Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.
Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.
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 Valassis Communications (NYSE: VCI ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.
Hot Heal Care Companies To Buy For 2014: UFP Technologies Inc.(UFPT)
UFP Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the design and manufacture of engineered packaging solutions for medical and scientific, automotive, aerospace and defense, computer and electronics, industrial, and consumer markets. The company offers packaging products primarily using polyethylene, polyurethane, cross-linked polyethylene foams, and rigid plastics. Its packaging products include end-cap packs for computers, corner blocks for telecommunications consoles, anti-static foam packs for printed circuit boards, die-cut or routed inserts for cases, molded foam enclosures for orthopedic products, and plastic trays for medical devices and components. UFP Technologies also fabricates and molds component products made from cross-linked polyethylene foam and other materials, as well as engages in laminating fabrics and other materials to cross-linked polyethylene foams, polyurethane foams, and other substrates. The company?s component products include automo tive interior trim, athletic padding, industrial safety belts, medical device components, air filtration, high-temperature insulation, abrasive nail files and other beauty aids, anti-fatigue mats, and shock absorbing inserts used in athletic and leisure footwear. It sells its products primarily under United Foam, Simco Automotive, and Molded Fiber brand names through direct sales force, independent manufacturer representatives, and distributors. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Georgetown, Massachusetts.
Hot Heal Care Companies To Buy For 2014: TranSwitch Corporation(TXCC)
Transwitch Corporation designs, develops, and supplies semiconductor and intellectual property solutions for voice, data, and video communications equipment. The company provides integrated multi-core network processor system-on-a-chip (SoC) and software solutions for fixed, 3G and 4G mobile, VoIP, and multimedia infrastructures. It offers converged network infrastructure products, including infrastructure VoIP processors comprising Entropia series of processors for wire-line and wireless carrier equipment; EoS/EoPDH mappers and framers for formats and data speeds in the access portion of the network; tributary switches that enable traffic to be switched or re-arranged; and carrier Ethernet solutions consisting of Ethernet controllers and switches, as well as circuit emulation and clock recovery devices. The company also provides FTTx protocol processors, such as mustang, a system-on-chip solution for EPON optical network unit equipment; COLT processor, a system-on-chip so lution for the optical line terminator equipment; and Diplomat-ONT product, an integrated SoC solution for GPON ONU applications, as well as access VoIP processors and access controllers. In addition, it offers broadband customer premises equipment, including multi-service communications processors comprising Atlanta processor, a multi-service SoC for customer premises equipment that supports toll-quality telephone voice, fax, and routing functionality; and HDMI, displayport, HDP, and Ethernet IP cores for consumer electronics, home network equipment, and industrial and automotive applications. The company serves public network systems OEMs, WAN and LAN equipment OEMs, Internet-oriented OEMs, and communications test and performance measurement equipment OEMs, as well as government, university, and private laboratories. It sells its products through direct sales force, independent distributors, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Shelton, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Michael Brush]
If you find yourself craving more high-definition video on your smartphone or tablet computer or if you've been checking out 3D televisions -- the next big trend -- you already know why TranSwitch (TXCC) stock should be a winner over the next few years.
Once a techmania darling, trading at more than $500 a share, TranSwitch crashed and burned along with so many other Internet stocks. It has been all but left for dead since. Wall Street analysts are predicting the stock will actually have fallen to $2 a year from now, from recent levels of around $2.60, according to Thomson Reuters.
What they're missing is that TranSwitch has revamped its chip offerings so they support high-definition video connections in TVs, PC and game monitors, smartphones, tablets and video cameras. This exposes the company to some big consumer trends. Another new product line supports gear that connects homes, offices and smartphones to the Internet.
Those analysts and other investors don't put much faith in these new products. So why should you? Because the right kinds of insiders have been accumulating stock. Many of the new products are scheduled to hit the market over the next three months and generate meaningful sales by the fourth quarter. So now is the time to buy.
Of course, we don't know for sure that TranSwitch's new products will catch on. But behind the scenes, they've been licensed by the likes of Intel (INTC), International Business Machines (IBM), Texas Instruments (TXN) and Analog Devices (ADI), Ted Chung, the TranSwitch vice president of global business development, tells me. That suggests TranSwitch may work its way into the Apple (AAPL) iGadget ecosystem, says Northland Capital Markets analyst Richard Shannon. That would be a game-changer for tiny TranSwitch, but the markets for its new products are so big that it probably can win even without such an advantage
- [By Michael Brush]
If you find yourself craving more high-definition video on your smartphone or tablet computer or if you've been checking out 3D televisions -- the next big trend -- you already know why TranSwitch (TXCC) stock should be a winner over the next few years.
Once a techmania darling, trading at more than $500 a share, TranSwitch crashed and burned along with so many other Internet stocks. It has been all but left for dead since. Wall Street analysts are predicting the stock will actually have fallen to $2 a year from now, from recent levels of around $2.60, according to Thomson Reuters.
What they're missing is that TranSwitch has revamped its chip offerings so they support high-definition video connections in TVs, PC and game monitors, smartphones, tablets and video cameras. This exposes the company to some big consumer trends. Another new product line supports gear that connects homes, offices and smartphones to the Internet.
Those analysts and other investors don't put much faith in these new products. So why should you? Because the right kinds of insiders have been accumulating stock. Many of the new products are scheduled to hit the market over the next three months and generate meaningful sales by the fourth quarter. So now is the time to buy.
Of course, we don't know for sure that TranSwitch's new products will catch on. But behind the scenes, they've been licensed by the likes of Intel (INTC), International Business Machines (IBM), Texas Instruments (TXN) and Analog Devices (ADI), Ted Chung, the TranSwitch vice president of global business development, tells me. That suggests TranSwitch may work its way into the Apple (AAPL) iGadget ecosystem, says Northland Capital Markets analyst Richard Shannon. That would be a game-changer for tiny TranSwitch, but the markets for its new products are so big that it probably can win even without such an advantage.
10 Best Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Curis Inc.(CRIS)
Curis, Inc., a drug discovery and development company, focuses on the research and development of cancer therapeutics. The company, under collaboration with Genentech, Inc., is conducting a pivotal Phase II clinical trial on its lead molecule, GDC-0449 in advanced basal cell carcinoma patients, as well as various Phase II clinical trials in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer and advanced ovarian cancer patients. It is also evaluating CUDC-101, a small molecule that is in a Phase I clinical testing and is designed to target histone deacetylase, epidermal growth factor receptor, and epidermal growth factor receptor 2. In addition, Curis has a development candidate, Debio 0932, which is a Heat Shock Protein 90 or Hsp90 inhibitor. The company holds a license agreement with Debiopharm related to its Hsp90 technologies. Further, it involves in preclinical testing for the development of candidates from its targeted cancer programs. The company was founded in 2000 and is base d in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Michael Shulman]
Curis (NASDAQ: CRIS) has developed a series of cancer treatments based on a technology that disrupts intercellular signaling in the Hedgehog pathway. Disrupting communication disrupts cell duplication, the foundation of tumor growth.
Curis has more than 20 trials under way with Genentech/Roche and the National Cancer Institute. This year, Genentech will likely report results of a basal cell carcinoma trial for skin cancer, and it has said it will go from this mid-phase trial directly to an application for approval if the results are strong enough.
One success means a volcanic eruption in the stock, as it will prove the core technology is a viable platform for cancer treatments. A failure could put the entire program — and the company — in jeopardy. I believe the technology will be a success, which means this $2 stock could be worth $40-plus. If I’m wrong, you will probably be looking at a 50-cent stock. I’d say it’s worth the risk.
Hot Heal Care Companies To Buy For 2014: Radware Ltd.(RDWR)
Radware Ltd. provides application delivery solutions and network security solutions to banks, insurance companies, manufacturing and retail, government agencies, media companies, and service providers worldwide. The company offers AppDirector Intelligent Application Delivery Controller for data center optimization and to eliminate traffic surges, server bottlenecks, connectivity disconnects, and downtime for business continuity; and Alteon Application Switch application delivery controller that supports local, global, and transparent load-balance, multi-homing network load-balance, and bandwidth management capabilities. It also provides AppXML, which offers XML and Web services communications for mission-critical applications; AppWall, a Web application firewall (WAF) appliance that secures Web applications; LinkProof that manages wide area networks and Internet traffic for networks; Content Inspection Director, a smart redirection and dynamic policy enforcement device to meet contemporary carrier needs; and Session Initiation Protocol Director, an application delivery controller for application vendors, telecom equipment manufacturers, and system integrators. In addition, the company offers DefensePro Intrusion Prevention and Denial of Service products that protect against worms, bots, viruses, malicious intrusions, and DOS attacks; Inflight, a hardware device that provides online and network-based monitoring solutions; and APSolute Vision, an appliance-based management and monitoring system for information technology staff to centrally manage distributed devices and check the performance and security of enterprise wide application delivery infrastructures. It markets and sells its products primarily through distributors and resellers in North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as directly to select customers in the United States. Radware Ltd. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.
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