coin Exchange business-to-business Website, certifiedcoinexchange.com, where dealers can sell and purchase certified coins and other certified collectibles; and Collectors Corner Business-to-Consumer Website, collectorscorner.com, a business-to-consumer W ebsite where consumers can visit, identify, search, sort over, and select for purchase coins, trading cards, and items of currency that are certified by the company, as well as Collectors Clubs for coin, currency, and trading card collectors; and manages and operates collectibles trade shows and conventions. The company provides its services to dealers, collectors, and retail buyers and sellers of collectibles. Collectors Universe, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jeff Hwang]

  Such multiple expansion may be a natural product of time (i.e., older cards naturally carry larger premiums over time), or more likely a combination of time and the card removal effect. That is, over time, the best examples of a given card get graded by Beckett Grading Services or Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), a division of Collectors Universe (NASDAQ: CLCT  ) , and are thus removed from the pool of ungraded cards; as a consequence, the value of ungraded cards declines in relation to the value of graded cards (or the value of graded cards rises in relation to ungraded cards), resulting in multiple expansion.

Top High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Stillwater Mining Company(SWC)

Stillwater Mining Company engages in developing, extracting, processing, smelting, refining, and marketing palladium, platinum, and platinum group metals (PGMs). The company conducts its mining operations at the Stillwater mine, which is located near Nye, Montana; and at the East Boulder mine located near Big Timber, Montana. It is also involved in developing Marathon, a PGM/copper property, which is located in Ontario, Canada; and exploring Altar, a copper/gold property located in San Juan, Argentina. In addition, the company operates a smelter and base metal refinery located in Columbus, Montana. Further, it recycles spent catalyst material to recover palladium, platinum, and rhodium at its smelter and base metal refinery. As of December 31, 2011, the company had proven and probable ore reserves of approximately 42.5 million tons at its Montana operations; and approximately 91.4 million tones at the Marathon development project. Stillwater Mining Company was founded in 1 992 and is headquartered in Billings, Montana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The tit-for-tat sniping between platinum group metals miner Stillwater Mining (NYSE: SWC  ) and activist shareholder Clinton Group continues after the latter rejected a settlement offer and sought to give its own interpretation of statements the miner made.

• [By Mani]

  Outside of South Africa, only a few listed companies operate in this space, Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE:SWC) is one among them. Stillwater has steered clear of the flawed copper strategy and is now re-focused on making more of the PGM asset base.

Top High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Athlon Energy Inc (ATHL)

Athlon Energy Inc., incorporated on April 1, 2013, is an independent exploration and production company. The Company is a holding company and its sole assets are controlling equity interests in Athlon Holdings LP and its subsidiaries. The Company is focused on the acquisition, development and exploitation of unconventional oil and liquids-rich natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin. The Permian Basin spans portions of Texas and New Mexico and consists of three primary sub-basins: the Delaware Basin, the Central Basin Platform and the Midland Basin. The Company�� properties are located in the Midland Basin. Its drilling activity is focused on the vertical development of stacked pay zones, including the Spraberry, Wolfcamp, Cline, Strawn, Atoka and Mississippian formations, which it refers to collectively as the Wolfberry play. The Company's acreage position was 124,925 gross at May 31, 2013, which it grousp into three primary areas based on geographic location within the Midland Basin: Howard, Midland and Other and Glasscock. As of April 30, 2013, the Company operated up to eight vertical drilling rigs and has drilled 218 gross operated vertical Wolfberry wells. In February 2014, Athlon Energy Inc announced that subsidiary, Athlon Holdings LP completed the acquisition of certain oil and natural gas properties and related assets in the Midland Basin of West Texas.

As of March 15, 2013, there were 478 total rigs operating in the Permian Basin. The Company�� properties are located within the Midland Basin in areas with approximately 3,000 feet to 4,000 feet of stacked pay zones. Its vertical drilling program is targeting the Spraberry, Wolfcamp, Cline, Strawn, Atoka and Mississippian formations.

Howard

The Company operates four rigs in this area. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 69,661 gross acres and an inventory of 1,577 gross (1,140 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 40-acre spacing and an additional 1,741 gross identified vertical drilling ! locations on 20-acre spacing. As of April 30, 2013, it had identified 506 gross horizontal drilling locations consisting of 147 gross Wolfcamp A locations, 172 gross Wolfcamp B locations, 25 gross Wolfcamp C locations, 111 gross Cline locations and 51 gross Mississippian locations.

Midland and Other

The Company operates two rigs in this area. As of May 31, 2013, the Company had 36,694 gross acres and an inventory of 424 gross (390 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 40-acre spacing and an additional 463 gross (414 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 20-acre spacing. As of April 30, 2013, it has identified 352 gross horizontal drilling locations consisting of 64 gross Wolfcamp A locations, 125 gross Wolfcamp B locations, 97 gross Wolfcamp C locations and 66 gross Cline locations.

Glasscock

The Company operates one rig in this area. As of May 31, 2013, it had 18,570 gross net acres and an inventory of 297 gross (267 net) identified vertical drilling locations on 40-acre spacing and an additional 400 gross identified vertical drilling locations on 20-acre spacing. As of April 30, 2013, it had identified 232 gross horizontal drilling locations consisting of 54 gross Wolfcamp A locations, 58 gross Wolfcamp B locations, 58 gross Wolfcamp C locations and 62 gross Cline locations.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Jarzemsky var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]

  The drillers considered to be Parsley�� closest peers include Diamondback Energy Inc.(FANG), which has seen its shares rally 38% so far this year through Thursday. Athlon Energy Inc.(ATHL), another similar company, is up 43% this year and 116% since its August IPO.

Top High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Amedisys Inc(AMED)

Amedisys, Inc., a health care company, provides home health and hospice services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Home Health and Hospice. The Home Health segment offers various services in the homes of individuals who may be recovering from an illness, injury, or surgical procedure. This segment?s services include skilled nursing, home health aides, physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social services; and chronic care clinical programs for patients with chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes, behavioral health, rehabilitative, and medical surgical conditions. The Hospice segment provides care that is designed to offer comfort and support for those who are facing a terminal illness, such as heart disease, pulmonary disease, dementia, Alzheimer?s, HIV/AIDS, or cancer. As of December 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 440 Medicare-certified home health care centers, 87 Medicare-certified hospice care centers, and 2 hospice inpatient units in 41 states within the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Amedisys, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Last week, we saw home-health sector stocks like Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED  ) and Gentiva Health Solutions (NASDAQ: GTIV  ) get clobbered because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommended a 1.5% reduction in Medicare reimbursements each year between 2014 and 2017. With Amedisys and Gentiva reliant on Medicare for more than 80% and 90% of their revenue, respectively, it could put hospitals that rely on government reimbursements in a growth bind.�

Top High Tech Stocks To Watch For 2014: Bonanza Creek Energy Inc (BCEI)

Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc., incorporated in December 2010, is an oil and natural gas company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of onshore oil and associated liquids-rich natural gas in the United States. The Company�� assets and operations were focused primarily in southern Arkansas (Mid-Continent region) and the Denver Julesburg (DJ) and North Park Basins in Colorado (Rocky Mountain region) during the year ended December 31, 2010. In addition, it owns and operates oil producing assets in the San Joaquin Basin (California region). It operated approximately 99.4% and held an average working interest of approximately 85.8% of its proved reserves as of December 31, 2010. As of December 31, 2010, its net proved reserves was 32,860 million barrels of oil equivalent (MBoe).

The Company�� proved reserves and its drilling locations in its Mid-Continent acreage are located in the Dorcheat Macedonia field and the McKamie Patton field. In the Dorcheat Macedonia field the Company averages a 83.3% working interest and 68.5% net revenue interest, and all of the Company�� acreage is held by production. It had approximately 78 gross (65.0 net) producing wells and its average net daily production during April 2011, was approximately 1,249 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d) from a proved reserves base of 15,247 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which about 64.5% was oil and natural gas liquids. As of April 30, 2011, the Company had drilled 13 gross (10.2 net) wells. Immediately northwest of the Dorcheat Macedonia field, it owns and operates the McKamie gas processing facility, which processes all of the gas from the field. It owns additional interests in the Mid-Continent region near the Dorcheat Macedonia field. These include interests in the McKamie-Patton, Atlanta and Beach Creek fields. Its estimated proved reserves in these fields as of December 31, 2010, were approximately 1,947.8 million barrels of oil equivalent, and average net daily production du! ring April 2011, was approximately 239 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The McKamie processing facility is located in Lafayette County, Arkansas and is located to serve its production in the region. The Company�� facility has a processing capacity of 15 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas and 30,000 gallons per day of natural gas liquids. The facility processes natural gas and natural gas liquids, fractionates liquids into three components for sale, and sells four products at the facility's tailgate: propane, butane, natural gasolines and natural gas. It also owns approximately 150 miles of natural gas gathering pipeline that serves the facility and surrounding field areas and 32 miles of right-of-way crossing Lafayette County that can be utilized to connect the facility to other gas fields or future sales outlets. Natural gas is sold at the tailgate of the facility into a CenterPoint pipeline connection. Fractionated natural gas liquids are held on site and trucked out by the buyer, Dufour Petroleum. The McKamie processing facility had an average net output of 749 barrels of oil equivalent per day based on the facility contracts in April, 2011.

The two main areas in which the Company operates in the Rocky Mountain region include the DJ Basin in Weld County, Colorado and the North Park Basin in Jackson County, Colorado. The DJ Basin is a structural basin centered in eastern Colorado that extends into southeast Wyoming, western Nebraska, and western Kansas. Its operations in the DJ Basin are in the oil window of the Niobrara and as of December 31, 2010, consisted of approximately 42,698 gross (29,742 net) total acres. The Company�� estimated proved reserves in the DJ Basin were 8,402 million barrels of oil equivalent at December 31, 2010. As of April 30, 2011, it had a total of 141 gross (133.6 net) producing wells and its net average daily production during April 2011, was approximately 1,124 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The Company�� working inter! est for a! ll producing wells averages is 94.8% and its net revenue interest was approximately 76.5% in 2010. The Codell sandstone and Niobrara oil shale are blanket deposits in the DJ Basin.

The Company controls 47,003 gross (39,030 net) acres in the North Park Basin in northern Jackson County, Colorado. The Basin is divided into three principal opportunities: the North and South McCallum units and the non-unit acreage. The Company operates the North and South McCallum fields. The McCallum field covers 10,277 gross (8,606 net) acres of federal land with the majority of the oil production coming from a waterflood in the Pierre B formation and the carbon dioxide production coming from naturally flowing Dakota wells. Oil production is trucked to the market while carbon dioxide production is sent to a Praxair plant for processing and delivery to the market. In the North Park Basin, its estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2010, were approximately 696.1 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which 100% were oil. Its average net production during April 2011, was approximately 140 barrels of oil equivalent per day. All of the Company�� 47,003 gross (39,030 net) acres in the North Park Basin are prospective for the Niobrara oil shale.

In California the Company owns acreage in four fields: Kern River, Midway Sunset and Greeley, which the Company operates, and Sargent, which it does not. Its estimated proved reserves in California were 886 million barrels of oil equivalent at December 31, 2010. As of April 30, 2011, we had a total of 57 gross (48.7 net) producing wells and its average net daily production was approximately 218 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its working interest for all producing wells averages 85.4% and its net revenue interest is approximately 71.9%. As of December 31, 2010, it had identified approximately 18 gross (13.6 net) PUD locations in California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Not all stocks are created equal, however, and the analysts expect some stocks to handily outperform others, and their top picks “are poised to deliver long-term, capital-efficient growth…while trading at attractive valuations that currently provide 20%+ upside to our price targets.” Their winners?�Oasis Petroleum (OAS),�Approach Resources (AREX),�Bonanza Creek Energy�(BCEI) and Gulfport Energy�(GPOR), all of which are rated Buy with Oasis also added to Goldman’s conviction list. Investors, however, should avoid �WPX Energy�(WPX), which the analysts rate a Sell. They explain why:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Another area that is intriguing to us is the North American energy sector which looks to have a number of interesting catalysts currently. While the energy sector is at present only a modest overweight in the portfolios, we have been encouraged by several trends taking place for a number of years. These positive developments are also having an impact that goes far beyond the energy sector itself. Many believe that the U.S. will become energy independent and possibly a net exporter of natural gas and oil (currently restricted by law) in the next decade. This opinion is based primarily on the development of new drilling techniques (i.e. horizontal drilling, and high pressure fracking) that have enabled companies to access oil and natural gas reserves in shale formations that were previously not economically viable. The ability to tap into this acreage is a game-changer in our view and is already having a tremendous impact on the economy. Employment rates in these mostly rural areas surrounding the shale basins are very high and companies thus find hiring extremely competitive. Strong labor markets tend to create strong local economies. Oil States International (OIS) has been able to capitalize on this trend by providing housing and other services to oil service workers that are in demand in the area. CST Brands (CST) operates gas stations in Texas, but it is increasingly looking to broaden its product offering beyond fuel. Rail companies like Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Genesee and Wyoming (GWR) have also benefited substantially. Given that shale areas are rural and often lacking infrastructure, substantial investment must be made to support drilling and production activities. Without pipelines in place, railroads have been the primary takeaway mechanism for moving production to the various clusters of refining capacity around the United States. In order to serve this demand, massive investment in railcars has been nee

• [By Robert Rapier] For those who are unaware, each month there is a joint web chat for subscribers of The Energy Strategist (TES) and MLP Profits. The chat is conducted by Igor Greenwald, managing editor for TES and chief investment strategist for MLP Profits, and myself. This month’s chat took place on Sept. 10.
  
  We place a priority on answering questions about portfolio holdings and recommendations during the chat, but often we get questions about companies we don’t currently recommend. Or, we sometimes get questions or comments about a company that require an extended answer. In these cases we push those questions to the end, and attempt to answer them if time allows. For this past chat there were several questions remaining at the end, which I will address here today. For each company, a brief background is presented for readers who may not be familiar with the company.
  
  Q: What is your view of BCEI at the present price?
  
  Bonanza Creek Energy (NYSE: BCEI) is a Denver-based oil and gas company with operations in Colorado and southern Arkansas. While the Bakken Formation in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas get more press, oil and gas plays in the Denver-Julesburg Basin have helped turn Colorado into one of the fastest growing energy producing states in the country and the fastest growing oil producer in the Rocky Mountains. Since 2008 oil production in Colorado has risen by an impressive 63 percent to a 50-year high.
  
  BCEI is well-positioned with acreage in the Wattenberg Gas Field north of Denver. The field is one of the largest natural gas plays in the US. Wattenberg represents 60 percent of BCEI’s proved reserves, with 59 percent of those reserves classified as liquid. Of the company’s remaining reserves, 39 percent are located in the oil-bearing Cotton Valley Sands in Southern Arkansas (68 percent liquids) and 1 percent in Colorado’s North Park Basin (100 percent liquids).
  
  BCEI has grown reserves at a 45
• [By Holly LaFon]

  Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. (BCEI) is an independent exploration and production company that is most active in the Niobrara Shale play in Northeast Colorado. The stock has performed well this quarter following improving drilling results from projects designed to fully understand the potential prospectivity of its acreage position in the Niobrara play. The stock also has benefited from management's decision to increase capital spending and accelerate the net present value of its resource base.