Hot Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014

Barnes & Noble storefront, Fifth Ave., New York. Source: BN.com.

Shares of�Barnes & Noble� (NYSE: BKS  ) plummeted more than 17% Tuesday after the company turned in�dismal fiscal fourth-quarter results. But does this mean all hope is lost for the struggling company to survive over the long term?

First, some perspective
Back in February, I wondered just how many strikes Barnes & Noble would get until it finally threw in the towel.

To be sure, the company had just performed an about-face from its previously optimistic comments regarding the Nook segment, warning investors to expect an fiscal 2013 EBITDA loss from Nook Media that would exceed the segment's $262 million loss in 2012.

Even so, I also noted that Barnes & Noble's core comparable-store sales -- which excludes sales of Nook products -- actually exceeded the company's expectations by falling only 3.1%. What's more, Barnes & Noble�did have around $471 million in cash with a relatively manageable debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28 at the end of its previous quarter, so it looked unlikely that the beleaguered bookseller would be going bankrupt anytime in the immediate future.

Top Gold Companies To Watch For 2015: MDC Partners Inc (MDCA)

MDC Partners Inc. (MDC), incorporated in 1986, is a provider of marketing communications services to customers worldwide. MDC has operating units in the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. The Company�� subsidiaries provide a range of marketing communications and consulting services, including advertising, interactive and mobile marketing, direct marketing, database and customer relationship management, sales promotion, corporate communications, market research, corporate identity, design and branding, social media and marketing, ecommerce and other related services. MDC operates in two segments: Strategic Marketing Services and Performance Marketing Services. Effective March 28, 2012, MDC invested in Doner Partners LLC (Doner). Doner is an integrated creative agency. In addition, the Company acquired a 70% interest in TargetCast LLC (TargetCast). TargetCast is a media agency. The Company acquired a 51% interest in Dotbox LLC (Dotbox). Effective January 8, 2014, MDC Partners Inc acquired an undisclosed minority interest in Luntz Global LLC. In February 2014, MDC Partners Inc acquired an undisclosed majority interest in Kingsdale Shareholder Services Inc.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company, through a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired RJ Palmer LLC and a 75% interest in Trade X Partners LLC (Trade X). In 2011, it entered into a transaction through its subsidiary Kwittken PR LLC (Kwittken) acquired 100% of Epoch PR Limited. In 2011, the Company also acquired a 51% interest in AIC Publishing Services LP (AIC). In addition, the Company increased its ownership to 85.3% of Veritas, to 94.0% of 656712 Ontario Limited (Onbrand), to 66.3% of 6Degrees Integrated Communications and 85% of Boom Marketing Inc. during 2011. In 2011, the Company increased ownership in Communifx Partners LLC (Communifx) by 1.3%, and increased its ownership of Varick Media Management LLC (Varick) to 100%. Effective January 31, 2011, the Company, through a wholly owned subsidiary, purchased ! 60% interest in Anomaly Partners, LLC (Anomaly). Effective November 30, 2010, the Company, through a wholly owned subsidiary, purchased 80% interest in each of Kenna Communications LP and Capital C Partners LP.

Strategic Marketing Services

The Strategic Marketing Services segment consists of firms that offer a suite of integrated marketing communication and consulting services, including advertising and media, interactive marketing, direct marketing, public relations, corporate communications, market research, corporate identity and branding, and sales promotion to national and global clients. The Strategic Marketing Services segment consists of the agencies, such as 72andSunny; Allison & Partners; Anomaly; Attention; Bruce Mau Design; Capital C Partners; Colle + McVoy; Concentric Partners; Crispin Porter + Bogusky; Crispin Porter + Bogusky Canada; Hello Design; henderson bas kohn; HL Group Partners; kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners; Kbs+p Canada; Kwittken; Laird + Partners; The Media Kitchen; Mono Advertising; Redscout; Sloane & Company; Varick Media Management; Veritas Communications; Vitro and Yamamoto.

Performance Marketing Services

The Performance Marketing Services segment includes firms that provide consumer insights. The Performance Marketing Services segment consists of agencies, such as 6degrees Communications; Accent; AIC Publishing; Boom Marketing; Bryan Mills Iradesso; Communifx Partners; Computer Composition; Hudsun Media; Integrated Media Solutions; Kenna Communications; Northstar Research Partners; Onbrand; Relevent; RJ Palmer; Source Marketing; TargetCom; Team and Trade X.

The Company competes with Omnicom Group Inc., Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., WPP Group plc, Publicis Group SA and Havas Advertising.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Petrofac Ltd. plunged 15 percent, the most in almost five years. Korian fell 3.8 percent after agreeing to buy Medica SA (MDCA) for 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 billion). Aberdeen Asset Management Plc jumped 13 percent after Lloyds Banking Group Plc agreed to sell its Scottish Widows Investment Partnership unit to the money manager. Sonova Holding AG advanced 6.9 percent as the world�� largest hearing-aid maker raised its full-year forecast after first-half revenue beat analyst estimates.

Hot Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the aerospace and defense sector of the United States equity market. Aerospace companies include manufacturers, assemblers and distributors of aircraft and aircraft parts. Defense companies include producers of components and equipment for the defense industry, such as military aircraft, radar equipment and weapons.

The Fund will concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent as the Index is so concentrated. Since all of the securities included in the Index are issued by companies in the aerospace and defense sector, the Fund will be concentrated in the aerospace and defense industry. The Fund�� investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Salzinger]

  This industry's two largest ETFs��Shares Aerospace and Defense (ITA) and PowerShares Aerospace and Defense (PPA)��ained more than 50% last year.

Hot Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Virco Manufacturing Corporation(VIRC)

Virco Mfg. Corporation engages in the design, production, and distribution of furniture for the commercial and education markets in the United States. The company offers seating products, including cantilever chairs, tablet arm chairs, rockers, hard plastic seats, backrests, work surfaces, task chairs, classroom chairs, stack chairs, folding chairs, upholstered stack chairs, plastic stack chairs, and upholstered ergonomic chairs, as well as provides various seating product for students in college, university, other adult education settings, and on high school campuses. It also offers folding and banquet tables, activity tables, office tables, computer tables, and mobile tables, as well as table products for working and learning environments, seminars, and conferences; and computer furniture, including keyboard mouse trays, CPU holders, support columns, desks and workstations, and specialty tables and other products for computing applications. In addition, the company provi des chair desks, combo units, teacher desks, and tablet arm units, as well as a collection returns and credenzas. Further, it offers administrative office furniture, such as desks, returns, and bookcases; laboratory furniture, including steel-based science tables, table bases, lab stools, and steel foot-rings for biology and chemistry classes, and other school and college based lab settings; and mobile furniture comprising mobile tables for school cafeterias and mobile chairs for school settings and offices, as well as provides handling and storage equipment and manufactures stackable storage trucks. The company?s brand portfolio primarily includes ZUMA, ZUMAfrd, Ph.D., I.Q. Virtuoso, Classic Series, Martest 21, Lunada, Plateau, Core-a-Gator, Future Access, Sigma, Metaphor, Telos, TEXT, and Parameter. It also serves convention centers and arenas, hospitality providers, government facilities, and places of worship. Virco Mfg. Corporation founded in 1950 and is based in Torra nce, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap office furniture stock Steelcase Inc (NYSE: SCS) jumped 11.66% after beating earnings expectations, meaning it might be time to take a closer look at the stock along with potential office or commercial furniture stock peers like�HNI Corp (NYSE: HNI), Knoll Inc (NYSE: KNL) and Virco Mfg. Corporation (NASDAQ: VIRC). After all, the performance of any company selling office or commercial furniture would tend to give some insights into the office or employment markets.

Hot Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Tranzyme Inc.(TZYM)

Tranzyme, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of acute and chronic gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders in the United States and internationally. The company?s clinical product candidates include ulimorelin, an intraveneous ghrelin agonist, which is in the Phase III clinical development stage for the treatment of acute upper GI motility disorders; and TZP-102, an orally-administered ghrelin agonist that has commenced Phase IIb clinical development stage for the treatment of diabetic gastroparesis. Its preclinical product candidates comprise TZP-201, a motilin antagonist for the treatment of various forms of moderate-to-severe diarrhea; and TZP-301, an oral ghrelin antagonist for the treatment of metabolic diseases. The company has strategic collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to discover, develop, and commercialize additional novel co mpounds; and a license agreement with Norgine B.V to develop and commercialize ulimorelin in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and north and South Africa. Tranzyme, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Tranzyme Pharma (Nasdaq:TZYM) reported that it has closed the previously announced underwritten registered direct offering of approximately 3.0 million shares of its common stock at a price of $3.85 per share for gross proceeds, including the over-allotment option, of approximately $11.5 million.