5 Best Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014

LONDON --�The last five years have been tough for those in retirement. Portfolio valuations have been hammered and annuity rates have plunged. There's no sign of things improving anytime soon, either, as the eurozone and the U.K. economy look set to muddle through at best for some years to come.

A great way of protecting yourself from the downturn, however, is by building your retirement fund with shares of large, well-run companies that should grow their earnings steadily over the coming decades. Over time, such investments ought to result in rising dividends and inflation-beating capital growth.

In this series, I'm tracking down the U.K. large-caps that have the potential to beat the FTSE 100 over the long term and support a lower-risk income-generating retirement fund (you can see the companies I've covered so far�on this page).

Today, I'm going to take a look at�Melrose Industries� (LSE: MRO  ) (NASDAQOTH: MLSPF  ) , an unusual company which specialises in turning around manufacturing businesses, before selling them on. Melrose's current portfolio of businesses contains German utility meter maker Elster, Brush Turbo Generators and Marelli Motori, which make electric motors and generators, and Bridon, which makes rope and wire products used in the oil and gas industry.

Top 5 Medical Stocks To Invest In 2015: Volcano Corporation(VOLC)

Volcano Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and commercializes intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) products used in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular and structural heart disease. It offers multi-modality consoles, which are marketed as stand-alone units that can be integrated into hospital-based interventional surgical suites, such as catheterization laboratories. The company provides IVUS products, including single-procedure disposable phased array and rotational IVUS imaging catheters; and additional functionality options comprising virtual histology tissue characterization, and ChromaFlo stent apposition analysis. It also offers FFR products, such as pressure and flow consoles, and single-procedure disposable pressure and flow guide wires used to measure the pressure and flow characteristics of blood around plaque enabling physicians to gauge the plaque?s physiological impact on blood flow and pressure. In addition, the com pany develops and manufactures optical monitors for the telecommunication industry; laser and non-laser light sources; optical engines used in the medical OCT imaging systems and advanced photonic components; and sub-systems used in spectroscopy and other industrial applications. Its products under development include image-guided therapy device and micro and thrombectomy catheters. The company?s ongoing clinical studies comprise assessment of dual anti-platelet therapy with drug-eluting stents; vascular evaluation for revascularization; fractional flow reserve and intravascular ultrasound relationship study; adensonine vasodilation independent stenosis evaluation; and evaluation of XIENCE PRIME. It sells its products through direct sales force and distributors, as well as through third parties supply and distribution agreements primarily in the United States, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered i n San Diego, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Volcano (NASDAQ: VOLC) shares tumbled 20.4 percent to $12.56 on Q2 results. The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.01 per share on revenue of $102.60 million. Volcano announced its plans to divest its Axsun Technologies subsidiary and also announced the litigation settlement agreement with St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ).

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Instead of an eruption, Volcano (VOLC) got an earnings-induced collapse instead.

  Associated Press

  Medical-device maker Volcano said its third quarter profit would miss Wall Street forecasts, and 2013 sales would also disappoint. And 2014? Well, that didn’t look too exciting other.

  JPMOrgan analyst Christopher Pasquale and team have had enough:

  We are downgrading VOLC shares to Neutral from Overweight following the company�� negative 3Q preannouncement and disappointing initial 2014 growth outlook Monday after the close. While we continue to see significant long-term potential for Volcano�� technologies, we are concerned by persistent headwinds to its core IVUS franchise and slowing FFR growth. With our conviction in a pipeline-driven reacceleration reduced and visibility into meaningful new growth drivers unlikely for several quarters, we are moving to the sidelines.

  Canaccord Genuity’s Jason Mills and Jeffrey Chu also cut Volcano to Hold–just a quarter after upgrading it–and even today’s drop might not make it worth buying. They explain why:

  Our upgrade of VOLC last quarter was predicated on the improving trends in the core IVUS business, FFR continuing as a long-term growth engine, and the potential material gross margin expansion. While Q3 results included pockets of good news, adverse trends predominated.
  While US IVUS rebounded modestly, driven by peripheral IVUS (+40% Y/Y), IVUS and FM results in Japan were very disconcerting to us (-19%, +8%, respectively), and portend share loss, in our estimation. Also, while we still expect significant gross margin expansion long term, it seems we may have to wait longer than expected.

  In sum, we would not aggressively buy weakness unless the stock is over-penalized on these results – i.e. below $20.

  While shares of Volcano have dropped 15% to $20.74, large-cap medical device companies are having a solid day. Boston Scienti

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Volcano (NASDAQ: VOLC) shares dropped 15.89% to $20.49 in pre-market trading after the company reported Q3 revenue. JP Morgan downgraded the stock from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $29.00 to $24.00.

5 Best Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Eldorado Gold Corp(EGO)

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the discovery, exploration, development, production, and reclamation of gold properties in Brazil, the People?s Republic of China, Greece, and Turkey. It operates the Kisladag gold mine in Turkey; the Jinfeng, Tanjianshan, and White Mountain gold mines in the People?s Republic of China; and the Vila Nova iron ore mine in Brazil. The company?s development projects include the Efemcukuru gold mine in Turkey, the Eastern Dragon gold mine in the People?s Republic of China, the Perama Hill gold project in Greece, and the Tocantinzinho gold project in Brazil. As of December 31, 2010, Eldorado Gold Corporation had 18.7 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves. The company was formerly known as Eldorado Corporation Ltd. and changed its name to Eldorado Gold Corporation in April 1996. Eldorado Gold Corporation was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Analyst John Bridges and his team like Goldcorp (GG), B2Gold (BTG) and Eldorado (EGO), and feel Buenaventura (BVN) is a serious laggard with likely improved results in the second half of 2014. They write:

• [By Itinerant]

  Goldcorp, Newmont (NEM) or Agnico-Eagle use similar definitions. The important element here is the so-called 'sustaining capital expenditure', which is the capital required to sustain existing production levels. The table below is taken from the Agnico-Eagle presentation referenced above and provides a comparison of company-wide AISC for some of the major gold miners, including Goldcorp, Barrick Gold, Newmont Mining, Yamana Gold (AUY), Randgold (GOLD), Kinross (KGC), Agnico-Eagle Mines, Eldorado Gold (EGO), Goldfields and Centerra (CAGDF.PK). The difference between cash costs and AISC is significant. It is also important to note that these AISC are still noticeably below the present spot price for gold.

• [By Jack Adamo, Editor, Jack Adamo's Insiders Plus]

  Quarterly results are a real crap-shoot. With that in mind, let's examine the good and bad points at Eldorado Gold Corp. Ltd. (EGO).

  Eldorado has mines in Greece, Turkey, Brazil, China, and Romania. However, as of year-end 2012, 53% of production came from Turkey and 45% from China.

5 Best Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Accretive Health Inc. (AH)

Accretive Health, Inc. provides revenue cycle management services for hospitals and healthcare providers in the United States. It offers integrated revenue cycle management services that help healthcare providers to manage their revenue cycles, which encompass patient registration, insurance and benefit verification, medical treatment documentation and coding, bill preparation, and collections; quality and total cost of care services, which enable healthcare providers to manage the health of a defined patient population by identifying those individuals who are most likely to experience an adverse health event; and physician advisory services. Accretive Health, Inc. serves multi-hospital systems, including faith-based or community healthcare systems, academic medical centers, independent ambulatory clinics, and physician practice groups. The company was formerly known as Healthcare Services, Inc. and changed its name to Accretive Health, Inc. in August 2009. Accretive Healt h, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Accretive Health Inc. (NYSE: AH) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse.

  Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) was downgraded to Hold from Buy based on valuation at Argus.

• [By Laura Brodbeck]

  Wednesday

  Earnings Expected From: Accretive Health, Inc (NYSE: AH), Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON), UniTek Global Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: UNTK) Economic Releases Expected: Eurozone interest rate decision and PPI data, US National Employment Report, British construction PMI

  Thursday

5 Best Long Term Stocks To Own For 2014: Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN)

Gladstone Investment Corporation specializes in buyouts and recapitalizations. It seeks to make debt and equity investments in small and mid-sized private businesses. The fund invests in junior subordinated loans, mezzanine debt, preferred stock, and warrants to purchase common stock of companies based in the the United States. It can also invest in senior secured loans and common stock. The fund prefers to invest between $3 million and $20 million. It invests individually as well as jointly with other buyout funds. The fund is treated as a business development company under the 1940 Act.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Gladstone Investment Corporation (GAIN)

  Over the past week two corporate executives made buys into Gladstone Investment Corporation. COO Terry Brubaker made three different buys over the past week and CEO David Gladstone made one.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ: GAIN) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.17 per share on revenue of $8.90 million.

  First Horizon National (NYSE: FHN) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.17 per share on revenue of $286.98 million.