Our top pick for conservative investors is also Canada's top entry in the transportation category, explains Canadian stock expert Gordon Pape, editor of Internet Wealth Builder.
CN Rail (TSX:CNR) (NY:CNI) operates in both Canada and the States, with a large percentage of its track running through the American Midwest to the Gulf Coast.
CN Rail is the most cost-efficient railroad on the continent—in fact, no one else is even close to its 59.8% operating ratio.
The company's earnings are steadily growing—third-quarter profit was $705 million ($1.67 a share, fully diluted), up from $664 million ($1.52 per share) in the same period last year.
The shares split two-for-one recently. Since we originally recommended the stock back in 2002, at a split-adjusted price of $12.98, we have enjoyed a capital gain of 350%, plus steadily increasing dividends.
The company continues to benefit from increased oil-by-rail transportation, as the pipeline squeeze has forced producers to look for alternative ways to move product to market.
Top Electric Utility Stocks To Watch For 2015: Cyberonics Inc (CYBX)
Cyberonics, Inc. (Cyberonics), incorporated in 1987, is a medical device company. The Company is engaged in the design, development, sales and marketing of implantable medical devices that provide a neuromodulation therapy, vagus nerve stimulation therapy (VNS Therapy), for the treatment of refractory epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and other device solutions for the management of epilepsy.VNS Therapy System includes an implantable pulse generator to provide stimulation to the vagus nerve; a lead that connects the generator to the vagus nerve; equipment to assist with implantation surgery; equipment to assist with setting the stimulation parameters for each patient; instruction manuals, and magnets to suspend or induce stimulation manually. The VNS Therapy pulse generator and lead are surgically implanted into patients generally during an outpatient procedure. The VNS Therapy System consists of a pulse generator, a bipolar lead, a programming wand and software and a tunneling tool.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Company's VNS Therapy System in July 1997 for use as an adjunctive therapy in epilepsy patients over 12 years of age for reducing the frequency of partial onset seizures that are refractory or resistant to antiepileptic drugs. Regulatory bodies in Canada, the European Economic Area, certain countries in Eastern Europe, Russia, South America, Africa, Australia and certain countries in Asia, including Japan, China and Taiwan, have approved the VNS Therapy System for the treatment of epilepsy, many without age restrictions or seizure-type limitations. In July 2005, the FDA approved the Company's VNS Therapy System for the adjunctive long-term treatment of chronic or recurrent depression for patients 18 years of age or older who are experiencing a depressive episode and have not had an adequate response to four or more adequate anti-depressant treatments. Regulatory bodies in the European Economic Area, Canada and Israel have approv! ed the Company's VNS Therapy System for the treatment of chronic or recurrent depression in patients who are in a treatment-resistant or treatment-intolerant depressive episode without age restrictions.
In February 2011, the Company announced FDA approval of its fifth generation generator, the AspireHC generator. In August 2011, the Company announced that the Company discovered a hardware-related design issue with the AspireHC Model 105 and AspireSR (Seizure Response) Model 106 generators. In December 2011, the FDA approved the Company's re-designed AspireHC generator, and the Company resumed its limited commercial release of the generator in the United States.
Pulse Generator
The pulse generator is an implantable, programmable signal generator designed to be coupled with the bipolar lead to deliver mild electrical pulses to the vagus nerve. The pulse generator is a battery-powered device. Before or upon depletion of the battery, the pulse generator may be removed and a new generator implanted in a short, outpatient procedure. The Model 102 (Pulse), Model 102R (Pulse Duo ), Model 103 (Demipulse), Model 104 (Demipulse Duo) and Model 105 (AspireHC), are the VNS Therapy pulse generators the Company offers and are similar in design and manufactures to a cardiac pacemaker.
Bipolar Lead
The bipolar lead conducts the electrical signal from the pulse generator to the vagus nerve. The lead incorporates electrodes, which are self-sizing, minimizing mechanical trauma to the nerve. The lead's two electrodes and anchor tether wrap around the vagus nerve, and the connector end is tunneled subcutaneously to the upper chest area, where it attaches to the pulse generator. The Company offers three lead models in the United States. The leads are available in two inner spiral diameter sizes to ensure optimal electrode placement on different-sized nerves.
Programming Wand and Software
The Company's programming wand and software are us! ed to int! errogate the implanted pulse generator and to transmit programming information from a handheld computer to the pulse generator via an inductive coupling. Programming capabilities include modification of the pulse generator's programmable parameters (pulse width, amplitude and frequency and stimulation ON and OFF intervals) and storage and retrieval of telemetry data.
Tunneling Tool
The tunneling tool is a single use, sterile, disposable surgical tool designed to be used during surgical placement of the bipolar lead. The tool is used for subcutaneous tunneling of the lead between the nerve site in the neck and the pulse generator site in the upper chest area.
Accessory Pack
The accessory pack includes two resistor assemblies used to test the function of the device prior to implantation, the bipolar lead tie-downs and one hex screwdriver. The patient kit includes two magnets, one watch-style and one pager-style.
The Company competes with Medtronic, Inc., NeuroSigma Inc. and CerboMed GmbH.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Benjamin Shepherd]
The rise of public health services, improvements in sanitation and access to clean drinking water have led to a huge improvement in human life expectancy, which has jumped from only about 30 years five centuries ago to more than 75 years in most industrialized countries today.
Advances in medical science have also played a major role, such as the development of antibiotics to treat once deadly infections, surgical interventions to correct once fatal injuries and medications to treat chronic conditions.
We have yet to reach the limit of human ingenuity and today the trend is towards harnessing technology to break the reliance on long-term medication usage to treat chronic conditions. One area where huge strides are being made in that direction is the treatment of epilepsy.
Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disease in the world, affecting more than 9 million people in developed countries alone, and epileptics have a mortality rate more than 25 times higher than the general population. The costs associated with dealing with the disease run in excess of $13.5 billion in the US alone.
The disease is typically treated using a drug regime that includes several pills a day, including anti-convulsants and sedatives which can have unpleasant side effects. Drug therapy is typically successful in controlling seizures in about 70 percent of patients, but about a third of those who don�� respond to medication find themselves undergoing surgery to essentially remove the area of the brain triggering the seizures.
Cyberonics (NSDQ: CYBX) is making headway into an alternative treatment for the disease, called vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy, which can reduce the number or even eliminate the need for the drugs epileptics depend upon and requires only minor surgery.
During an outpatient procedure conducted under general anesthesia, two small incisions are made, one in the upper chest area and the other in the neck. At t - [By James E. Brumley]
Investors who were hoping things would work out for epilepsy treatment company Cyberonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYBX) can cross CYBX off their list of epilepsy-oriented stocks to buy, as they did with Acorda Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ACOR) about a month ago. ACOR saw its epilepsy drug Plumiaz rejected by the FDA in early May, while CYBX announced this morning that the coming fiscal year's (beginning in April) revenue would be weaker than first expected as sales of its epileptic control implant device didn't look quite as promising as hoped.
- [By Seth Jayson]
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 Cyberonics (Nasdaq: CYBX ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Roberto Pedone]
Another potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is implantable medical devices player Cyberonics (CYBX), which is set to release numbers on Thursday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Cyberonics to report revenue of $74.05 million on earnings of 55 cents per share.
Read More: 5 Breakout Stocks Under $10 Set to Soar
The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Cyberonics is rather high at 11.6%. That means that out of the 21.65 million shares in the tradable float, 2.52 million shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 4%, or by about 97,000 shares. If the bears get caught pressing their bets into a strong quarter, then shares of CYBX could easily rip sharply higher post-earnings as the shorts rush to cover some of their trades.
From a technical perspective, CYBX is currently trending above its 50-day moving average and just below its 200-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock recently formed a double bottom chart pattern at $55.75 to $56.56 a share. Following that bottom, shares of CYBX have started to trend back above its 50-day moving average of $59.83 a share and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above some key overhead resistance levels.
If you're bullish on CYBX, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $63.65 to $64.08 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 228,522 shares. If that breakout materializes post-earnings, then CYBX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $67.12 to $69.18 a share, or even $72 to its 52-week high at $73.52 a share.
I would avoid CYBX or look for short-biased trades if after earnin
5 Best Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now: Osiris Therapeutics Inc.(OSIR)
Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., a stem cell company, focuses on the development and marketing of therapeutic products to treat various medical conditions in the inflammatory, autoimmune, orthopedic, and cardiovascular areas. It operates in two business segments, Therapeutics and Biosurgery. The Therapeutics segment focuses on developing biologic stem cell drug candidates from a readily available and non-controversial source, adult bone marrow. The Biosurgery segment works to harness the ability of cells and novel constructs to promote the body's natural healing. This segment focuses on developing biologic products for use in surgical procedures. The company?s lead biologic drug candidate is Prochymal, which is in phase 2 and 3 clinical trails for various indications, including acute graft versus host disease (GvHD), Crohn's disease, acute myocardial infarction, type 1 diabetes, pulmonary disease, and gastrointestinal injury resulting from radiation exposure. Its biologic drug candidates also include Chondrogen, a preparation of adult mesenchymal stem cells that is in phase 2 clinical trials for osteoarthritis and cartilage protection. The company has collaboration agreements with Genzyme Corporation for the development and commercialization of Prochymal and Chondrogen in various countries except in the United States and Canada. It also has a partnership with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for the development of Prochymal as a treatment for the preservation of insulin production in patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus. Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Maxx Chatsko]
Additionally, stem cell therapies have remained elusive as the industry's ultimate Holy Grail. Osiris (NASDAQ: OSIR ) received Canadian approval for the world's first stem cell drug, Prochymal, for children battling acute graft-versus-host disease, or GvHD, last year. The approval meant more symbolically than to the bottom line, but it definitely put the potential of stem cells front and center for investors.
- [By Alexander Maxwell]
One of the companies attempting to develop a better treatment for chronic diabetic foot ulcers is Osiris Therapeutics� (NASDAQ: OSIR ) . Earlier this month, Osiris shares more than doubled as the company announced positive data for its CDFU drug Grafix. The study results were very impressive to say the least; the study was stopped early due to the overwhelming efficacy exhibited by the treatment. A main highlight is the fact that 62% of Grafix patients had their wound closed at 12 weeks, compared to only 21% of patients using conventional methods. Clearly, the efficacy in this endpoint was overwhelming. Grafix also achieved all of the secondary endpoints for the trial, and more importantly demonstrated a relatively benign safety record.�
- [By Lauren Pollock]
Osiris Therapeutics Inc.(OSIR) said Friday a proposed ruling from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services won’t immediately affect reimbursements for its Grafix stem-cell product. The regenerative medicine company said Grafix will maintain its current reimbursement status — also called transitional pass-through status — potentially through late 2015.
5 Best Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now: Compania de Transporte de Energia Electrica en Alta Tension Transener Sa (TRAN)
Compania de Transporte de Energia Electrica en Alta Tension Transener SA (Transener) is an Argentina-based company primarily engaged in the provision and distribution of high-voltage electric power, through its own transmission network of approximately 8,800 kilometers of transmission lines. The Company also offers such professional services as lines and substations maintenance, lines and substations operation, supervision and inspection of transmission works, as well as engineering and consulting services, among others. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had majority owned subsidaries Empresa de Transporte de Energia Electrica por Distribucion Troncal de la Provincia de Buenos Aires SA (Transba SA) and Transener Internacional Ltda. In addition, Compania Inversora en Transmision Electrica Citelec SA was its majority shareholder. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Nikolaj Gammeltoft]
U.S. stocks climbed, extending the longest winning streak for the Standard & Poor�� 500 Index (TRAN) since July, as data showed China�� economy is improving amid signs of easing tensions over Syria.
5 Best Railroad Stocks To Buy Right Now: STARWOOD PROPERTY TRUST INC.(STWD)
Starwood Property Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust, primarily focuses on originating, investing in, financing, and managing commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate debt investments, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments. It also focuses to invest in commercial properties subject to net leases, residential mortgage loans, and residential mortgage-backed securities. SPT Management, LLC serves as the manager of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes, if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. Starwood Property Trust was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Chris Hill]
In this installment, our analysts discuss some of the day's big movers and shakers.�Shares of Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT ) rise after Deutsche Bank initiates coverage with a buy rating. Trading in Herbalife (NYSE: HLF ) is halted after the company's auditor resigns. Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF ) gains ground on the news that inflation in China is slowing. And Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD ) declines after the real estate company announces a secondary stock offering.�
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