Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014

I recently met up with Doreen Mogavero, a longtime New York Stock Exchange trader, on the floor of the NYSE.

I asked Doreen how the world's most famous stock exchange has changed during her three-decade career. Here's what she had to say (transcript follows):

Doreen Mogavero: I've been a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange since 1979.

Morgan Housel: How has the New York Stock Exchange changed during the time you've been here?

Mogavero: That's a very broad question. We've changed in a number of ways, and I think one of our very best points is that we always do change, right? I think obviously technology would be the biggest change that we've seen, and the effect that technology has had on the trading floor in terms of the amount of people that are here.

Housel: So when we look right behind you, there are shockingly few people down there, and it seems like a large portion of who is down there is the media. So what happened to all the people? Where did they go?

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Hemispherx Biopharma Inc (HEB)

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (Hemispherx) is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the clinical development of new drugs therapies based on natural immune system enhancing technologies for the treatment of viral and immune based chronic disorders. Hemispherx focuses on two core pharmaceutical technology platforms Ampligen and Alferon N Injection.The commercial focus for Ampligen includes application as a treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and as an influenza vaccine enhancer (adjuvant) for both therapeutic and preventative vaccine development. Alferon N Injection is a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved product with an indication for refractory or recurring genital warts. Alferon LDO (Low Dose Oral) is a formulation under development targeting influenza. It has three subsidiaries BioPro Corp., BioAegean Corp., and Core BioTech Corp. The Company's foreign subsidiary is Hemispherx Biopharma Europe N.V./S.A.

Ampligen

Ampligen is an experimental drug, which is undergoing clinical development for the treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). Over 1,000 patients have participated in the Ampligen clinical trials representing the administration of more than 90,000 doses of this drug. The Company is also engaged in ongoing, experimental studies assessing the efficacy of Ampligen against influenza viruses.

Alferon N Injection

Alferon N Injection is the registered trademark for the Company's injectable formulation of natural alpha interferon. Interferons are a group of proteins produced and secreted by cells to combat diseases. The Company's natural alpha interferon is produced from human white blood cells. Alferon N Injection [Interferon alfa-n3 (human leukocyte derived)] is a highly purified, natural-source, glycosylated, multi-species alpha interferon product.

Alferon LDO (Low Dose Oral)

Alferon LDO [Low Dose Oral Interferon Alfa-n3 (Human Leukocyte Derived)]! is an experimental low-dose, oral liquid formulation of Natural Alpha Interferon and like Alferon N Injection should not cause antibody formation, which is a problem with recombinant interferon. It is an experimental immunotherapeutic that works by stimulating an immune cascade response in the cells of the mouth and throat, enabling it to bolster systemic immune response through the entire body by absorption through the oral mucosa.

The Company competes with Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, AstraZeneca, Baxter International, Fletcher/CSI, AVANT Immunotherapeutics, AVI BioPharma and Genta.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited(YGE)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, sale, and installation of photovoltaic (PV) products in the People?s Republic of China and internationally. The company offers PV cells, PV modules, and integrated PV systems, as well as polysilicon ingots, blocks, and wafers. It sells its PV modules to distributors, wholesalers, power plant developers and operators, and PV system integrators in Germany, the United States, Italy, China, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan under the Yingli and Yingli Solar brand names. The company also offers its integrated PV systems directly to end-users or to contractors for use in the electricity projects, as well as to mobile communications companies in the People's Republic of China. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Baoding, the People? s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Canadian Solar has been on a tear, and the company�� market value is a fairly modest $587 million. But that�� most of the Chinese solar players. Only Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE) have higher market caps.

• [By Joshua Bondy]

  The Chinese firm�Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) is stuck playing catch up. Its most advanced residential panel offers 16.5% efficiency, while SunPower's X-Series is 21.5% efficient.�

• [By Travis Hoium]

  Shipment and margin trends aren't usually isolated to one Chinese solar manufacturer so it's easy to assume that other companies will see disappointing numbers in the first quarter. The first two to watch are Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE  ) and Canadian Solar� (NASDAQ: CSIQ  ) , who round out the top three Chinese solar module suppliers with Trina. All three have high debt, low margins, and massive losses. �

Top Heal Care Companies To Invest In Right Now: SDL PLC(SDL.L)

SDL plc provides global information management software and services to multinational businesses. Its Web content management, ecommerce, structured content and language technologies, and language services are used for content creation, management, translation, and publishing. The company operates through three segments: Language Services, Language Technologies, and Content Management Technologies. The Language Services segment provides translation services to customer?s multilingual content in multiple languages. The Language Technologies segment engages in the sale of enterprise, desktop, and statistical machine translation technology developed to help automate and manage multilingual assets, as well as provides associated consultancy and other services. The Content Management Technologies segment involves in the sale of content management technologies developed to help automate and manage content to deliver an interactive and personalized customer experience in multiple languages across Websites, documentation, and channels. The company serves aerospace, automotive, chemicals, oil and gas, electronics and high technology, fast moving consumer goods, finance, industrial goods, IT consulting, life science, media and publishing, public sector, services, software, telecoms, travel and tourism, and translation industries. SDL plc has a strategic partnership with Sapient. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Maidenhead, the United Kingdom.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Agilysys Inc.(AGYS)

Agilysys, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions to corporate and public-sector customers primarily in North America. It operates in three segments: Hospitality Solutions Group (HSG), Retail Solutions Group (RSG), and Technology Solutions Group (TSG). The HSG segment offers application software and services that streamline management of operations, property, and inventory for customers in the gaming, hotel and resort, cruise lines, food management services, and sports and entertainment markets. The RSG segment provides solutions for retailers to enhance productivity, operational efficiency, technology utilization, customer satisfaction, and in-store profitability that comprise customized pricing, inventory, and customer relationship management systems. This segment also offers implementation plans and supplies the hardware package required to operate the systems, including servers, receipt printers, point-of-sale terminals, and wireless devices for in-store use by retail store associates. The TSG segment provides various solutions that comprise enterprise architecture, infrastructure optimization, storage and resource management, identity management, and business continuity for the finance, government, healthcare, telecommunications, education, and other industries. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Solon, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Agilysys (NASDAQ: AGYS  ) have soared today by as much as 11% after the company reported earnings.

  So what: Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter rose 21% to $63 million, with the company's retail segment driving nearly all of those gains. Non-GAAP net income per share came in at $0.15, swinging into the black relative to the $0.16 per share adjusted loss a year ago. CEO James Dennedy said the company outperformed its expectations for the year.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Agilysys (Nasdaq: AGYS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Perceptron Inc.(PRCP)

Perceptron, Inc. develops, produces, and sells non-contact measurement and inspection solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. It offers AutoGauge systems that are used in the assembly and fabrication plants of automotive manufacturers; AutoGauge Plus, which offers freeform surface scanning and discrete feature measurement in one solution; AutoFit systems that are used in automotive manufacturing plants to contain, correct, and control the fit of exterior body panels; AutoScan systems, which provide a non-contact method of gathering data for the analysis of the surface contour of a part or product; and AutoGuide systems to calculate the difference between theoretical and actual relationships of a robot and the part being assembled, and send compensation data in six degrees of freedom to the robot. The company also offers ScanWorks, a hardware/software component set that allows customers to add digitizing capabilities to their machines or systems; ScanWorks xyz, a 3D sc anning solution designed for retrofitting 3-axis machines; ToolKit, a software solution for CMM manufacturers, system integrators, and application software developers; WheelWorks software and sensors that offer a non-contact method of measuring wheel position for use in automated or manual wheel alignment machines in automotive assembly plants; and Multi-line Sensors for use in automotive assembly plant wheel alignment systems. In addition, it manufactures visual inspection devices and accessories for the mechanical market; plumbing diagnostic equipment, meter imager systems, line detector accessories, and handheld inspection devices for the plumbing market; optical inspection devices for the construction and DIY market; and imaging solutions for the electrical market, as well as offers value-added services, including training, field services, launch support, consulting, maintenance agreements, repairs, and software tools. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Morningstar Inc.(MORN)

Morningstar, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides independent investment research to investors worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Investment Information and Investment Management. The Investment Information segment offers data, software, and research products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, and institutional clients. It provides Licensed Data, a set of investment data spanning various investment databases, including real-time pricing data available through electronic data feeds; Morningstar Advisor Workstation, a Web-based investment planning system; Morningstar.com, a membership service and Internet advertising space; Morningstar Direct, a Web-based institutional research platform; integrated Web tools to build customized Websites or enhance existing sites; Morningstar Principia, a CD-ROM-based investment research and planning software; Morningstar commodity data that provides data and analytics for the energy, financial, and agriculture sectors; equity and corporate credit research; and Morningstar structured credit ratings and research services. This segment also offers various financial communications materials, real-time data and desktop software, investment software, and investment indexes, as well as various print and online publications. The Investment Management segment offers various products and services, such as Investment Consulting that focuses on investment monitoring and asset allocation for funds of funds, including mutual funds and variable annuities; Retirement Solutions comprising the Morningstar Retirement Manager and Advice by Ibbotson platforms; and Morningstar Managed Portfolios, a asset management service includes series of mutual fund, exchange-traded fund, and stock portfolios. This segment serves banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, mutual fund companies, and retirement plan sponsors and providers. Morningstar, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Financial information provider Morningstar (NASDAQ: MORN  ) announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.125 per share, the same rate it's paid the last two quarters after it increased it 25% from $0.10 per share.

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Morningstar (Nasdaq: MORN  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Bill Smith]

  FDS operates in a highly competitive industry, some with more resources. Their competitors include:
  Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI)BloombergInteractive (IDC)MSCI Inc. (MXB)Morningstar Inc. (MORN)Track Data Corp. (TRAC)Edgar Online (EDGR)McGraw-Hill (MHP )

• [By Reuters]

  Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images TORONTO -- BlackBerry reported a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion Friday, in line with last week's warning, days after accepting its largest shareholder's tentative $4.7 billion bid to take it out of the public eye. BlackBerry (BBRY), which had warned of poor results on Sept. 20, said its net loss for the second quarter ended on Aug. 31 was $965 million, or $1.84 a share. Revenue fell 45 percent to $1.6 billion from a year earlier. The loss included a writedown of about $934 million for unsold Z10 phones, a touchscreen model that the company had hoped would reverse its fading fortunes. The phone has sold badly with business and consumer customers alike. "This write-off is very real," said Morningstar (MORN) analyst Brian Colello. "They bought a lot of inventory hoping to sell it. The auditors were not convinced that BlackBerry can sell it or sell it at prices that the company was hoping for. We see no reason to be more optimistic than them." Excluding the Z10 writedown and restructuring costs, BlackBerry reported a loss of $248 million, or 47 cents a share. The company plans to shed 4,500 jobs, or more than one-third of its workforce, as it shrinks to focus on corporate and government customers. It will not host the typical post-results call for investors after signing a tentative $9-a-share agreement to be acquired by a consortium led by Fairfax Financial, its largest shareholder, Monday. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company's steep revenue decline and mounting losses have revived fears that BlackBerry, a pioneer in the smartphone sector, faces an ignominious death. "We are very disappointed with our operational and financial results this quarter and have announced a series of major changes to address the competitive hardware environment and our cost structure," Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins said in the earnings statement. BlackBerry said Heins wasn't available for an interview. The company said it

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: TransAct Technologies Incorporated(TACT)

TransAct Technologies Incorporated designs, develops, assembles, markets, and services transaction and specialty printers. It offers thermal, inkjet, and impact printers to print various transaction records, such as receipts, tickets, coupons, register journals, and other documents. The company also provides various printing supplies and consumables, including inkjet cartridges, ribbons, receipt papers, and other transaction supplies, as well as replacement parts; maintenance, repair, and testing services; and refurbished printers. TransAct Technologies Incorporated sells its printers under the Epic, Ithaca, and Printrex brand names for applications primarily in the banking, POS, casino and gaming, lottery, oil and gas, and medical and mobile markets. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, value-added resellers, and selected distributors, as well as directly and online to end-users in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Austral ia, the Caribbean Islands, and the south Pacific. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Hamden, Connecticut.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Jadason Enterprises Ltd (J03.SI)

Jadason Enterprises Ltd, an investment holding company, primarily distributes equipment and supplies to the printed circuit board (PCB) industry in Asia. The company operates a distribution network in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan. It also provides PCB drilling services to its customers in China and Malaysia, as well as mass lamination services to PCB manufacturers operating in China. The company also engages in the provision of testing services for PCBs; manufacture and trading of PCB and semi-conductor machineries; production and distribution of wet process equipment; provision of machinery installation and maintenance services; sales support and procurement services; and in-circuit testing services, as well as provides testing services for PCBs. Further, it provides printing services, as well as provides assembly of laser photoplotters, exposure machines, and other PCB equipment for the PCB industry. Jadason Enterprises Ltd was found ed in 1980 and is based in Singapore.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: Cad It(CAD.MI)

CAD IT S.p.A. offers software solutions, as well as provides maintenance, personalization, integration, and other correlated services to banking, insurance, and private and public administration markets primarily in Italy. The company�?s Finance division provides Financial Area, an application that manages various functions connected to the negotiation, settlement, accounting, and administration of domestic and foreign financial operations. It also offers various solutions for fund allocation, tangible asset management, private banking, link-up to international markets, derivate management, general group data, credit, and forex. The company's Public Administration division provides planning and control systems, and a range of instruments and services, including local taxation, a package for the management of revenue, and voluntary/forced tax collection activities; B-Eval, a tool to monitor, measure, and evaluate the objectives and activities of a public body; and Babel e, a business intelligence platform to support public administration in activities, such as cost analysis, planning and programming, PEG/detailed plan of objectives, strategic control, staff cost control, and aim assessment. Its Industry division offers solutions for the management of various activities, such as accounting, production, management control, workflow management, quality system, designing, and supply chain management; and an ERP solution that covers various areas of company management. The company also offers outsourcing services in the areas of technical infrastructure, data protection, hardware and software maintenance, applicative software maintenance, technical and applicative monitoring, and disaster recovery. CAD IT S.p.A. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Verona, Italy.

Top 10 Tech Companies To Own For 2014: TriQuint Semiconductor Inc.(TQNT)

TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. provides radio frequency (RF) solutions and technology for communications, defense, and aerospace companies worldwide. The company designs, develops, and manufactures RF solutions with gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride, bipolar high electron mobility transistor, surface acoustic wave (SAW), temperature compensated surface acoustic wave, bulk acoustic wave (BAW), copper flip, and wafer level packaging technologies. The company offers an array of filtering, switching, and amplification products for RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications. It sells electronic components for mobile phones, including transmit modules, RF filters, power amplifiers and power amplifier modules, duplexers, switches, other RF devices, and integrated products to mobile device manufacturers. The company also offers signal amplification and filtering products, including a portfolio of GaAs microwave monolithic integrated circuits and transistors, and SAW and BAW filter components that support the transfer of voice, data, and video across wireless or wired infrastructure. Its network products comprise millimeter wave power amplifiers, frequency converters, and voltage controlled oscillators. In addition, the company provides defense and aerospace devices, including packaged products, die-level integrated circuits (ICs), microwave monolithic ICs, and multi-chip modules to military contractors serving the U.S. government for use in various communications and phased array radar programs, such as ship-based, airborne, and battlefield systems, as well as sat-com, electronic warfare, and guidance applications. Further, TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. offers foundry services. The company sells its products through independent manufacturers? representatives, independent distributors, and direct sales staff. TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  TriQuint Semiconductor (Nasdaq: TQNT  ) reported earnings on April 24. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 30 (Q1), TriQuint Semiconductor met expectations on revenues and missed expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Nate Pile]

  Steve Halpern: So, for your specific recommendations in the semiconductor sector, you've initially taken positions in TriQuint Semiconductor (TQNT), Cirrus Logic (CRUS), and NVIDIA (NVDA). Could you tell us about those positions and the strategy that you're using with them?

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Among holdings in which Graham Capital Management increased its stake was TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT  ) . The stock recently received an upgrade to "buy" from analysts at Charter Equity, but my colleague Rich Smith thinks the stock is still overvalued. Anyone thinking the stock is on the rich side won't be happy about the company's stock-buyback plans. Its last earnings report was disappointing, but management sees better days ahead due to the introduction of many new products, along with a growing market.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT  ) is aiming to boost the value of its shares with a fresh repurchase scheme. The firm announced it has authorized the buyback of up to $75 million worth of its common stock. This will be bought "from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices or through privately negotiated transactions at the discretion of Company management."