Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Immunomedics (NASDAQ: IMMU  ) , a biopharmaceutical company researching monoclonal, antibody-based products to treat cancer and other autoimmune disorders, jumped as much as 15% after providing a clinical update on its antibody-drug conjugate programs.

So what: Antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs for short, attach a chemotherapy toxin to an antibody and essentially teach that antibody to recognize a protein expressed by the targeted cancer. When the antibody comes in contact with that specific protein, it releases the toxin, hopefully killing the cancer cell and leaving healthy cells alone.

Today, Immunomedics noted that two of its three ADCs -- IMMU-130 and IMMU-132 ��delivered tumor shrinkage and some partial responses in early stage studies, especially in metastatic colorectal cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. IMMU-130 is being tested specifically on advanced colorectal cancer, while IMMU-132 is being tested on 13 different cancer types.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: VALE S.A.(VALE)

Vale S.A. engages in the exploration, production, and sale of basic metals in Brazil. The company also involves in fertilizers, logistics, and steel businesses. The Bulk Material segment consist of iron ore mining and pellet production, as well as its Brazilian Northern and Southern transportation systems, including railroads, ports, and terminals. This segment also includes manganese mining and ferroalloys. The Base Metals segment produces nonferrous minerals, including nickel, copper, and aluminum consisting of aluminum trading activities, alumina refining, aluminum metal smelting, and bauxite mining. The Fertilizers segment provides potash, phosphates, and nitrogen. The Logistic Services segment consists of transportation systems, including ships, ports, and railroads for third party cargos. This segment includes 10,179 kilometers of railroad infrastructure, 8 seaport terminals, 5 general cargo ports, and 2 iron ore export terminals. In addition, it generates energy thr ough hydroelectric power plants. The company was founded in 1942 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Of course, not all of Barrick's problems are of its own making. Other major miners, such as Vale� (NYSE: VALE  ) , Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO  ) , and BHP Billiton, are selling mines or considering doing so to shore up finances and concentrate on core operations. And gold has been in a rut that's caused some of the best miners from�Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY  ) to Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC  ) to lose 25% or more of their value in the past month. A week ago, gold suffered its largest one-day drop in three decades.

• [By Jim Jubak]

  Second, I think there's an objective/subjective problem that makes this slowing more disconcerting than a drop from 6.6% growth to 5% might be in other contexts. We've gotten used to thinking of the high GDP growth in developing economies, such as China, as the reason to invest there. China is growing at 9% so I've got to put money in Chinese stocks. (This shorthand way of thinking comes, despite persistent evidence that there isn't a solid connection between GDP growth rates and stock market performance. Just look at the performance of the S&P 500 recently, during a period of economic growth in the United States that's below trend for a recovery.) And we've gotten used to seeing a relatively small number of big cap stocks as proxies for the outperformance of developing markets. Vale (VALE), BHP Billiton (BHP), and Rio Tinto (RIO) are some New York listed big caps that represented an easy way to buy the emerging markets story. You can find other representatives of the most popular stocks for investing in the emerging markets story, by looking at the top ten holdings of the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO): China Construction Bank, China Mobile, Industrial and Commercial Bank, Taiwan Semiconductor, American Movil, OAO Gazprom, CNOOC, Bank of China, and Tencent Holdings. When these stocks have faltered, it's felt as if the emerging markets sector is faltering.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Tennant Creek Gold Ltd(TNG.AX)

TNG Limited engages in the exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral resource projects in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The company explores for gold, zinc, lead, silver, vanadium, titanium, iron, nickel, cobalt, and copper. It principally holds 100% interest in the Mount Peake project located in the Arunta geological province; and the Manbarrum project located to the north-east of the township of Kununurra in the northern territory. The company is based in Subiaco, Australia.

Hot Growth Companies To Own For 2014: Commerce Bancshares Inc.(CBSH)

Commerce Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Commerce Bank, N.A. that provides various general banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates in three segments: Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth. The Consumer segment includes the retail branch network, consumer installment lending, personal mortgage banking, consumer debit and credit bank card activities, and student lending. The Commercial segment provides various corporate lending, merchant and commercial bank card products, leasing, and international services, as well as business and government deposit and cash management services. The Wealth segment offers traditional trust and estate tax planning services, brokerage services, and advisory and discretionary investment portfolio management services to personal and institutional corporate customers. This segment also manages a family of proprietary mutual funds, which are available for sale to trust and general retail customers. The comp any, through its other non-banking subsidiaries, involves in underwriting credit life and credit accident, and health insurance; selling property and casualty insurance; private equity investment; securities brokerage; mortgage banking; and leasing activities. It serves customers through a network of branches and ATM machines, online banking, and a central contact center from approximately 370 locations in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roland Head]

  Today's earning calendar is fairly quiet ahead of tomorrow's results from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, but Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ: CBSH  ) started off the financial reporting season this morning, reporting earnings of $0.72 per share -- a penny ahead of analyst expectations. The company credited "strong growth in loans, improved net interest income and continued free income growth," as well as "growth in revenues from our trust and corporate card businesses, which grew by 8% and 8.6%, respectively, compared to the second quarter of last year."

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Commerce Bancshares (NASDAQ: CBSH) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.72 per share on revenue of $254.92 million.

  First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $320.72 million.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Rentokil Initial(RTO.L)

Rentokil Initial plc principally provides business support services worldwide. The company offers facilities management services in the fields of catering, cleaning, security, hospital services, buildings M&E, and statutory compliance to government and commercial sector organizations; textile services comprising supplying and laundering work wear, uniforms, clean room uniforms, and protective equipment, as well as linen service for hotels, restaurants, and hospitals; and plants, replica foliage, ambient scenting, fruit, and art services for plant displays in offices, hotels, and other spaces, as well as interior and exterior landscaping services. It also engages in the disposal of hazardous and clinical waste, such as amalgam, sharps, and infectious waste for healthcare providers; and provision of parcel delivery services, including the delivery of documents, parcels, pallets, and freight. In addition, the company is involved in the provision and maintenance of products, w hich consists of air fresheners, sanitizers, feminine hygiene units, hand dryers, paper and linen towel dispensers, soap dispensers, toilet paper dispensers, and floor protection mats; and provision of pest control services, as well as remedial property surveying services for timber treatment, damp proofing, wood boring insects, and fungal decay. Further, it offers specialist cleaning services ranging from the deep cleaning of commercial kitchens, hospitals, and washrooms to management of water quality systems, industrial cleaning, and drain maintenance. Rentokil Initial plc was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Gatwick, the United Kingdom.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Q Investments Ltd.(QI.V)

Q Investments, Ltd. is a venture capital firm specializing in investments in early stage. It focuses its investments in energy sector, specially oil and gas. The firm primarily invests in equity and debt. In equity, it invests in share purchase warrants. Q Investments, Ltd. is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda with an additional office in London.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Kootenay Gold Inc. (KTN.V)

Kootenay Silver Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in North America. The company explores for gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc ores. It principally has interests in the Promontorio silver mine that covers an area of approximately 79,000 hectares and is located in Sierra Madre region of northwest Mexico. The company was formerly known as Kootenay Gold Inc. and changed its name to Kootenay Silver Inc. in February 2012. Kootenay Silver Inc. is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Republic Bancorp Inc.(RBCAA)

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company and Republic Bank, which provides banking, tax refund solutions, and mortgage banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers a range of deposit products, including demand deposits, money market accounts, brokered and Internet money market accounts, savings deposits, individual retirement accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposit. It also provides single family residential real estate loans; commercial loans; residential construction real estate loans; and consumer loans, which consists of home improvement and home equity loans, as well as secured and unsecured personal loans. In addition, the company offers private banking services; treasury management services, such as lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, and automated clearing house processing services; Internet banking service s and products through its Website, republicbank.com; and trust, title insurance, and other financial institution related products and services. Further, it provides tax refund solutions that include the payment of federal and state tax refunds through third party tax preparers. The company facilitates the payment of these tax refunds through refund anticipation loans, electronic refund checks, and electronic refund deposits. Its mortgage banking activities comprise origination and sale of loans in the secondary market, and the servicing of loans for others. As of December 31, 2009, the company had 44 banking centers, including 35 located in Kentucky; 5 located in metropolitan Tampa, Florida; 3 located in southern Indiana; and 1 located in metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  In the fourth quarter, he bought 32 new stocks. The largest new buys are: Air Lease (AL), Colfax (CFX) and Republic Bancorp Inc. (RBCAA).

  Air Lease (AL)

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Transcat Inc. (TRNS)

Transcat, Inc. engages in the distribution of handheld test and measurement instruments, as well as provides calibration, repair, and weighing system services. It operates through two segments, Distribution Products and Calibration Services. The Distribution Products segment markets and distributes test and measurement instruments, including calibrators, insulation testers, multi meters, pressure and temperature devices, oscilloscopes, recorders, and related accessories. The Calibration Services segment offers calibration, repair, and weighting system services. It markets and sells its products through direct catalog marketing, e-newsletters, Website, a field sales organization, outbound sales, and an inbound call center in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The company serves pharmaceutical industry; FDA-regulated businesses, such as food and beverage businesses; industrial manufacturing companies; energy industry and power, natural g as, and water utility companies; chemical process industry; and other industries that require accuracy in their processes and confirmation of the capabilities of their equipment. As of March 27, 2010, it operated 12 calibration laboratories in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Transcat, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: RLI Corp. (RLI)

RLI Corp., through its subsidiaries, underwrites property and casualty insurance primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Casualty, Property, and Surety. The Casualty segment provides general liability services consisting of coverage for third party liability of commercial insurers, including manufacturers, contractors, apartments, and mercantile; commercial and personal umbrella coverage; and commercial transportation that include automobile liability and physical damage insurance to local, intermediate, and long haul truckers, public transportation risks, and equipment dealers, as well as incidental and related insurance coverage. It also offers professional liability coverages, such as directors? and officers? liability insurance, employment practices liability, and other miscellaneous professional liability coverage; and specialty program coverages, such as commercial property, general liability, inland marine, and crime, as well as deduc tible buy-back. The Property segment offers property coverage that consists primarily of excess and surplus lines and specialty insurance, such as fire and earthquake. It also provides insurance for commercial and industrial risks, such as office buildings, apartments, condominiums, and certain industrial and mercantile structures, as well as writes boiler and machinery coverage; marine coverage, including hull, cargo, and protection and indemnity; homeowners and dwelling fire insurance; and property facultative reinsurance for insurance companies. The Surety segment specializes in writing small-to-large commercial and small contract surety coverages, as well as for the energy, petrochemical, and refining industries. It offers miscellaneous bonds, such as license and permit, notary, and court bonds; and fidelity and crime coverage for commercial insured and select financial institutions. RLI Corp. was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

Top 10 Companies To Invest In 2014: Neoprobe Corporation(NEOP)

Neoprobe Corporation, a biomedical company, engages in the development and commercialization of precision diagnostics that enhance patient care and improve patient benefit. The company is developing and commercializing targeted agents aimed at the identification of occult (undetected) disease. Neoprobe?s two lead radiopharmaceutical agent platforms, Lymphoseek and RIGScan are intended to help surgeons better identify and treat certain types of cancer. Lymphoseek is a diagnostic imaging agent intended for radiolabeling and administration in radiodetection and visualization of the lymphatic system draining the region of injection for delineation of the lymphatic tissue; and RIGScan is an intraoperative biologic targeting agent consisting of a radiolabeled murine monoclonal antibody. The company has a biopharmaceutical development and supply agreement with Laureate Biopharmaceutical Services, Inc. to support the initial evaluation of the viability of the CC49 master working c ell bank, as well as the initial steps in re-validating the commercial production process for the biologic agent used in RIGScan CR. The company was founded in 1983 and is based in Dublin, Ohio.