Consumers thrive on convenience. This has extended to all parts of our lives — especially the car rental business. #-ad_banner-#Sometimes, the ability to rent a car with a quick swipe of the credit card and without having to interact with other humans is a big positive. There is proof that the model works, with Zipcar having paved the way. But it’s not only the convenience that makes this business model appealing. The pricing is better for consumers because there’s less overhead. Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) is the latest company to get into the business of making car renting easier. Read More

Consumers thrive on convenience. This has extended to all parts of our lives — especially the car rental business. #-ad_banner-#Sometimes, the ability to rent a car with a quick swipe of the credit card and without having to interact with other humans is a big positive. There is proof that the model works, with Zipcar having paved the way. But it’s not only the convenience that makes this business model appealing. The pricing is better for consumers because there’s less overhead. Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) is the latest company to get into the business of making car renting easier. Hertz recently launched an off-airport on-demand rental service that allows customers to rent vehicles anytime without any customer agents, bringing self-service to more car rental customers. Hertz should be able to capture more market share as it continues to add more locations with this feature, including in conjunction with its newly acquired Dollar Thrifty brand, and as more customers opt for its convenience. Hertz already owns a quarter of the world’s car rental market by market share. The industry has gotten much smaller over the past few years with the help of consolidation, including Hertz’s acquisition of Dollar Thrifty last… Read More

For the past decade, investors, government regulators, and concerned citizens have focused on a pair of catchphrases: “climate change” and “off the grid.” #-ad_banner-#The rapid deployment of solar and wind power played into both of those themes. These power sources generate zero pollution and can help to reduce demand on the world’s aging electrical grid. Yet as I just noted in my recent review of a new set of rising stars in the clean energy space, hydrogen power suddenly has a new lease on life. Through hydrolysis, the universe’s most abundant element can be used to create electricity while producing… Read More

For the past decade, investors, government regulators, and concerned citizens have focused on a pair of catchphrases: “climate change” and “off the grid.” #-ad_banner-#The rapid deployment of solar and wind power played into both of those themes. These power sources generate zero pollution and can help to reduce demand on the world’s aging electrical grid. Yet as I just noted in my recent review of a new set of rising stars in the clean energy space, hydrogen power suddenly has a new lease on life. Through hydrolysis, the universe’s most abundant element can be used to create electricity while producing zero emissions. A range of companies are now seeing steadily rising sales as they develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells for a range of applications. The key phrase there: “a range of companies.” Though this technology is undeniably exciting and will likely play a key role in our energy future, there are so many companies working to lure customers that competition is fierce and pricing is tough. That’s why I suggested caution with Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) and FuelCell Energy (Nasdaq: FCEL). In 2012, these firms had gross margins of minus 55% and 4%, respectively. They may look to make it up… Read More

Do you have a stock position that you have owned for a long time? Maybe it’s a position that you inherited, or one that was given to you years ago. Maybe it is company stock that you methodically accumulated as an employee. #-ad_banner-#Many investors hold long-term positions that have grown tremendously over time. In most cases, it doesn’t make sense to sell this stock because of the tax implications — not to mention the aversion to selling an asset that has been growing for so long. But what are you giving up by holding on to this stock? Is it… Read More

Do you have a stock position that you have owned for a long time? Maybe it’s a position that you inherited, or one that was given to you years ago. Maybe it is company stock that you methodically accumulated as an employee. #-ad_banner-#Many investors hold long-term positions that have grown tremendously over time. In most cases, it doesn’t make sense to sell this stock because of the tax implications — not to mention the aversion to selling an asset that has been growing for so long. But what are you giving up by holding on to this stock? Is it really the best investment that you can make with your capital? Are you missing out on an opportunity to make more money by sitting on this long-term position? Now, before you quit reading, let me tell you that I’m not suggesting you sell your long-term position. You have your reasons for holding this position and I respect that. But what I am suggesting is that you consider a strategy to help you create additional income from your long-term position. Case Study: A 20-Year Investment I once worked for a hedge fund manager named John who held a large block… Read More

Today I want to share with you one of the most important investing developments we’ve ever discovered. It concerns a small handful of companies that can predict the future and a way for you to get in on what analysts say is a 5,000% growth trend that could last until 2020. Here’s what’s going on… #-ad_banner-#You may recognize the name Nancy Zambell. She’s a long-time investment industry veteran, having worked at big banks, on Wall Street, and also at a few well-known investment publishing firms. Her track record is one of the best I’ve ever seen. For over 20 years… Read More

Today I want to share with you one of the most important investing developments we’ve ever discovered. It concerns a small handful of companies that can predict the future and a way for you to get in on what analysts say is a 5,000% growth trend that could last until 2020. Here’s what’s going on… #-ad_banner-#You may recognize the name Nancy Zambell. She’s a long-time investment industry veteran, having worked at big banks, on Wall Street, and also at a few well-known investment publishing firms. Her track record is one of the best I’ve ever seen. For over 20 years now, her recommendations have seen average returns around 28%. She’s also helped “regular” folks like you and me score gains of… 66% in 9 months… 175% in 3 months… 169% gains in 6 months… And many, many more. I bring this up because Nancy just joined our sister site, InvestingAnswers.com. She’s the Chief Investment Strategist for a brand new advisory called Five-Star Stocks. And I have to say, she’s starting off with a bang. As you’ll see, she’s come across an opportunity that I can practically guarantee you’ve never seen before. I had a chance to… Read More

Best known by consumers for its cleaning robots, such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner, iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) also manufactures robots for military and civil defense forces that perform bomb disposals and other battlefield operations. #-ad_banner-#Last week, shares shot up more than 11% on a massive spike in volume, making all-time intraday and closing highs. The reason for the rally: an honor from the Patent Board for having one of the top patent portfolios. Out of 50 leading companies in the electronics and instruments industry, iRobot’s patent portfolio was ranked fifth. It was ranked second in the “science strength” category… Read More

Best known by consumers for its cleaning robots, such as the Roomba vacuum cleaner, iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) also manufactures robots for military and civil defense forces that perform bomb disposals and other battlefield operations. #-ad_banner-#Last week, shares shot up more than 11% on a massive spike in volume, making all-time intraday and closing highs. The reason for the rally: an honor from the Patent Board for having one of the top patent portfolios. Out of 50 leading companies in the electronics and instruments industry, iRobot’s patent portfolio was ranked fifth. It was ranked second in the “science strength” category and third in the “industry impact” category. iRobot holds more than 400 worldwide patents, 238 of which are in the United States. Earlier this month, the company reported fourth-quarter results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom line. Revenue rose 25.4% year over year, to $126.3 million, beating analyst estimates of $125.5 million. Earnings of $0.11 per share were up from a loss of $0.21 in the fourth quarter last year and beat the consensus estimate by a penny. In the full 2013 year, the company saw a 20% increase in sales in its home robots segment, but… Read More

What’s wrong with Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO)? Seriously? That’s a good question that the market, in its infinite wisdom, has been unable to figure out for nearly 15 years. To borrow a phrase made famous by Wall Street legend Art Cashin, CSCO’s chart looks like “the EKG of a potato”: #-ad_banner-#I’ve been following the stock just for most of my career. I remember during the tech bubble days when the water cooler talk was of Cisco’s “whisper number” — the Street’s general yet quiet consensus on how much the company would beat its expected earnings. Those were incredibly… Read More

What’s wrong with Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO)? Seriously? That’s a good question that the market, in its infinite wisdom, has been unable to figure out for nearly 15 years. To borrow a phrase made famous by Wall Street legend Art Cashin, CSCO’s chart looks like “the EKG of a potato”: #-ad_banner-#I’ve been following the stock just for most of my career. I remember during the tech bubble days when the water cooler talk was of Cisco’s “whisper number” — the Street’s general yet quiet consensus on how much the company would beat its expected earnings. Those were incredibly shortsighted days as you can see from the stock’s 80% tumble during the tech bust. But after that, something marvelous happened: The stock became a bond. One of the tenets of Warren Buffett’s stock selection process is that if a business has a strong, well-established market position and competitive advantage, its earnings (and payouts) should be so predictable that owning its stock is like owning a bond. The example Buffett usually cites is his investment in soft drink giant Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). The Oracle of Omaha has said on more than one occasion: “A ham sandwich could run Coca-Cola.” Cisco… Read More

For a brief moment in 2006, the hallways at Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP) were filled with good cheer. President George W. Bush had just touted the promise of hydrogen power in his State of the Union address, and Ballard’s shares tripled nearly overnight. Yet those high hopes for the company — and its investors — were soon dashed. Ballard didn’t see any bump in revenues, and shares eventually crashed to fresh all-time lows. #-ad_banner-#Ballard’s not alone. Key rivals in the emerging field of alternate power generation also went into hibernation after that bout of euphoria in 2006. Hopes… Read More

For a brief moment in 2006, the hallways at Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP) were filled with good cheer. President George W. Bush had just touted the promise of hydrogen power in his State of the Union address, and Ballard’s shares tripled nearly overnight. Yet those high hopes for the company — and its investors — were soon dashed. Ballard didn’t see any bump in revenues, and shares eventually crashed to fresh all-time lows. #-ad_banner-#Ballard’s not alone. Key rivals in the emerging field of alternate power generation also went into hibernation after that bout of euphoria in 2006. Hopes for this industry rose anew after the election of President Barack Obama. He had been expected to be a supporter of such companies, but their revenue bases failed to get any sort of traction in the first years of his presidency. (Recently, the Obama administration has thrown renewed support for hydrogen power and fuel cell technologies, though at much more modest levels than had once been expected.) Despite the lack of massive government support, these alternative energy stocks are back — in a big way. Ballard Power, along with its peers, is in the midst of… Read More

I haven’t been this excited about a “guru” trade in a while… Last week, my system identified an opportunity I’ve only seen a handful of times since I designed it. Specifically, it found a stock with a perfect 10 “guru score.” Achieving a perfect score under my system isn’t easy. In fact, I can probably count the number of times I’ve actually seen it done. Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU), a current “Guru Trader Portfolio” holding, is an example of a stock that had a perfect rating when we added it, and it’s up 45% in the… Read More

I haven’t been this excited about a “guru” trade in a while… Last week, my system identified an opportunity I’ve only seen a handful of times since I designed it. Specifically, it found a stock with a perfect 10 “guru score.” Achieving a perfect score under my system isn’t easy. In fact, I can probably count the number of times I’ve actually seen it done. Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU), a current “Guru Trader Portfolio” holding, is an example of a stock that had a perfect rating when we added it, and it’s up 45% in the past four months. Let me explain why it’s so difficult to have a perfect 10 rating… #-ad_banner-#My system relies on two specific indicators to identify a potential stock pick: relative strength and cash flow growth. Relative strength shows how a stock is performing “relative” to the market. The higher the relative strength, the more a company’s stock price is rising in relation to its peers. This indicator is important because it identifies stocks that are outperforming today. After all, if you want to make money the fastest way possible, you want to buy stocks that are already on… Read More

With medicine being the huge industry it is, pharma companies bring in billions of dollars with blockbuster drugs — and they are great at using this cash to reward shareholders. #-ad_banner-#When deciding which Big Pharma company to invest in, there might be no better choice than the company that bills itself as the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company — the same company that brought us Lipitor, Celebrex and Viagra. Since 2004, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has paid out the most cash to shareholders (as a percentage of enterprise value) of any of the major drugmakers. Pfizer’s cash payout clocks in at… Read More

With medicine being the huge industry it is, pharma companies bring in billions of dollars with blockbuster drugs — and they are great at using this cash to reward shareholders. #-ad_banner-#When deciding which Big Pharma company to invest in, there might be no better choice than the company that bills itself as the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company — the same company that brought us Lipitor, Celebrex and Viagra. Since 2004, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has paid out the most cash to shareholders (as a percentage of enterprise value) of any of the major drugmakers. Pfizer’s cash payout clocks in at 61%, compared with GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) at 46%, Merck (NYSE: MRK) at 39%, Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) at 36% and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) at 32%. There’s nothing to suggest this trend won’t continue into the future. Pfizer has been getting more focused on the higher-growth drug business. Back in 2012, Pfizer divested its nutrition business, selling it to Nestle (OTC: NSERGY), and in mid-2013 it spun off its animal health business. As a result, it’s turning its attention to the higher growth drug areas. These include oncology, cardiology, neuroscience and immunology. The oncology segment was Pfizer’s fastest-growing segment… Read More

In hundreds of biomedical labs across the country, researchers have been working to develop treatments for a wide range of cancers. Yet the medical community isn’t ignoring heart disease, the nation’s leading killer. #-ad_banner-#Changing demographics could lead to a surge in heart disease, which generally affects older Americans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 40 million Americans age 65 or older in 2010. That figure is expected to rise to 89 million by 2050. Though there is no such thing as a cure for heart disease, a number of approaches are helping to reduce… Read More

In hundreds of biomedical labs across the country, researchers have been working to develop treatments for a wide range of cancers. Yet the medical community isn’t ignoring heart disease, the nation’s leading killer. #-ad_banner-#Changing demographics could lead to a surge in heart disease, which generally affects older Americans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 40 million Americans age 65 or older in 2010. That figure is expected to rise to 89 million by 2050. Though there is no such thing as a cure for heart disease, a number of approaches are helping to reduce the initial risk of heart attack, or at least aid in avoiding their recurrence. Two young companies have devised novel approaches and could soon see their devices used by an increasing number of cardiologists. 1. BioTelemetry (Nasdaq: BEAT ) This company, once known as CardioNet, sells equipment that enables doctors to remotely analyze and diagnose a patient’s heart function. Patients’ vital signs are wirelessly transmitted back to the company’s network diagnostic center, and a medical professional is notified the moment a patient shows signs of a dangerous heart condition, such as arrhythmia or other heart rhythm disorders. Such signs are… Read More