Hot Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now

Altera�(ALTR)'s performance has been weak as shares are down almost 9% so far this year as compared to peers such as Xilinx (XLNX) and Lattice Semiconductor.

These three companies make programmable chips that can be bought by customers and then programmed according to their needs. But Xilinx and Lattice seems to be making all the right moves.

Not a Rosy Picture

Last month, Goldman Sachs downgraded Altera�� rating from "conviction buy" to "buy" owing to a belief that Altera could face some short-term weakness. Further, Altera�� quarterly report was not robust either. Revenue lowered 10% from the year-ago period and earnings dropped 24%. The company released the guidance for revenue of around $441 million at the mid-point, which was far behind the $473.66 million expectation.

Therefore, it seems like it�� all unstable conditions for Altera currently. However, patient investors might be interested in Altera with the stock trading pretty close to its 52-week low and being the cheapest among the three at 22 times earnings. The long-term prospects are not that bad, and taking into account the fact that Altera offers a dividend yield of 1.90%, it could be a good buy over the long run.

Top 5 Defense Companies To Own In Right Now: Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA)

Mine Safety Appliances Company develops, manufactures, and supplies health and safety products used by workers in the fire service, homeland security, construction, and other industries, as well as the military. It offers respiratory protection products, including self contained breathing apparatus, air-purifying respirators, gas masks, and escape hoods; and portable and permanent gas detection instruments, such as single-and multi-gas hand-held detectors, multi-point permanently installed gas detection systems, flame detectors, and open-path infrared gas detectors. The company also provides thermal imaging cameras; head, eye, face, and hearing protection products, such as industrial hard hats, fire helmets, and military helmets and communication systems; and body protection products comprising fall protection equipment and ballistic body armor. In addition, it offers consumer and contractor safety products through retail channels. The company?s products are used by first responders; general industry workers; military personnel; oil, gas, petrochemical, and chemical workers; hazmat and confined space workers; and construction workers and contractors. Mine Safety Appliances Company sells its products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company was founded in 1914 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Take Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA  ) , for instance. The safety equipment provider missed expectations in its most recent quarter. But its very solid balance sheet helps protect it from the cyclicality in its industry, and its overall strength enabled it to increase its dividend last week, in spite of that short-term weakness. That solid balance sheet was one of the key factors that led to its selection for the iPIG portfolio and the reason the portfolio still has room for the company even though it slipped.

• [By Chuck Saletta]

  Two of those companies, railroad tycoon CSX (NYSE: CSX  ) and safety equipment provider Mine Safety Appliances (NYSE: MSA  ) , paid out higher per-share amounts than they did last quarter. Both raised their payments by about 7% -- with CSX's moving from $0.14 to $0.15 per share and Mine Safety Appliances' rising from $0.28 to $0.30.

Hot Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: Unwired Planet Inc (UPIP)

Unwired Planet, Inc. (Unwired Planet), formerly Openwave Systems Inc., incorporated on December 16, 1994, is an intellectual property and technology licensing company. As of June 30, 2012, the Company had patent portfolio of approximately 200 issued United States and foreign patents and approximately 75 pending applications, many of which is considered foundational to mobile communications. In May 2012, the Company officially changed name to Unwired Planet, Inc.

On February 1, 2012, the Company sold its location business to Persistent Telecom Solutions Inc. On April 30, 2012, the Company completed the sale of its mediation and messaging product businesses to Openwave Mobility, Inc. The Company generates revenue by licensing its patented innovations and technologies to companies that develop mobile communications software infrastructure or hardware and/or develop mobile communications products.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anora Mahmudova]

  Among individual stocks, Unwired Planet (UPIP) , an intellectual property company focused on the mobile industry, soared 49% after news that Chinese computer-maker Lenovo Group Ltd. (HK:0992) �was buying 21 of its patent families for $100 million.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Unwired Planet Inc. (UPIP) �jumped 75% to $2.27 on heavy volume after Lenovo Group (HK:0992) �said it would buy about 21 patent families from Unwired for $100 million.

Hot Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: McMoRan Exploration Company (MMR)

McMoRan Exploration Co. engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of oil and natural gas in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in the Gulf Coast area of the United States. It is involved in lifting oil and natural gas to the surface; and gathering, treating, and processing hydrocarbons to extract liquids, such as ethane, propane, butane, and natural gasolines from natural gas. The company also provides exploration and production technologies, including the incorporation of 3-D seismic interpretation, offshore drilling to total depths, and horizontal drilling. As of December 31, 2012, it owned or controlled interests in 1,003 oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, and onshore Louisiana and Texas covering approximately 511,000 net acres. The company had estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves totaling 219.9 billion cubic feet equivalent. McMoRan Exploration Co. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisi ana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Smith]

  The pending purchases
  Aside from its current core metals operations, Freeport is in the process of acquiring a pair of independent oil and gas producers, Plains Exploration & Production (NYSE: PXP  ) and McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR  ) . In December, Freeport announced that it would pay 0.6531 shares of its common stock and $25 in cash for each outstanding share of Plains. In addition, for McMoRan it stated that it would pay $14.75 in cash and 1.15 units of a royalty trust that will hold a 5% overriding royalty interest in McMoRan's shallow water and ultra-deepwater prospects.

Hot Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: NewLead Holdings Ltd.(NEWL)

NewLead Holdings Ltd. operates as an international shipping company that owns and operates product tankers and dry bulk carriers. It operates in two segments, Wet Operations and Dry Operations. The Wet Operations segment transports various refined petroleum products simultaneously in segregated coated cargo tanks that include gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, and gas oil. The Dry Operations segment involves in transporting and handling bulk cargoes through ownership, operation, and trading of vessels. As of August 2, 2011, the company operated a fleet of 6 double-hull product tankers and 16 dry bulk vessels. The company was formerly known as Aries Maritime Transport Limited and changed its name to NewLead Holdings Ltd. in December 2009. NewLead Holdings Ltd. was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  October wasn't an easy month to own FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), NewLead Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NEWL), DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS), or any maritime shipper for that matter. They were all down rather sharply after heroic runups in September. DRYS fell 22% last month. NEWL slumped 41% in October. FREE gave up 44% of its value last month. What happened? After all, these same stocks were among some of the hottest names in September. In simplest terms, what happened here is what happens all too often... the market "got it right" in terms of the premise, but overdid it. Now that the dust is settling though, the undertow is kicking in again, but this time at a more reasonable/sustainable pace.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Two months ago, maritime shipping stocks FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), NewLead Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NEWL), and DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS) were all the rage; traders couldn't get enough of them. The spark for the new strength from DRYS, NEWL, and FREE was a strong - and somewhat surprising - bounce in Baltic Dry Index, which roughly measures the daily charter rate for maritime shipping vessels. It had risen from a low of 698 at the beginning of the year to above 1000 by July to a peak of 2113 in late September. Since these shipping companies had seen a tripling (in less than a year, mind you) of the prices they could charge customers, the rebounding interest in these stocks was certainly understandable. FreeSeas shares more than doubled in value during that time. DryShips nearly did the same. While NewLead Holdings Ltd didn't actually dole out any significant gain, it did draw a lot of new interest during that hot period as a potential "the next one to take off" idea.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Back in early November, yours truly penned some bullish thoughts on FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ:FREE), NewLead Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:NEWL), and DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS). While each stock has its own merits, the crux of the bullishness was ultimately rooted in the brewing rebound of the Baltic Dry Index... a reflection of the prices companies pay shippers like FreeSeas and DryShips to haul goods over the ocean.

Hot Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation(CDE)

Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, operation, exploration, and development of silver and gold mining properties located primarily in South America, Mexico, the United States, and Australia. The company also explores for lead and zinc ores. Its properties include the Palmarejo mine located in the state of Chihuahua, northern Mexico; San Bartolome mine located near Potosi, Bolivia; Kensington mine located north-northwest of Juneau, Alaska; Rochester mine located in northwestern Nevada; Martha mine located in Santa Cruz, Argentina; and the Endeavor mine in New South Wales, Australia, as well as Joaquin, Tornado, and Satelite properties in Santa Cruz, Argentina. The company was founded in 1928 and is based in Coeur d?Alene, Idaho.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Coeur Mining (NYSE: CDE) shares touched a new 52-week low of $8.97 after the company reported its Q1 production results and maintained its 2014 production outlook.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Once again, rather than making a wish on burning match bets, I prefer to buy out of favor companies at a steep discount to their asset and business value. And a�look at the silver miners shows deep discounts to the value of corporate assets that could lead to significant profits.

  Pan American Silver (PAAS) trades at just 65% of book value and has fallen by about 75% over the past few years. Couer Mines (CDE) is fetching just 54% of book and has fallen by around 80% since 2006. Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) trades at 55% of book and for less than the value of the cash the company has in the bank.

  In reality, silver just needs to stop falling in price for these stocks to start to recover. If the analysts are right and silver hits a new high in the next decade, these could easily be the best investments you ever make in your lifetime.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Right now I know that silver miners like Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Coeur Mining (CDE) are very cheap on an asset basis. I know that oil and gas producers like Swift Energy (SFY) and WPX Energy (WPX) are priced as if no one will ever use the stuff again. I know that small banks like Cape Bancorp (CBNJ) and Essa Bancorp (ESSA) are crazy-cheap — and if the world does not end, those stocks will be a lot higher in a few years.

Hot Cheapest Companies To Own In Right Now: PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW)

PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (the Fund) is based on the WilderHill Clean Energy Index and seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the Fund�� fees and expenses) of that equity index. The sectors covered by the Fund include Energy-Alternate Sources, Semiconductors, Electrical Components and Equipment, Chemicals, Electric, Electronics, Computers, Auto Parts and Equipment, Biotechnology and Agriculture. PowerShares Capital Management LLC is the Fund's investment adviser.

PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio�� top 10 holdings include SunPower Corp., Class A, Echelon Corp., Cypress Semiconductor Corp., Cree, Inc., First Solar, Inc., OM Group, Inc., Universal Display Corp., KYOCERA Corp. ADR (Japan), Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. ADR (Cayman Islands) and Applied Materials, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some clean-energy-related stocks to your portfolio, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio ETF (NYSEMKT: PBW  ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.
  
  The basics
  ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The PowerShares ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is 0.70%. The fund is fairly small, too, so if you're thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

• [By Wall Street Sector Selector]

  Another ETF which invests in the solar sector is the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW). Although its holdings are not limited to the solar sector, its most significant holding is SunPower Corporation at 4.96% of the weight. Its number three holding is MEMC Electronic Materials at 3.42% of the weight. PBW's average trading volume is robust at over 400,000 shares per day. Its market cap is $135 million.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  A lack of profits and the reliance on government subsidies have made most stocks in the renewable energy category pretty poor performers over the years. Just check out the performance of the broad PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW). It has lost about 7.5% annually since its inception in 2005.