Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, three new ratings in the shipping sphere are grabbing headlines, as investment banker RBC Capital Markets upgrades UPS (NYSE: UPS  ) to outperform, but cuts both FedEx (NYSE: FDX  ) and shipping facilitator Expeditors International (NASDAQ: EXPD  ) to underperform.

Buy UPS
RBC's outperform call on UPS is essentially a buy rating, as this analyst sees the $82 stock heading to $100 over the course of the next 12 months. And RBC could be right about that.

After all, if it's true that UPS shares cost 99 times earnings, recently hit their 52-week high, and could theoretically be expected to slump back a bit, it's also true that relative to the rest of the stock market, UPS has been a pretty weak performer of late. The shares are only up 3% over the past 12 months, versus a 12% gain on the Dow. Now could be the time for UPS to begin catching up.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc.(THLD)

Threshold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of drugs targeting the microenvironment of solid tumors for patients living with cancer. The company?s products include TH-302, a novel drug candidate which is in Phase 1, Phase 1/2, and Phase 2 clinical trials for cancer. It has a license agreement with Eleison Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and commercialize glufosfamide for the treatment of cancer in humans and animals. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vodicka]

  Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (THLD) engages in the discovery and development of drugs targeting the microenvironment of solid tumors for patients living with cancer and has a market cap of $85.36 million.

  Net institutional shares purchased over the current quarter come in at 1.2 million, which is 4.31% of the company’s 27.81 million-share float.

  The stock’s longest winning streak over the last month was six days, while the longest losing streak was one day, or a win streak/lose streak ratio of 6.0.

  The stock has had a couple of great days, gaining 15.23% over the last week.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: National Financial Partners Corporation (NFP)

National Financial Partners Corp., together with its subsidiaries, provides advisory and brokerage services to corporate and high net worth individual clients in the United States and Canada. It operates in three segments: Corporate Client Group, Individual Client Group, and Advisor Services Group. The Corporate Client Group segment operates as corporate benefits advisor in the middle market, offering independent solutions for health and welfare, retirement planning, executive benefits, and property and casualty insurance; and offers property and casualty insurance brokerage and consulting services. It serves corporate clients by providing advisory and brokerage services related to the planning and administration of benefit plans that take into account the overall business profile and needs of the corporate client. The Individual Client Group segment delivers independent life insurance, annuities, long term care, and wealth transfer solutions; and wholesale life brokerage, retail life, and investment advisory services. It serves wealth accumulation, preservation, and transfer needs, including estate planning, business succession, charitable giving, and financial advisory services. The Advisor Services Group segment provides broker-dealer and asset management products and services to independent financial advisors. In addition, the company provides IndeSuite, a wealth management platform for the independent registered investment advisor market. National Financial Partners Corp. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in New York City, New York.

Best Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In 2014: BG Group(BG.L)

BG Group plc operates as an integrated natural gas company worldwide. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Production, Liquefied Natural Gas, and Transmission and Distribution The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of natural gas and oil. This segment has proved reserves of 3,247 million barrels of oil equivalent. The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) segment is involved in the development and use of LNG import and export facilities; and purchase, shipping, and sale of LNG and regasified natural gas. The Transmission and Distribution segment develops, owns, and operates pipelines and distribution networks to supply natural gas to co-generation plants, natural gas vehicle filling stations, and gas-fired power stations, as well as industrial, commercial, and residential customers. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Reading, the United Kingdom.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: Alliant Energy Corporation (LNT)

Alliant Energy Corporation operates in electric and gas utility businesses in the United States. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company, engages in the generation and distribution of electric energy; and the distribution and transportation of natural gas in Iowa and southern Minnesota. As of December 31, 2009, it supplied electric and gas service to approximately 525,334 and 233,841 retail customers. Alliant Energy Corporation also provides steam services, and various other energy-related products and services to customers in Iowa. The company, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), involves in the generation and distribution of electric energy; and the distribution and transportation of natural gas primarily in south and central Wisconsin markets. As of December 31, 2009, WPL supplied electric and gas service to 453,573 and 177,968 retail customers. In addition, Alliant Energy Corporation has investments in environmental consulting, and engineering and renewable energy services businesses. It also engages in transportation business, which includes a short-line railway for the provision of freight services between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in Iowa; barge terminal and hauling services on the Mississippi River; and other transfer and storage services. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: MAKO Surgical Corp.(MAKO)

MAKO Surgical Corp., a medical device company, markets its advanced robotic arm solution and orthopedic implants for orthopedic procedures in the United States and internationally. The company offers MAKOplasty, a restorative surgical solution that enables orthopedic surgeons to treat patient specific osteoarthritic disease. It also provides robotic arm interactive orthopedic system (RIO) consisting of a tactile robotic arm utilizing an integrated bone cutting instrument; and a patient specific visualization component, which offers pre-operative and intra-operative guidance to the orthopedic surgeon, enabling tissue sparing bone removal, and accurate implant insertion and alignment. The company?s MAKOplasty partial knee arthroplasty solution enables resurfacing of one or two specific diseased compartments of the joint, preserving more soft tissue and healthy bone of the knee; and MAKOplasty Total Hip Arthroplasty, a surgical solution that enables orthopedic surgeons to pe rform total hip arthroplasty. In addition, it offers tactile guidance system, which allows orthopedic surgeons to treat degenerative knee osteoarthritis from early-stage unicompartmental degeneration through mid-stage multicompartmental degeneration with a modular knee implant system; and RESTORIS family of implants for use in single and bicompartmental knee resurfacing procedures. The company markets its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent orthopedic product agents and distributors. MAKO Surgical Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Hilary Kramer]

  Mako Surgical (NASDAQ:MAKO) is adding to its game-changing knee-replacement surgery with a hip-replacement procedure that will soon be sold to surgeons. While the company has yet to achieve profitability, MAKO is gaining scale at a rapid rate, with revenues expected to grow 80% in 2011 to $79 million and another 60% in 2012.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: Alliance Financial Corporation (ALNC)

Alliance Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Alliance Bank, N.A., which provides various financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, and investment management customers in New York. Its deposit products include interest and non-interest bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, time deposit accounts, and individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan portfolio comprises residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit, working capital facilities, and business term loans, as well as installment loans, home equity loans, and personal lines of credit to individuals. It also provides personal trust, employee benefit trust, investment management, custodial, and financial planning services; financial counseling and brokerage services; and equipment lease financing services, as well as involves in residential real estate activities. In addition, Alliance Financial offers safe deposi t boxes, wire transfers, collection services, drive-up banking facilities, night depositories, automated teller machines, telephone banking, and Internet banking services. As of April 14, 2010, it operated 29 offices in Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties, as well as a trust administration center in Buffalo, New York. The company was founded in 1984 and is based in Syracuse, New York.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: Nabi Biopharmaceuticals(NABI)

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company, develops vaccines for nicotine addiction in the United States. It is developing NicVAX, a proprietary investigational vaccine under Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of nicotine addiction and prevention of smoking relapse. The company also engages in the contract development of PentaStaph, a pentavalent vaccine to prevent S.aureus infections. It has license agreements with National Institutes of Health and Brookhaven National Labs. The company was founded in 1967 and is based in Rockville, Maryland.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: National Technical Systems Inc.(NTSC)

National Technical Systems, Inc., a diversified technical services company, provides engineering and compliance testing services to the defense, aerospace, telecommunications, automotive, energy, consumer products, and industrial products markets worldwide. The company offers product life-cycle product integrity support services, including design engineering, compliance, testing, certification, quality registration, and program management. It provides conformity assessment and management system registration services, as well as technology services for product certification, product safety testing, and product evaluation. The company also offers management registration and certification services. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in Calabasas, California.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: Hertz Global Holdings Inc(HTZ)

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the car and equipment rental businesses worldwide. It operates in two segments, Car Rental and Equipment Rental. The Car Rental segment engages in the ownership and lease of cars. This segment operates car rental locations at or near airports, as well as in central business districts and suburban areas of cities in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Brazil. It also operates retail used car sales locations in the United States and France. The Equipment Rental segment rents earthmoving equipment, material handling equipment, aerial and electrical equipment, air compressors, generators, pumps, small tools, compaction equipment, and construction-related trucks. In addition, this segment sells new equipment, and consumables, such as gloves and ha rdhats. The company also offers claim administration services, such as investigating, evaluating, negotiating, and disposing of various claims, including third-party, first-party, bodily injury, property damage, general liability, and product liability. Hertz Global serves various industries, such as construction, petrochemical, automobile manufacturing, railroad, power generation, and shipbuilding. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey.

Top 10 Shipping Stocks For 2014: Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM.V)

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada and Mexico. It primarily explores for gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead deposits. The company holds interest in the Avino Silver mine covering approximately 4,364 hectares located in Durango, Mexico. It also owns 100% interest in the Eagle property located in the Yukon, Canada; and the Aumax, Olympic-Kelvin, and Minto properties situated in British Columbia, Canada. Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.