Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies To Watch For 2014

Pandora (NYSE: P  ) is starting to shake its heavy users, and that could be problematic for the leading music streaming service.

Shares of Pandora slipped 4% yesterday, held back from the upbeat market after announcing disappointing metrics for the month of June.

Listener hours at Pandora clocked in at 1.25 billion for the month, a sequential dip from the 1.35 billion registered in May. Is there a seasonal dip in usage? Absolutely. School's out. Commuters go on vacation. Folks make the most of the warm weather by heading outside sans earbuds.

However, we can compare Pandora's sequential performance last summer. Listener hours only took a 2% hit last year by going from 1.1 billion in May to 1.08 billion in June.

It wasn't just about the 7% sequential slide this time around. Pandora's share of the total U.S. radio listening market shrank from 7.29% in May to 7.04% in June.

The trend gets even more problematic when we divide listener hours by the number of active users. The typical Pandora listener tuned in for 19.81 hours of content in June of last year, but that dropped all the way to 17.58 hours this year.

Top 5 Small Cap Stocks For 2015: EPAM Systems Inc (EPAM)

EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM), incorporated on December 18, 2002, is a global information technology (IT) services provider focused on software product development services, software engineering and vertically-oriented custom development solutions. EPAM has been serving independent software vendors (ISVs), and technology companies. These companies produce advanced software and technology products that demand software engineering talent, tools, methodologies and infrastructure to deliver solutions. Its service offerings cover the full software development lifecycle from complex software development services through maintenance and support, custom application development, application testing, enterprise application platforms and infrastructure management. Its key service offerings include software product development services, custom application development services, application testing services, enterprise application platforms, application maintenance and support and infrastructure management services. In December 2012, the Company acquired Empathy Lab.

Software Product Development Services

EPAM provides a set of software product development services, including product research, design and prototyping, product development, component design and integration, full lifecycle software testing, product deployment and end-user customization, performance tuning, product support and maintenance, as well as porting and cross-platform migration. The Company focuses on development services for enterprise software products covering a range of business applications, as well as product development for multiple mobile platforms and embedded software product services.

Custom Application Development Services

EPAM offers custom application development services. The Company�� range of services includes business and technical requirements analysis, solution architecture creation and validation, development, component design and integration, quality assurance and testing, d! eployment, performance tuning, support and maintenance, legacy applications re-engineering/refactoring, porting and cross-platform migration and documentation.

Application Testing Services

The Company�� application testing services include software application testing, including test automation tools and frameworks, and testing for enterprise IT, including test management, automation, functional and non-functional testing, as well as defect management. It also includes and consulting services focused on helping clients improve their existing software testing and quality assurance practices.

Enterprise Application Platforms

As a provider of software product development services to ISVs, EPAM has developed industry standard technology and business application platforms and their components in such areas as customer relationship management and sales automation, enterprise resource planning, enterprise content management, business intelligence, e-commerce, mobile, Software-as-a-Service and cloud deployment. The Company offers services around Enterprise Application Platforms, which include requirements analysis and platform selection, deep and complex customization, cross-platform migration, implementation and integration, as well as support and maintenance.

Application Maintenance and Support

EPAM delivers application maintenance and support services. The Company�� application maintenance and support offerings meet rigorous CMMI and SAS 70 Type II requirements. Its services include incident management, fault investigation diagnosis, work-around provision, application bug fixes, release management, application enhancements and third-party maintenance.

Infrastructure Management Services

EPAM service offerings cover infrastructure management services. The Company has implemented large infrastructure monitoring solutions, providing real-time notification and control from the low-level infrastructure up! to and i! ncluding applications. Its solutions cover the lifecycle of infrastructure management, including application, database, network, server, storage and systems operations management, as well as incident notification and resolution.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  EPAM Systems (NYSE: EPAM  ) reported earnings on May 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), EPAM Systems met expectations on revenues and missed estimates on earnings per share.

Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies To Watch For 2014: Redpoint Bio Corp (RPBC)

Redpoint Bio Corporation (Redpoint), incorporated in August 1995, is a development-stage biotechnology company. The Company leverages discoveries in the molecular biology of taste to discover and develop taste modulators for the food and beverage industries. Its food and beverage program has been focused on identifying flavor modifiers that improve the taste of ingredients. In June 2009, the Company announced that it had identified an all-natural sweetness enhancer, RP44. RP44 is Reb-C (rebaudioside C), a component of the stevia plant.

Sweetness Enhancer Program

Redpoint announced that it had identified RP44, an all-natural sweetness enhancer, in June 2009. In January 2010, it disclosed that RP44 is Reb-C (rebaudioside C), a component of the stevia plant. RP44 is derived from material found in the side stream of the Reb A production process. A purified component of stevia known as Reb A has received regulatory approval in the United States. Unlike Reb A, RP44 has a low intrinsic level of sweetness and therefore is not useful as a sweetener.

Diabetes and Obesity Drug Discovery Program

The Company�� initial programs focused on the modulation of the TRPm5 ion channel, a signaling element in taste sensation, in order to discover compounds that modulate the taste of food and beverage products. Redpoint initiated a program designed to leverage the research it had already conducted on the discovery of modulators of the TRPm5 ion channel to further explore opportunities for the discovery of diabetes or obesity therapeutics. TRPm5 modulators discovered at Redpoint have been shown to elicit the secretion of hormones known to play roles in metabolism in relevant model systems.

The Company competes with International Flavors & Fragrances Inc., Givaudan SA, Symrise, Firmenich, Senomyx, PureCircle Ltd, GLG Life Tech Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co., Inc., Metabolex, Inc., OSI Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline! , Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap stocks Greenfield Farms Food Inc (OTCMKTS: GRAS), International Stem Cell Corp (OTCMKTS: ISCO) and Redpoint Bio Corporation (OTCMKTS: RPBC) have all been getting some extra attention lately in various investment newsletters. However, none of these small cap stocks appear to have been the subject or paid promotions or investor relations activities. So does that make any of them good bets for traders and investors alike? Here is a quick look and a reality check:

Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies To Watch For 2014: Aixtron SE (AIXG)

AIXTRON SE (AIXTRON), formerly AIXTRON AG, incorporated in 1983, is a provider of deposition equipment equipment to the semiconductor and compound-semiconductor industry. The Company's technology solutions are used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to build advanced components for electronic and opto-electronic applications based on compound, silicon, or organic semiconductor materials. Such components are used in fiber optic communication systems, wireless and mobile telephony applications, optical and electronic storage devices, computing, signaling and lighting, displays, as well as a range of other technologies. AIXTRON's business activities include developing, producing and installing equipment for coating semiconductor materials, process engineering, consulting and training, including ongoing customer support. AIXTRON supplies to customers both full production-scale complex material deposition systems and small scale systems for research and development (R&D) use and small-scale production use.

AIXTRON's product range includes customized production and research scale compound semiconductor systems capable of depositing material films on up to 95 * two-inch diameter wafers per single production run, or smaller multiples of larger diameter wafers, employing MOCVD or Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy (HVPE) or organic thin film deposition on up to Gen. 3.5 substrates, including Polymer Vapor Phase Deposition (PVPD) or Organic Vapor Phase Deposition (OVPD) or large area deposition for Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) applications or Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Phase Deposition (PECVD) for depositing complex Carbon Nanostructures (Carbon Nanotubes, Nanowires or Graphene). AIXTRON also manufactures full production and research scale deposition systems for silicon semiconductor applications capable of depositing material films on wafers of up to 300 millimeters diameter, employing technologies, such as Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Atomic Vapor Deposition (AVD) and Atomic Layer! Deposition (ALD).

AIXTRON also offers a range of peripheral equipment and services, including products capable of monitoring the concentration of gases in the air and for cleaning the exhaust gas from metal organic chemical vapor deposition processes. The Company also assists its customers in designing the production layouts for the gas supply to thin film deposition systems. Additionally, the Company offers its customers training, consulting and support services.

The Company competes with Veeco Instruments Inc. (USA), Taiyo Nippon Sanso (Japan), Ulvac, Inc. (Japan), Tokki Corporation (Japan), Sumitomo (Japan), Applied Materials, Inc. (USA), Doosan DND Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Sunic System (South Korea), Tokyo Electron Ltd. (Japan), ASM International N.V. (Netherlands), IPS Technology (South Korea), Jusung Engineering Co. Ltd. (South Korea), and Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co. Inc. (Japan).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Aixtron SE (NASDAQ: AIXG) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

  Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James.

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include upgrades for both industrialist Aixtron (NASDAQ: AIXG  ) and fashionista bebe stores (NASDAQ: BEBE  ) . But the news isn't all good, so let's start off with a few words on...

Top 5 Managed Healthcare Companies To Watch For 2014: Powershares Dynamic Retail Portfolio (PMR)

PowerShares Dynamic Retail Portfolio (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Dynamic Retail Intellidex Index (the Retail Intellidex). The Retail Intellidex consists of stocks of 30 United States retailers. These are companies that are principally engaged in operating general merchandise stores, such as department stores, discount stores, warehouse clubs and superstores; specialty stores, including apparel, electronics, accessories and footwear stores;, and home improvement and home furnishings stores. Dealers of motor vehicles and parts, auction houses or rental companies may also be included. Stocks are selected principally on the basis of their capital appreciation potential as identified by the AMEX (the Intellidex Provider) pursuant to its Intellidex methodology. The Fund�� investment advisor is PowerShares Capital Management LLC.

The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks of retail companies. It will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Retail

Intellidex. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate the performance of the Retail Intellidex. The Fund generally will invest in all of the stocks comprising the Retail Intellidex in proportion to their weightings in the Retail Intellidex.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  TheEconomicCollapseBlog.com has a shocking�post entitled, ��0 Facts About The Great U.S. Retail Apocalypse That Will Blow Your Mind,��which might make you want to consider shorting or reevaluating any investment strategies involving retail or retail ETFs like the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: XRT), PowerShares Dynamic Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: PMR), Market Vectors Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: RTH) and Direxion Daily Retail Bull 3X Shares (NYSEARCA: RETL).�Before you dismiss something from a blog with the words ��conomic Collapse��in it (they are, after all, peddling ��oom and gloom�� because the Obama administration plus Joe Biden�and their surrogates in the media keep telling you there is an economic recovery along with growth in jobs, consider just the following retail store closure plans or job cuts mentioned in the post:

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap Checkpoint Systems, Inc (NYSE: CKP) fights shoplifting or retail theft and other forms of�"shrink��that costs retailers over $112 billion worldwide last year (according to a study funded by the company), meaning it might be an interesting stock to take a closer look at and to compare its performance with that of SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: XRT) and PowerShares Dynamic Retail ETF (NYSEARCA: PMR). Just how bad can shoplifting or shrink be for a retailer? Troubled retailer J.C. Penney Company, Inc (NYSE: JCP) has just reported that shoplifting took a full percentage point off the department store chain's profit margins during the quarter. Moreover and given that tens of millions of Americans are now facing higher health insurance costs thanks to Obamacare (which will likely impact consumer discretionary spending),�retailers�will need to find ways to shore up their margins and bottom lines by preventing�retail theft with solutions from company�� like Checkpoint Systems.

• [By Ron Rowland]

  The five funds consist of three ETFs and two traditional mutual funds. The names and gains of the three ETFs were PowerShares Dynamic Retailing ETF (PMR) 0.6%, Market Vectors Retail ETF (RTH) 0.7%, and SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) 1.1%.