Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now

On Monday, Goldman Sachs upgraded the whole steel sector from Cautious to Neutral and specifically upgraded small cap and mid cap steel stocks AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS), United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) and Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) to Buy with price targets of $6, $30 and $22, respectively, but should you go for one of these individual steel stocks or for the Market Vectors Steel ETF (NYSEARCA: SLX)? To begin with, Goldman Sachs says that the�supply-demand fundamentals for steel are starting to look more appealing as some supply has been taken out plus they have a very bearish view on input costs (as in iron ore)���which bodes well for steel producers in the long run. Moreover, recently filed trade cases could provide some tailwind���if they are successful.�Of course a rising tide can lift all ships, but Goldman Sachs suggests that you go for the following�small cap or mid cap steel stocks:�

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Tyson Foods Inc.(TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, distribution, and marketing of chicken, beef, pork, and prepared food products, as well as related allied products worldwide. The company?s Chicken segment involves in breeding and raising chickens, as well as processing live chickens into fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products. Its Beef segment processes live fed cattle and fabricates dressed beef carcasses into primal and sub-primal meat cuts and case-ready products The company?s Pork segment involves in the processing live market hogs; and fabricating pork carcasses into primal and sub-primal cuts and case-ready products. Its Prepared Foods segment manufactures and markets frozen and refrigerated food products comprising pepperoni, bacon, beef and pork pizza toppings, pizza crusts, flour and corn tortilla products, appetizers, prepared meals, ethnic foods, soups, sauces, side dishes, meat dishes, and processed meats. The company mark ets and sells its products to grocery retailers, grocery wholesalers, meat distributors, warehouse club stores, military commissaries, industrial food processing companies, chain restaurants or their distributors, international export companies, and domestic distributors, as well as to foodservice operations, such as plant and school cafeterias, convenience stores, hospitals, and other vendors. Tyson Foods, Inc. also offers its allied products to the manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and technical products, as well as to pork processors. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  Sysco has avoided the margin compression suffered by chicken producers Tyson (NYSE: TSN  ) and Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM  ) and which was more deeply felt by smaller food-service operator Nash-Finch (NASDAQ: NAFC  ) . (It is omitted from this chart due to its drop into outright negative operating margin territory (a decline of roughly 250% in two years.) However, fellow food-service company United Natural Foods (NASDAQ: UNFI  ) has actually improved its margins, and restaurant chains both large and small (well, mid-size) have done an admirable job of holding the margin line in the face of rising input costs. So it appears that scale alone isn't enough to help Sysco outrun the rising costs of its products.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Alamy When you read something discouraging about a company you patronize or invest in, it's easy to think there isn't much you can do about it. But of course that's not true. As a customer, you can simply stop giving the company your business. If you're a shareholder, you can vote for or against various proposals for the company. And if those options don't feel like enough, there's another way to voice your displeasure -- a tactic that is growing in popularity and is truly bring about changes: You can start or sign a petition. If your first reaction to that is, "Nonsense, petitions never accomplish anything," your skepticism is understandable. But it's a little out of date. Social media has changed the petition game as it has changed so many other things. Banding Together for Change By now, you've probably seen petitions pop up on your Facebook (FB) page. You might have even signed some. But we don't often hear what happens next. In many cases, they work. For example, 162,150 people signed a petition protesting the name of a Jacksonville, Fla., high school, which had been named in the 1950s after a slave trader and Ku Klux Klan member, and the school board has agreed to change its name at the start of the new school year. Changes can happen at big companies, too. More than 307,000 petitioners were successful in getting Tyson Foods (TSN), the second-largest food-production company in the Fortune 500, to "stop torturing pigs." The company announced new animal-welfare guidelines for its pork suppliers, requiring more room for pigs to move around and more humane methods of killing the animals. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) is another example. It had long been criticized for policies such as not offering clothing in larger sizes and making someone's looks a major hiring criteria in order to distance itself from anyone other than "cool, good-looking people." The company has finally agreed to start offering plus-size clothing, likely persuaded in part by more t

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Gamestop Corporation (GME)

GameStop Corp. operates as a retailer of video game products and personal computer (PC) entertainment software. It sells new and used video game hardware; video game software; used video game products; and video game accessories, which primarily consist of controllers, memory cards, and other add-ons, as well as strategy guides and trading cards. The company also offers PC entertainment and other software across various genres, including sports, action, strategy, adventure/role playing, and simulation, as well as products that relate to the digital category comprising network point cards, prepaid digital and online timecards, and digitally downloadable software. GameStop Corp. sells its products through stores, as well as through its electronic commerce Web sites, including gamestop.com, ebgames.com.au, gamestop.ca, gamestop.it, gamestop.es, gamestop.ie, gamestop.de, and micromania.fr. As of July 12, 2011, its retail network and family of brands included 6,573 company-oper ated stores in 17 countries worldwide. The company also publishes Game Informer, a video game magazine in the United States; and operates the online video gaming Web sites kongregate.com and joltonline.com. GameStop Corp. was founded in 1994 and is based in Grapevine, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Hill]

  Shares of Sony (NYSE: SNE  ) rise after the company's new PlayStation4 game console is priced at $399. Softbank raised its offer to buy Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) by $1.5 billion. Dole Food (NYSE: DOLE  ) CEO David Murdock offers to buy the entire company. And bricks-and-mortar retailer GameStop (NYSE: GME  ) also gets a boost from Sony's news that the new PlayStation4 will allow unlimited used-game sales. In this installment of Investor Beat, our analysts discuss four stocks making big moves.

10 Best Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Forbes Energy Services Ltd (FES)

Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (FES Ltd) is an independent oilfield services contractor that provides a range of well site services to oil and natural gas drilling and producing companies to help develop and enhance the production of oil and natural gas. These services include fluid hauling, fluid disposal, well maintenance, completion services, workovers and recompletions, plugging and abandonment, and tubing testing. FES Ltd operates in two segments: well servicing and fluid logistics and other. Its operations are concentrated in the onshore oil and natural gas producing regions of Texas, with additional locations in Mississippi, in Pennsylvania and, prior to the disposition of its Mexican assets in January 2012, which is discussed below, in Mexico. In January 2012, the Company sold its assets located in Mexico, as well as its equity interests in Forbes Energy Services Mexico Servicios de Personal, S. de R.L. de C.V. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Forbes Energy Services Ltd. (NASDAQ:FES), a leader in well servicing and fluid logistics management in the oilfield services industry, will participate in the GHS 100 Energy Conference being held June 25-26, 2012, at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: MFS Intermediate Income Trust (MIN)

MFS Intermediate Income Trust (the Trust) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Trust seeks to preserve capital and provide high current income. It maintains a portfolio that includes investments in short and intermediate-term United States Government and foreign high-grade securities.

MFS Intermediate Income Trust's portfolio includes non-United States Government bonds, mortgage-backed securities, the United States Government agency securities, the United States Treasury securities, emerging market bonds, commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities and high-grade corporate securities. The Trust can invest in foreign securities, including securities of emerging market issuers. The Trust's investment advisor is Massachusetts Financial Services Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Akaralph]

  I have written about MFS Intermediate Income Fund (MIN) on a few previous occasions, most recently here. I have extolled its virtues as a defensive play in a bear market scenario.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Echo Therapeutics Inc (ECTE)

Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (Echo), incorporated on September 10, 2007, is a transdermal medical device company. The Company is developing Prelude SkinPrep System (Prelude) as a technology to allow for painless and skin permeation that enable both analyte extraction and needle-free drug delivery. The Company is developing its Symphony CGM System (Symphony) as a non-invasive, wireless continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system for use in hospital critical care units and for people with diabetes. The Prelude SkinPrep System (Prelude), a component of its Symphony CGM System, allows for skin permeation that enables extraction of analytes such as glucose. Prelude�� platform skin preparation technology also allows for needle-free, transdermal drug delivery.

Symphony CGM System

The Symphony CGM System incorporates a Prelude skin preparation device, transdermal sensor, wireless transmitter and data display monitor. When the electro-chemical glucose sensor is placed on the prepared site, it uses glucose oxidase to generate a continuous current that is proportional to the concentration of blood glucose in the vessels beneath the epidermis. The signals are then wirelessly transmitted to a remote monitor. The monitor, calibrated periodically with a reference blood glucose measurement, converts the data to a glucose measurement based on the reference value. The monitor displays glucose readings and also contains customizable early-warning alarms for hypo- or hyperglycemia.

Prelude SkinPrep System

The Company is developing Prelude as a transdermal skin preparation device for Symphony to improve the access to the interstitial fluids and the flow of molecules across the protective membrane of the stratum corneum, the outmost protective layer of the skin. Prelude incorporates the Company's skin abrasion control technology into a hand-held device used to prepare a small area of the skin. The non-invasive sensor is applied to this prepared area in order to measure the in! terstitial glucose levels.

Specialty Pharmaceuticals

The Company�� specialty pharmaceuticals pipeline is based on itsAzone transdermal drug reformulation technology. AzoneTS is a nontoxic, nonirritating skin penetration that is intended to enable topical application of food and drug administration (FDA) -approved drugs, including pharmaceutical products that previously could only be administered systemically. Its advanced drug candidate is Durhalieve, an AzoneTS formulation of triamcinolone acetonide, medium potency corticosteroid approved by the FDA for treatment of corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses. AzoneTS increases lipid membrane fluidity in the stratum corneum layer of the skin, thereby decreasing resistance to topically applied therapeutics.

The Company competes with Roche, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Abbott Laboratories , DexCom, Inc., Medtronic, Inc., Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Optiscan Biomedical Corp., Medtronic, Glysure, Glumetrics Inc., Maquet and A. Menarini Diagnostics S.r.l.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another under-$10 health care player that's quickly moving within range of triggering a major breakout trade is Echo Therapeutics (ECTE), which is a transdermal medical device company with skin permeation technology. This stock has been destroyed by the bears so far in 2013, with shares off huge by 70%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Echo Therapeutics, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last month, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.14 to its intraday high of $3.06 a share. During that uptrend, shares of ECTE have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has pushed shares of ECTE back above its 50-day moving average at $2.65 a share, and it's just starting to push ECTE into breakout territory, since the stock has cleared some key near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.98 to $2.99 a share. That move is quickly pushing shares of ECTE within range of triggering an even bigger breakout trade.

  Market players should now look for long-biased trades in ECTE if it manages to break out above some major near-term overhead resistance at $3.30 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that registers near or above its three-month average volume of 211,103 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ECTE will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $4 to $4.50 a share, or possibly even $5 to $6 a share.

  Traders can look to buy ECTE off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $2.65 a share, or right below more near-term support at $2.50 a share. One can also buy ECTE off strength once it clears $3.30 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Truth be told, Echo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ECTE) doesn't look like a particularly impressive stock right now. At $2.92 per share, ECTE is just trading right around where it was a few days ago, not to mention a few weeks ago. And, without any real "news" from the company in months, it's tough to think the market's going to be getting excited about the stock anytime soon. When you take a closer look at Echo Therapeutics though, a few subtle-but-compelling clues start to appear.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Destination Maternity Corporation(DEST)

Destination Maternity Corporation engages in the design and retail of maternity apparel. It offers casual and career wear, formal attire, lingerie, sportswear, and outerwear. As of September 30, 2011, the company operated 2,352 retail locations, including 658 stores in 50 states of the United States (U.S.), Puerto Rico, Guam, and Canada; and 1,694 leased departments located within department stores and baby specialty stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It operates stores under the Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity names. Motherhood Maternity brand serves the value-priced portion of the maternity apparel business with stores located in regional malls, strip and power centers, and central business districts. A Pea in the Pod brand serves the medium-priced and luxury portion of the maternity apparel business with stores located in regional malls, lifestyle centers, central business districts, and stand-alone stores. Destination Maternity brand provides Motherhood and Pea merchandise with stores located in regional malls and lifestyle centers. The company also sells its merchandise on the Internet through DestinationMaternity.com and brand-specific Web sites. In addition, Destination Maternity Corporation offers Two Hearts Maternity by Destination Maternity collection at Sears stores in the U.S. through a leased department relationship. Further, the company distributes its Oh Baby by Motherhood collection through a license arrangement at Kohl?s stores in the U.S. and through Kohls.com. Additionally, it had 66 international franchised locations comprised of 15 stand-alone stores in the Middle East and South Korea under the Destination Maternity name; and 51 shop-in-shop locations in India and South Korea. The company was formerly known as Mothers Work, Inc. and changed its name to Destination Maternity Corporation in December 2008. Destination Maternity Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Philad elphia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Maternity apparel designer and retailer Destination Maternity (DEST) raised its quarterly dividend 6.7% to 20 cents per share, payable on Mar. 28 to shareholders of record as of Mar 7.
  DEST Dividend Yield: 2.96%