5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014

Who could forget the late 1990s? Tech stocks sold for 100 times earnings and more, many companies had no profits, and some had no revenues. We all know how that party ended.

See Also: The 7 Deadly Sins of Investing

To say we're seeing a rerun of that lunacy today would be a gross overstatement. Most tech stocks are reasonably priced; in my view, many look attractive. But the valuations on a growing number of Internet stocks are just as nutty as they were in the '90s. These are stocks with price-earnings ratios of 50, 60 or even more than 100.

Just as in the '90s, most of these companies are working with promising, cutting-edge technologies. Some analysts project that their earnings will grow rapidly and long enough to justify the current high price-earnings ratios. But the odds of these companies growing into their stretched valuations are slim.

Top 5 Quality Stocks To Own Right Now: Westpac Banking Corp (WBK)

Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac), incorporated on August 23, 2002, is a banking organization. Westpac provides a range of banking and financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, and wealth management services. It operates through three divisions: Australian Financial Services (AFS), Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) and Westpac New Zealand. AFS encompasses Westpac�� retail and business banking operations in Australia, and includes the businesses of Westpac Retail & Business Banking, St.George Banking Group and BT Financial Group Australia (BFTG). Westpac RBB is responsible for sales and service for Westpac�� consumer, small-to-medium enterprise customers and commercial customers in Australia under the Westpac brands. St.George is responsible for sales, and service for its consumer, business and corporate customers in Australia under the St.George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands. BTFG is Westpac�� Australian wealth management division. WIB delivers a range of financial services to commercial, corporate, institutional and government customers with connections to Australia and New Zealand. Westpac New Zealand is responsible for the sales and service of banking, wealth and insurance products for consumers, business and institutional customers in New Zealand. In January 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of Lloyds Banking Group Plc�� Australian asset finance business, Capital Finance Australia Limited, and its Australian corporate loan portfolio, BOS International (Australia) Ltd.

Westpac RBB

Westpac RBB�� activities are conducted through its network of branches and business banking centers, home finance managers (HFMs) and specialized consumer and business relationship managers, with the support of cash flow, financial markets and wealth specialists, customer service centers, automated teller machines (ATMs) and Internet channels.

St.George

Consumer activities are conducted through a networ! k of branches, third party distributors, call centers, automated teller machines (ATMs), electronic funds transfer point-of-sale (EFTPOS) terminals and Internet banking services. Business and corporate customers are provided with a range of banking and financial products and services, including specialist advice for cash flow finance, trade finance, automotive and equipment finance, property finance, transaction banking and treasury services. Sales and service activities for business and corporate customers are conducted by relationship managers through business banking centers, Internet and customer service centre channels.

BTFG

BTFG�� funds management operations include the manufacturing and distribution of investment, superannuation and retirement products; investment platforms, such as Wrap and Master Trusts, and private banking and financial planning. Its Insurance solutions cover the manufacturing and distribution of life, general and lenders mortgage insurance. BTFG�� brands include Advance Asset Management, Ascalon, Asgard, BT, BT Investment Management (64.5% owned by Westpac), BT Select, Licensee Select, Magnitude, Securitor and the advice, private banking and insurance operations of Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, St.George and Westpac.

Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB)

WIB operates through industry relationship and specialist product teams, with knowledge in transactional banking, financial and debt capital markets, specialised capital, margin lending, broking and alternative investment solutions. Customers are supported through branches and subsidiaries located in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, United Kingdom and Asia.

Westpac New Zealand

Westpac conducts its New Zealand banking business through two banks in New Zealand; Westpac New Zealand

Limited, and Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac New Zealand operates through network of branches and ATMs across both the North and South Islands. Business an! d institu! tional customers are served through relationship and specialist products teams. Banking products are provided under the Westpac and WIB brands, while insurance and wealth products are provided under Westpac Life and BT brands.

Westpac�� other business divisions includes Pacific Banking, which provides banking services for retail and business customers in seven Pacific countries. Branches, ATMs, telephone banking and Internet banking channels are used to deliver its business activities in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Samoa. Pacific Banking�� financial products include personal savings accounts, business transactional accounts, personal and business lending products, business services and a range of international products; Group Services which include technology, banking operations, legal and property services; Treasury which focuses on management of the Group�� interest rate risk and funding requirements, and Core Support which include functions performed centrally including finance, risk and human resources.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fede Zaldua]

  Most Australian banks seem to comply with (1) and (2). On the other hand, Australian banks have a loan to deposit ratio of 120% and around 9% of their funding is short term foreign funding. This means that their results shall be severely damaged by a steep depreciation of the local currency. A good example of a bank that is easy to short from the US (since it trades in the New York Stock Exchange) is the Westpac Banking Corporation (WBK). Westpac generates 90% of its revenues domestically and sells for 2014 13.1 times earnings and 2.1 times its 2014 expected book value. That said, there is one problem that you will find when you short Westpac's shares: The bank pays a +5% cash dividend yield.

• [By Bryan Perry]

  Lloyds has several catalysts working in its favor. The bank has been busily disposing of assets that it views as non-core — the latest being a $1.45 billion ($1.37 billion U.S.) disposition of Australian operations to Aussie banking giant Westpac (WBK). In addition, Lloyds said it hopes to pay out as much as 70% of earnings as a dividend by 2016, which as a high-yield editor, has my full attention. This puts shares on a prospective yield for 2016 of more than 7% if earnings come in as projected.

• [By Dividend]

  Westpac Banking (WBK) has a market capitalization of $444.52 billion. The company employs 36,000 people, generates revenue of $33.259 billion and has a net income of $5.444 billion. Westpac Banking�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $17.537 billion. The EBITDA margin is 52.73 percent (the operating margin is 49.28 percent and the net profit margin 33.57 percent).

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014: MTR Gaming Group Inc.(MNTG)

MTR Gaming Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in racing, gaming, and entertainment businesses in the United States. It owns and operates Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort, which is a diverse gaming, entertainment, and convention complex in Chester, West Virginia that consists of approximately 2,132 slot machines, 14 poker tables, and 45 casino table games; 357 hotel rooms, including 256-room Grande Hotel at Mountaineer; a convention space; a live thoroughbred horse racing facility; the Woodview Golf Course; a theater and events center; a fitness center; and an on-site pari-mutuel wagering facility. The company also operates Presque Isle Downs & Casino property, which comprises 2,070 slot machines, 44 casino table games, and 9 poker tables; and provides live thoroughbred horse racing and on-site pari-mutuel wagering services in Erie, Pennsylvania. In addition, it operates Scioto Downs Casino & Racetrack, a live harness racing track in Columbus, Ohio; and Ra celinebet.com, a national account wagering service that offers online and telephone wagering on horse races. The company was formerly known as Secamur Corporation and changed its name to MTR Gaming Group, Inc. in 1996. MTR Gaming Group, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Chester, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Equities Lab]

  The stocks that currently pass the stock screen in order of market cap are Frontier Communications Corp , Crown Media Holdings (CRWN), Vonage Holding (VG), MCG Capital Corp (MCGC), 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (FLWS), MTR Gaming Corporation (MNTG), Alaska Communications (ALSK), and Enzon Pharmaceuticals (ENZN).

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  MTR Gaming Group Inc.(MNTG) and privately held Eldorado Resorts LLC have amended their merger agreement to increase the amount of cash paid to MTR shareholders, preventing a possible bidding war for the gaming company. MTR shares surged 13% to $5.92 premarket, approaching the raised bid price $6.05 a share.

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014: Comcast Corporation(CMCSA)

Comcast Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides entertainment, information, and communications products and services in the United States and internationally. Its Cable Communications segment provides video, high-speed Internet, and phone services to residential and business customers. As of June 30, 2011, its cable systems served approximately 22.5 million video customers, 17.5 million high-speed Internet customers, and 9.1 million phone customers. The company?s Cable Networks segment operates cable entertainment networks, such as USA Network, Syfy, E!, Bravo, Oxygen, Style, G4, Chiller, Sleuth, and Universal HD; news and information networks, including CNBC, MSNBC, and CNBC World; cable sports networks comprising Golf Channel and VERSUS; regional sports and news networks; international entertainment, and news and information networks, such as CNBC Europe, CNBC Asia, and Universal Networks International portfolio of networks; cable television production oper ations; and digital media properties consisting primarily of brand-aligned Websites and other Websites, such as DailyCandy, Fandango, and iVillage. Its Broadcast Television segment operates the U.S. broadcast networks, NBC and Telemundo; 10 NBC and 15 Telemundo owned local television stations; broadcast television productions; and related digital media properties. The company?s Filmed Entertainment segment operates Universal Pictures, which produces, acquires, markets, and distributes filmed entertainment and stage plays worldwide in various media formats for theatrical, home entertainment, television, and other distribution platforms. Its Theme Parks segment operates Universal Studios Hollywood park and Wet ?n Wild water park, as well as licenses intellectual properties and provides services to third parties that own and operate Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Singapore. Comcast Corporation was founded in 1963 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Aereo/AP LOS ANGELES -- The Supreme Court shot down Aereo's business model this week, but that doesn't mean customers' desire for a better TV experience is gone. Americans are still fed up with huge channel bundles, high prices, poor service and the lack of ability to watch all their shows on all their devices. That's part of why Aereo was attractive: It offered local broadcast channels and a few others on multiple devices for just $8 a month. Industry watchers say the pay TV business must continue to evolve to win over unhappy customers, even if the nation's top court said grabbing signals from the airwaves and distributing them online without content-owner permission isn't the way. "Even without Aereo, the reason people were cutting the cord, for cost reasons and so on, those don't go away," said Robin Flynn, an analyst with market research firm SNL Kagan. Last year, the number of pay TV subscribers in the U.S. fell for the first time, slipping 0.1 percent to 94.6 million, according to Leichtman Research Group. Into that breach have leapt companies that have offered quality TV content online for low cost, including Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon.com (AMZN). Hulu, which is owned by major broadcast networks ABC (DIS), NBC and Fox (FOX), offers full episodes of popular shows like "The Colbert Report" the next day for free. While that's not live TV, which Aereo offered, for many it's a good-enough substitute. The decision against Aereo is a setback, but not a fatal one for people who want to break away from traditional TV, said Bill Niemeyer, senior analyst at TDG Research. "While the content on the major broadcast networks is very important for some people, it's not important for everyone," Niemeyer said. "So it's a dent, but I don't think it's going to significantly change the trends." If anything, the rise and fall of Aereo has highlighted an important fact -- that high-quality TV signals are available on the airwaves for free -- something that might hav

• [By Louis Navellier]

  Cable giant Comcast (CMCSA) just announced a partnership with Apple (AAPL) to bring television into the 21st Century. With Comcast stock in the spotlight, is now a good time to pick up this “triple play” (earnings, dividends and stock buybacks) stock?

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Comcast provides communications and entertainment products and services to consumers and companies. The stock has been part of an explosive move toward higher prices, but it is now consolidating and may need a little more time before it gets going. Over the past four quarters, earnings and revenue figures have been on the rise, which has really pleased investors in the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Comcast has been a weak year-to-date performer. Look for Comcast to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Tim Beyers]

  As bad as the showing is for Disney, Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA  ) Universal Pictures walks away with another winner. Despicable Me already ranks as the 10th top grossing animated feature of all time after opening at $56.4 million in July 2010. That the sequel opened more than $20 million better bodes well both for the film and for Universal's animated efforts.

5 Best Promising Stocks To Buy For 2014: Halozyme Therapeutics Inc.(HALO)

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of recombinant human enzymes that transiently modify tissue under the skin to facilitate injection of other therapies or correct diseased tissue structures for clinical benefits. The company primarily offers recombinant human hyaluronidase, an enzyme that degrades hyaluronan, which is a matrix component in the skin, and facilitates the dispersion and absorption of drugs and fluids. Its portfolio of products and product candidates are developed based principally on intellectual property covering the family of human enzymes known as hyaluronidases. The company also provides Ultrafast Insulin program, a Phase II clinical trial product for the treatment of diabetes mellitus; and Enhanze technology, a proprietary drug delivery platform for subcutaneous delivery of injectable biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic molecules, as well as sma ll molecules and fluids. It offers PEGPH20, a new molecular entity that is in Phase I trial for the systemic treatment of tumors; and HTI-501, a recombinant human proteinase, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial used for the treatment of edematous fibrosclerotic panniculopathy (cellulite). The company has collaborative partnerships with F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.; ViroPharma Incorporated; and Intrexon Corporation to apply Enhanze technology to the partners? biological therapeutic compounds. Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO) halted patient enrollment and dosing in its Phase 2 clinical trial of PEGPH20 based on a recommendation by the Data Monitoring Committee who argued that there may be a difference in the thomboembolic rate between the PEGPH20 patients and the non-treated group. Shares lost 27.26 percent, closing at $8.43.

• [By Charley Blaine]

  Biotechnology stocks, meanwhile, are getting slaughtered. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is down 22 percent. Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO), which has been working on a drug to treat pancreatic cancer, is off 59 percent since peaking on Jan. 24.

• [By John Udovich]
  Follow-on Stock Offerings From Small Cap Biotech Stocks. Thanks to the boom in biotech IPOs along with the sector�� overall performance, already listed biotechs have the option to ask investors for more cash in the form of a follow-on offering. Recently, FierceBiotech.com noted how four small cap biotechs raised $276 million from follow-on offerings in just one day last week. These small caps�included Epizyme Inc (NASDAQ: EPZM) which raised $88 million, Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: HALO) which raised $100 million, Agenus Inc (NASDAQ: AGEN) which raised $52 million and Idera Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDRA) which raised $36 million. FierceBiotech.com noted that the�steady flow of about $4.5 billion a year in venture cash�along with�more than $3.5 billion from IPOs last year plus all of the�follow-ons are helping to foster both company growth and�accelerate drug�development programs. Mixed Bag for Biotech IPOs. Last Wednesday also saw two small cap biotech IPOs fizzle in one day�with small cap T cell vaccine developer�Genocea Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ: GNCA) raising $60 million but then ending the day down 8.3% to close at $11 while Dutch drug developer uniQure NV (QURE) raised $81.9 million but fell more than 14% to $14.61. However, orphan drug stock Auspex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ASPX), which is developing�drugs to treat orphan diseases like Tourette syndrome, saw a 30.5% gain to close at $15.66 and raise $84 million. The Boston Globe quoted Michael Ringel, a partner and managing director at Boston Consulting Group who focuses on health care business, as saying:

  ��he mood is incredibly positive. Capital is flowing. [The biotech IPOs]��have been burning hot. I think it�� too early to suggest that is changing. I can�� predict the overall economy any better than anyone else, but I would expect a pretty good year for IPOs.��/p>

• [By Keith Speights]

  Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: HALO  ) isn't quite as close to commercialization. The company has a mid-stage study under way that combines its rHuPH20 hyaluronidase enzyme with a mealtime insulin analog. Halozyme's enzyme helps the insulin to be absorbed more quickly than it would normally.