Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Invest In Right Now

Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed its restrictions on BP PLC (NYSE: BP), allowing the company once again to conduct business with the federal government and giving the company the right once more to bid on leases in the Gulf of Mexico. At Wednesday’s lease sale of nearly 40 million acres, BP got back in the game in a big way.

The lease sale attracted a total of more than $850 million in high bids, of which BP was the high bidder on 24 leases, with bids totaling nearly $42 million. That represented the fifth highest total of high bids from 50 companies making bids in the sale.

The sales big spender was Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) which posted 16 high bids, totaling just over $321 million. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) offered six high bids, totaling $106 million, followed by Murphy Oil Corp. (NYSE: MUR) with 16 high bids, totaling nearly $50 million, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) with four high bids, totaling more than $45 million.

Hot Regional Bank Companies To Own In Right Now: AZ Electronic Materials SA (AZEM)

AZ Electronic Materials SA is a producer and supplier of specialty chemical materials. AZ operates in four segments: IC Materials, which includes products for use in integrated circuits and devices; Optronics, which includes products used in the production of flat panel displays for use in televisions, computer monitors and similar equipment and light emitting diode technology; Printing and Other, which includes printing and similar products used in photo lithographic processes, and Corporate. The Company�� products enable the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs) and flat panel displays (FPDs) that are integral to a range of electronic devices and applications, including computers and tablet devices, flat screen televisions, mobile communication devices, industrial and automotive applications and the developing light and energy markets. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  AZ Electronic (AZEM) surged 43 percent, the most since its at least November 2010, after Merck on Dec. 5 said it had agreed to buy the company for about 1.6 billion pounds. Merck added 0.4 percent. Shareholders will get 403.5 pence for each share, Merck said. The price is 53 percent above the Dec. 4 closing level in London trading.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Invest In Right Now: Parametric Technology Corporation(PMTC)

Parametric Technology Corporation develops, markets, and supports product lifecycle management (PLM) software solutions and services that help companies design products, manage product information, and enhance product development processes worldwide. Its PLM solutions comprise Windchill, an Internet-based content and process management solution for managing data and relationships, processes, and publications; Arbortext, an enterprise solution to manage complex information assets that enhance their customer support and service center information delivery processes; Creo View, which enables enterprise-wide visualization, verification, annotation, and automated comparison of various product development data formats; and Integrity that coordinates and manages various activities and artifacts associated with developing software-intensive products. The company?s desktop solutions include Creo Parametric, a family of three-dimensional product design solutions based on a parametr ic, feature-based solid modeler that enables changes made during the design process to be associatively updated throughout the design; Creo Elements/Direct, a family of computer aided design and collaboration software used for customers to meet short design cycles and to create product designs; Mathcad, an engineering calculation software solution, which combines a computational engine, accessed through conventional math notation, and with a full-featured word processor and graphing tools; and Arbortext to help customers improve documentation accuracy, speed time to market, reduce translation requirements, and lower publishing costs. In addition, it provides consulting, implementation, training, maintenance, and computer-based training products. Parametric Technology sells its products and services through direct sales force and third-party resellers and other strategic partners. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Markus Aarnio]

  Autodesk's competitors include Adobe Systems (ADBE), Dassault Systemes SA (DASTY.PK), and Parametric Technology Corporation (PMTC). Here is a table comparing these companies.

• [By Eric Volkman]

  PTC (NASDAQ: PMTC  ) results for the company's Q2 have been released. For the quarter, non-GAAP revenue was just under $315 million, which bettered the $302 million the company posted in the same period the previous year. Net profit also saw an increase, advancing to $49.6 million ($0.41 per diluted share) from Q2 2012's $35.9 million ($0.30).

• [By Northrop Puckett]

  The company is facing headwinds in the broader economy. This can be seen in declining sales in many areas of their business. Regionally, the U.S was flat; Northern Europe was up; Southern Europe was down; and emerging markets were down. Autodesk also lowered quarterly and yearly revenue expectations. This lowering of guidance by Autodesk also matches the same guidance changes made by competitors Parametric Technology (PMTC) and ANSYS (ANSS), so it is not necessarily losing out to its rivals in this case.

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Invest In Right Now: Gentium SpA(GENT)

Gentium S.p.A., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and manufacture of its primary product candidate, defibrotide, an investigational drug based on a mixture of single-stranded and double-stranded DNA extracted from pig intestines. It develops defibrotide for the treatment and prevention of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), a condition that occurs when veins in the liver are blocked as a result of cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation, that are administered prior to stem cell transplantation. The company has completed a Phase III clinical trial of defibrotide for the treatment of severe VOD in the United States, Canada, and Israel; and a Phase II/III pediatric trial in Europe for the prevention of VOD. It also offers sulglicotide that is developed from swine duodenum, and has ulcer healing and gastrointestinal protective properties in South Korea; and urokinase, which is made from human urine to treat various vascular disorders, such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms. The company was formerly known as Pharma Research S.r.L. and changed its name to Gentium S.p.A. in July 2001. Gentium S.p.A. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Villa Guardia, Italy.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Shares of Jazz Pharmaceuticals Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: JAZZ) got a boost, shooting up 7.77 percent to $123.65 after the company announced its plans to buy Gentium SpA (NASDAQ: GENT) for around $1 billion.

• [By James Oberweis]

  Gentium Spa (GENT) is focused on the development and commercialization of its leading product, defibrotide, to treat certain complications arising from chemotherapy, and bone marrow and stem cell transplantation therapy.

• [By Sean Williams]

  A parabolic problem
  It has also been a year to remember for shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Gentium (NASDAQ: GENT  ) whose share price has catapulted approximately 600% off its lows thanks to growth in its lead drug Defibrotide (known as Defitelio in the European Union).

Top 5 Consumer Service Companies To Invest In Right Now: Avago Technologies Limited(AVGO)

Avago Technologies Limited engages in the design, development, and supply of analog semiconductor devices with a focus on III-V based products. Its product portfolio comprises RF amplifiers, RF filters, RF front-end modules, ambient light sensors, light emitting diodes, low noise amplifiers, mm-wave mixers, optical finger navigation products, diodes, fiber optic transceivers, serializer/deserializer ASICs, motion control encoders and subsystems, optocouplers, and optical mouse sensors. The company?s products are used in cellular phones, consumer appliances, data networking and telecommunications equipment, enterprise storage and servers, renewable energy and smart power grid, factory automation, displays, optical mice, printers, voice and data communications, keypad and display backlighting, backlighting control, base stations, storage area networking, in-car infotainment, lighting, motor controls, power supplies, and optical disk drives applications. It markets its produ cts through a network of distributors and its direct sales force worldwide. The company sells approximately 6,500 products to original equipment manufacturers of wireless communications, wired infrastructure, industrial and automotive electronics, and consumer and computing peripherals markets. Avago Technologies Limited was founded in 2005 and is based in Singapore.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Avago�Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is trading up 6% after earnings and guidance beat expectations. Sterne Agee reiterated its Buy rating and raised the price target from $44 to $46. Goldman Sachs also raised its target price to $48, and Credit Suisse raised its target price to $45.

• [By rusticnomad]

  Avago Technologies (AVGO) has made a good comeback. The company, despite seeing weakness all through the year, posted fantastic results. The company�� good results make it a promising investment. The operational efficiencies led Avago to see a good 20% growth in its top line. But looking at the ratios, the company is still expensive with a trailing P/E of 29. Also, the decline in the dividend yield to 1.70% might scare a few investors away.