Best stocks to buy 2014: Each week our experts dish out the latest profit plays and asset-protection moves for our Money Morning Members - all for free.
Let's start with last week's main focus: oil.
It's been one month since Saudi Arabia - the world's largest oil producer and key Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member - declared a price war on American energy. But the Saudis made a big mistake - one that our Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald said opened up the door to a fantastic small-cap investment opportunity for readers.
In the tech sector, our Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson is excited about a semiconductor stock that's gained nearly 200% since he first recommended it. Robinson forecasts shares will double again over the next two years.
And in biotech, our experts identified two of the best stocks to buy right now. One is a firm about to unveil a blockbuster drug for treating hepatitis C - a chronic disease that affects some 3.2 million Americans and more than 150 million worldwide. This drug will help patients avoid liver transplants (a costly and risky procedure). The other pick is a bargain buy that's ahead of the game in revolutionary 3D bioprinting.
You can find all of last week's tips and recommendations here in our newest list of the best stocks to buy now.
Money Morning's Best Stocks to Buy Now List
- Saudi Arabia is frustrated. It has held control over oil pricing power for decades, but things are changing. On Nov. 4, the oil nation announced it would cut oil prices for customers in the United States. The goal was to squeeze margins on U.S. shale production and make it unprofitable, but the move hasn't had the intended effect. Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald calls it the biggest strategic "pricing error" in Saudi Arabia's history. The move actually cleared the way for an American shale energy boom - and opened up a "killer opportunity" to invest in this $300 million small-cap that has a profit margin of 29.05% (nearly six times better than the industry average)...
There's a certain semiconductor small cap that Money Morning Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson first recommended Aug. 2, 2013. Back then, it traded at $17.50 a share. A few brilliant innovations later, in conjunction with excellent management and new partnerships with the likes of GoPro Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG, GOOGL), the tech firm has gained 198%. Robinson told readers last week to stay in or get in on this semiconductor stock now - he predicts the company is going to double again in the next 20 months...
- Wall Street's wrong on this biotech company, and that makes the pick all the sweeter for Money Morning readers. You see, when the firm reported third-quarter earnings on Oct. 28, it indicated its blockbuster drug - one of the most successful pharmaceuticals of all time - is losing steam just a year after its debut. But the Street missed something crucial. Sales are slowing down for a simple but strategic reason. The biotech is set to release a new drug that will soon replace this blockbuster - and that may do even better...
- We've got another pharma pick - one that Money Morning Biotech Investing Specialist Ernie Tremblay calls "an extraordinary opportunity for the long-term investor." The firm uses 3D bioprinting to create organic tissue in a lab that can be used for drug development and biological research. "The possibilities for using this company's products in both medical research and in clinical applications represent limitless income potential," Tremblay told readers on Dec. 2. And at $6.25 a share, it's a steal...
- The S&P 500 is on pace to break dividend records this year. Q3 was the first quarter in which total payouts exceeded $90 billion, and Q4 is on track for even more. S&P Dow Jones Indices forecasts dividend increases to be in the double digits in 2014. In the week ending Nov. 28 alone, 20 companies contributed to the trend when they boosted payouts. - and five more declared special dividends Here's the full list of 25, including a 10% payout raise from a company our Chief Investment Strategist called a portfolio "must-have" last month...