Top 5 Asian Stocks To Watch For 2014

Asian stocks dropped, with the regional benchmark index retreating from the highest level in 20 months, after Chinese economic growth and industrial production expanded less than economists��estimated.

Jiangxi Copper Co., China�� largest copper producer, slid 4.9 percent in Hong Kong. Nissan Motor Co. (7201), a Japanese carmaker that gets 32 percent of sales from North America, slid 3.9 percent, pacing declines among exporters after U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell. Mando Corp. tumbled 15 percent in Seoul as Midas International Asset Management Ltd. said it will sell its holdings after the auto-parts maker said it will bail out an unprofitable construction affiliate.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.7 percent to 137.22 as of 8:25 p.m. in Tokyo, with about three shares sliding for each that rose. Chinese gross domestic product expanded 7.7 percent in the first quarter, missing economists estimates, data released today showed.

��hile the medium-term outlook is OK, people are having to digest the fact that some of this short-term news flow isn�� quite as good,��Angus Gluskie, managing director at Sydney- based White Funds Management, which oversees more than $350 million, said before the release of the Chinese data. ��here�� no doubt China�� growth over the next five or six years is going to be at a more mature pace than it was over the last decade. We should be expecting lesser rates of growth.��

5 Best Small Cap Stocks For 2015: Oclaro Inc.(OCLR)

Oclaro, Inc. offers optical network components, modules, and subsystems to telecommunications equipment manufacturers. The company designs, manufactures, and markets products that generate, detect, amplify, combine, and separate light signals in telecommunications networks. It offers tunable laser products that include discrete lasers and co-packaged laser modulators; fixed laser products comprising discrete lasers and co-packaged laser modulators; lithium niobate external modulators; a portfolio of discrete receivers for metro and long-haul applications; small form factor pluggable transceivers; and transponder modules, which provide transmitter and receiver functions. Oclaro also provides Erbium doped fiber amplifiers, semi-custom product portfolio of multi-wavelength amplifiers, and narrow band mini-amplifiers; pump laser chips; and wavelength management products, including switching and routing solutions, multiplexing and signal processing solutions, and micro-optics a nd integrated modules. In addition, it offers dispersion compensation product family consisting of products that optically compensate for chromatic dispersion and dispersion degradation of transmission signals, including fixed and tunable products based on dispersion compensating fiber and cascaded etalons; and thin film filter products used for multiplexing and demultiplexing optical signals within dense WDM transmission systems, as well as markets advanced pump laser technology diodes. Further, the company sells low-power polarized products for optical mouse and finger navigation applications. It markets its products through direct sales and marketing organization, sales representatives, and resellers in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States. The company was formerly known as Bookham, Inc. and changed its name to Oclaro, Inc. in April 2009. Oclaro, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in San Jose, Cali fornia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Oclaro (NASDAQ: OCLR) shares touched a new 52-week high of $2.36. Oclaro shares have jumped 71.32% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 index has gained 31.67% in the same period.

• [By CRWE]

  About Oclaro

  Oclaro, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCLR) is one of the largest providers of optical components, modules and subsystems for the optical communications market. The company is a global leader dedicated to photonics innovation, with cutting-edge research and development (R&D) and chip fabrication facilities in the U.S., U.K., Italy, Korea and Japan. It has in-house and contract manufacturing sites in China, Malaysia and Thailand, with design, sales and service organizations in most of the major regions around the world. For more information, visit http://www.oclaro.com.

  Safe Harbor Statement

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Windstream Corporation(WIN)

Windstream Corporation provides communications and technology solutions in the United States. The company offers various solutions, including IP-based voice and data services, multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networking, data center and managed services, hosting services, and communications systems to businesses and government agencies. It also provides high-speed Internet, voice, and digital television services to residential customers primarily located in rural areas. The company?s data services include data center and managed hosting, MPLS networking, and dedicated access, as well as high-speed Internet to business customers; integrated solutions consist of multiple voice and data services delivered over an IP connection; voice services comprise local and long distance, call waiting, caller identification, and voicemail; and special access services include point-to-point switching arrangements for voice and data traffic. In addition, it provides wholesale services, which primarily include voice and data services on a wholesale basis to other carriers; usage sensitive services to long distance companies; and other local exchange carriers for access to the network in connection with the completion of long-distance calls, as well as reciprocal compensation received from wireless and other local connecting carriers for the use of its facilities. As of June 30, 2011, the company served approximately 3.3 million access lines, 1.3 million high-speed Internet customers, and operated approximately 60,000 fiber route miles. Windstream Corporation is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  It was a busy week for regional telcos as CenturyLink joined Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN  ) and Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FTR  ) in reporting financials. All three companies posted slightly lower revenue as rural landline customers continue to disconnect. Windstream and Frontier also missed on the bottom line. However, after CenturyLink slashed its dividend earlier this year and Frontier cut its rate last year, there were no payout whacks this time around. None of the three stocks lost ground on the week, and that's good news.

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Watch For 2014: PetSmart Inc(PETM)

PetSmart, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of products, services, and solutions for pets in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The company offers consumables, such as pet food, treats, and litter; and hardgoods, which include pet supplies and other goods comprising collars, leashes, health care supplies, grooming and beauty aids, toys, apparel, and pet beds and carriers, as well as aquariums and habitats, accessories, d�or, and filters for fish, birds, reptiles, and small pets. It also provides fresh-water fish, small birds, reptiles, and small pets; and pet services, such as grooming, including precision cuts, baths, nail trimming and grinding, and teeth brushing, as well as training, boarding, and day camp services. In addition, the company operates PetsHotels that offer boarding for dogs and cats; provides personalized pet care, an on-call veterinarian, temperature controlled rooms and suites, daily specialty treats and p lay time, and day camp services for dogs; and operates veterinary hospitals, which offer services comprising routine examinations and vaccinations, dental care, a pharmacy, and surgical procedures. As of January 29, 2012, it operated 1,232 retail stores; 192 PetsHotels; 791 veterinary hospitals under the trade name of Banfield, The Pet Hospital; and 8 hospitals operated through other third parties in Canada. The company also offers its products through an e-commerce and community site, PetSmart.com. PetSmart, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM  ) will unleash earnings on Monday. Here's what you need to watch for in the company's results.

  Earnings expectations
  The first issue that needs to be addressed is whether the pet-centric retailer met Wall Street's expectations. Analysts tag profits for PetSmart at $1.22 per share this quarter, down from $1.24 per share one year ago. The company projects its full-year 2013 EPS outlook in the range of $3.88 to $3.98, up from the $3.55 it earned in 2012. I'll be looking to see if the Phoenix-based retailer met its fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 EPS estimates.

Top 5 Asian Stocks To Watch For 2014: Illumina Inc.(ILMN)

Illumina, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function. Its instrumentation products include HiSeq 2000, an instrument for high-throughput (up to 200 Gb per run and up to 25 GB per day) sequencing using sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) technology; Genome Analyzer IIx, an instrument for medium to high-throughput (up to 95 Gb per run) sequencing using SBS technology; Genome Analyzer IIe, an instrument for low to medium throughput (up to 40 Gb per run) sequencing using SBS technology; iScan System, a high-resolution imaging instrument to scan BeadArray based assays; and BeadXpress Reader, a low- to mid-multiplex, high-throughput instrument for readout of assays. The company?s consumables consist of InfiniumHD Whole-Genome BeadChips comprising HumanOmniExpress, HumanOmni1-Quad, Human1M-Duo, and BovineHD, which are multi-sample DNA analysis microarrays; iSelect Custom Genotyping BeadChips that are custome r designable SNP genotyping arrays; GoldenGate Assay Method, a high throughput assay and genotyping system; GoldenGate Universal-32 Sample BeadChip, which are 32 sample GoldenGate genotyping arrays; Paired-End Genomic DNA Sample Prep Kit, a streamlined library preparation kit to generate 200?500 kb insert paired-end reads; VeraCode GoldenGate that are low plex GoldenGate genotyping arrays compatible with the BeadXpress System; Standard Sequencing Kit, reagents used for SBS chemistry on sequencing platforms; and Infinium Assay Kit, reagents used to perform Infinium assays on the iScan platform. It also provides sequencing and genotyping services. The company?s customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrichemical, diagnostics, and consumer products companies, as well as research centers. It sells its products through distributors in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and South Africa. Illumina was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Dieg o, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Lauchheimer]

  Let us contrast this with TROV's progress. TROV has secured two critical partnerships -- with Illumina (ILMN), and PerkinElmer (PKI). Company filings on the ILMN deal don't provide much detail, but the filings with the PKI deal detail how PKI wants to use TROV's science to develop a new t assay to detect the presence of hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC). While these two partnerships do not guarantee approval in any way, they do provide a solid validation for TROV's technology.

• [By Anders Bylund]

  Back in 2003, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN  ) was a micro-cap specialist in genetic testing with negative earnings and more debt than cash. The company almost went under while waiting for the genetic-testing market to mature. Now it's a hot name in a red-hot health-care market. Long-term shareholders have pocketed an outsized 4,600% return in 10 years, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) gained just 65%.

• [By John Kell var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach(func]

  Illumina Inc.(ILMN) swung to a first-quarter profit, as the gene-sequencing company recorded a sharp increase in revenue. The company also raised its outlook for the year, pushing shares up 7.4% to $158.93 premarket.