Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2014

When consumers blink, investors get nervous. That's the simple message from today's early stock-market moves, as the latest reading on consumer sentiment fell to levels not seen for nine months. Moreover, with retail sales falling 0.4% last month and previous readings revised downward, consumers are clearly feeling a bit overextended in light of uncertainties regarding employment, government spending, and general economic growth. The impact on stocks was fairly muted, but it nevertheless pulled the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) off their record highs for a loss of 53 points, or 0.36%, by 10:55 a.m. EDT. The S&P 500 has suffered a larger decrease of 0.73%.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, that negative sentiment didn't make its way into consumer and retail stocks. Hope improvement retailer Home Depot (NYSE: HD  ) was the biggest gainer in the Dow early on, rising 1.6% and hitting another all-time high after getting an upgrade from analyst firm Jefferies. The environment for construction-related stocks has been so strong in light of the rebound in housing that former Home Depot division HD Supply filed for a $1 billion initial public offering, having gone private back in 2007. The enthusiasm suggests that investors aren't convinced that weak consumer sentiment will persist for long.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2014: Analog Devices Inc (ADI.O)

Analog Devices, Inc. (Analog Devices), incorporated on January 18, 1965, is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of a range of analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits (ICs). The Company produces a range of products, including data converters, amplifiers and linear products, radio frequency (RF) ICs, power management products, sensors based on micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and other sensors, and processing products, including DSP and other processors, which are designed to meet the needs of a base of customers. The Company's products are embedded inside many different types of electronic equipment, including industrial process control systems; instrumentation and measurement systems; wireless infrastructure equipment, and aerospace and defense electronics. The Company designs , manufactures and markets a range of ICs, which incorporate analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing technologies. The Comp any's product portfolio includes both general-purpose products used by a range of customers and applications, as well as application-specific products. On March 30, 2012, the Company acquired Multigig, Inc.

Analog Products

The Company's product portfolio includes several thousand analog ICs. The Company's analog IC customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers who build electronic subsystems for integration into larger systems. The Company is a supplier of data converter products. Data converters translate real-world analog signals into digital data and also translate digital data into analog signals. The Company is also a supplier of amplifiers. Amplifiers are used to condition analog signals. The Company provides precision, instrumentation, intermediate frequency/radio frequency (RF), broadband, and other amplifiers. The Company also offers a range of precision voltage references, which are used in a range of application s. The Company's analog product line also includes a range! p! ortfolio of RF ICs covering the RF signal chain, from RF function blocks, such as phase locked loops, frequency synthesizers, mixers, modulators, demodulators, and power detectors, to broadband and short-range single chip transceiver solutions.

The Company's RF ICs support the requirements of cellular infrastructure and a range of applications in the Company's target markets. Also within the Company's analog technology portfolio are products, which are based on MEMS technology. This technology enables the Company to build small sensors, which incorporate an electromechanical structure and the supporting analog circuitry for conditioning signals obtained from the sensing element. The Company's MEMS product portfolio includes accelerometers used to sense acceleration, gyroscopes used to sense rotation, inertial measurement units used to sense multiple degrees of freedom combining multiple sensing types along multiple axis, and MEMS microphones used to sense audio . The Company's current revenue from MEMS products is derived from the automotive end market. In addition to the Company's MEMS products, its other analog product category includes isolators. The Company's isolators have been designed for applications, such as universal serial bus isolation in patient monitors, where it allows hospitals and physicians to adopt the advances in computer technology to supervise patient health and wirelessly transmit medical records. In smart metering applications, the Company's isolators provide electrostatic discharge performance. In satellites, where any malfunction can be catastrophic, the Company's isolators help protect the power system while enabling designers to achieve small form factors. Power management & reference products make up the balance of the Company's analog sales. Those products, which include functions such as power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing and energy management, are developed to complement analog signal ch ain components across core market segments from micro ! power,! e! nergy-s! ensitive battery applications to power systems in infrastructure and industrial applications.

Digital Signal Processing Products

Digital Signal Processing products (DSPs) complete the Company's product portfolio. DSPs are optimized for numeric calculations, which are essential for instantaneous, or real-time, processing of digital data generated, from analog to digital signal conversion. The Company's DSPs are designed to be fully programmable and to execute specialized software programs, or algorithms, associated with processing digitized real-time, real-world data. Programmable DSPs are designed to provide the flexibility to modify the device's function using software. The Company's DSP IC customers write their own algorithms using software development tools provided by the Company and third-party suppliers. The Company's DSPs are designed in families of products, which share common architectures and therefore can execute the same software across a range of products. The Company's customers use the Company's products to solve a range of signal processing challenges across its core market and segment focus areas within the industrial, automotive, consumer and communications end markets. As an integrated part of the Company's customers' signal chain, there are other Analog Devices products connected to its processors, including converters, audio and video codecs and power management solutions.

The Company competes with Broadcom Corporation, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., Cirrus Logic, Inc., Microchip Technology, Inc., Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, ST Microelectronics, Intersil Corporation, Silicon Laboratories, Inc., Knowles Electronics, Texas Instruments, Inc. and Linear Technology Corporation.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2014: PTB Group Ltd(PTB.AX)

PTB Group Limited provides turbine engine repair and overhaul services in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The company specializes in the repair and overhaul of two engine types, the Pratt & Whitney PT6A and Honeywell TPE331. It also trades in aircraft airframes, turbine engines, and related parts; provides finance for aircraft and turbine engines sold to customers; and leases, rents, or hires aviation parts, including whole airframes and engines. The company was formerly known as Pacific Turbine Brisbane Limited and changed its name to PTB Group Limited in December 2006. PTB Group Limited was founded in 2001 and is based in Brisbane, Australia.

Hot Electric Utility Stocks To Buy Right Now: Frasers Commercial Trust Cppu (KT8U.SI)

Allco Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust invests is a diverse portfolio of real estate and real estate related assets, primarily focusing on office and retail assets. It owns properties in Singapore, Japan, and Australia. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Singapore, Singapore. The registered name of Allco Commercial REIT has changed to Frasers Commercial Trust since its 17.7% stake acquisition by Frasers Centrepoint Ltd.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2014: African Queen Mines Ltd (AQ.V)

African Queen Mines Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Africa. It primarily explores for gold, diamond, and other metals in Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Kenya, and Ghana. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Watch For 2014: ProAssurance Corporation(PRA)

ProAssurance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides medical and other professional liability insurance products to health care service, legal service, and other professional service providers in the United States. It primarily offers its products to physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, and allied health professionals. The company markets its products through an internal sales force, as well as independent agents. ProAssurance Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Birmingham, Alabama.