5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2014

The Q3 2014 earnings report for small cap insurance software stock Ebix Inc (NASDAQ: EBIX), a potential peer of insurance software stocks like small cap�Benefitfocus Inc (NASDAQ: BNFT) and mid cap�Guidewire Software Inc (NYSE: GWRE), is scheduled for before the market opens on Friday (November 7th). Aside from the Ebix Inc earnings report, it should be said that Benefitfocus Inc will report Q3 2014 earnings�when the market closes today while Guidewire Software Inc reported Q4 2014 earnings on September 2nd. However, the Ebix Inc earnings report will be closely watched as it�� the fourth most shorted stock on the Nasdaq with short interest of 53.62%�according to HighShortInterest.com. These shorts began targeting Ebix Inc�in the summer of 2013 when Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) terminated an agreement to acquire the company after reports of a probe of allegations of intentional misconduct with Bloomberg reporting the company was being investigated specifically for money laundering.

Top Healthcare Technology Stocks To Watch Right Now: Dex Media Inc (DXM)

Dex Media, Inc., incorporated on August 17, 2012, is a provider of social, local and mobile marketing solutions for local businesses. The Company provides marketing solutions that include Websites, print, mobile, search engine and social media solutions. The Company�� brands include Dex One and SuperMedia. Through both brands, it delivers a range of social, mobile, and print solutions.

The Company's consumer services include the Dex Knows.com and Superpages.com online and mobile search portals and applications and local print directories. On April 30, 2013, Dex One Corporation and SuperMedia Inc. announced the completion of their merger, creating Dex Media, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Since the last conference, for every winning pick like Akamai Technolgies (AKAM)–which gained 19% after being picked by Blue Harbour Group’s Clifton Robbins–or Digital Realty Trust (DLR)–which rose fell 27.5% after being picked as a short by Jonathon Jacobson of Highfields Capital Management–there’s been a stinker like Chipotle Mexican Grill�(CMG)–which gained 29% after Double Line’s Jeffrey Gundlach recommended shorting it–or Dex Media (DXM)–which advanced 53.7% after Hayman Capital’s Kyle Bass recommended selling. In fact, the average pick lost 3.8%, even as the S&P 500 gained 15.2%.

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2014: Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc (ENTA)

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on July 25, 1995, is a research and development-focused biotechnology company. The Company uses its chemistry-driven approach and drug discovery capabilities to create small molecule drugs in the infectious disease field. The Company is discovering and developing novel inhibitors designed for use against the hepatitis C virus (HCV). These inhibitors include members of the direct acting antiviral (DAA) inhibitor classes-protease (partnered with AbbVie, the former research-based pharmaceutical business of Abbott Laboratories), NS5A (partnered with Novartis) and nucleotide polymerase, as well as a host targeted antiviral (HTA) inhibitor class targeted against cyclophilin. ABT-450, discovered through its collaboration with AbbVie, is a protease inhibitor that has demonstrated in vitro potency against known resistant HCV mutants.

In Phase I studies, ABT-450 co-administered with ritonavir, a commonly used boosting agent to increase the blood concentrations of many protease inhibitors, was shown to be safe and well tolerated. Co-administration of ABT-450 with ritonavir, which it refers to together as ABT-450/r, has enabled once-daily dosing of ABT-450. Phase II studies have demonstrated the efficacy of ABT-450/r in patients with chronic HCV, and other interferon-free Phase II studies of ABT-450-containing regimens continue. AbbVie is developing a next-generation protease inhibitor discovered within the Enanta-AbbVie collaboration. EDP-239 is the NS5A inhibitor discovered by the Company. The Company also has a program to develop nucleotide inhibitors to HCV NS5B polymerase, which is another DAA mechanism considered to have a barrier to resistance. The Company�� Bicyclolide antibiotic product candidate is EDP-788, which it is developing for use as an intravenous drug in the hospital setting and for oral dosing in the home setting. EDP-788 is a prodrug, which means that it is inactive until it is converted in the body into an active compound. EDP-788 is! a water-soluble molecule which, when administered in preclinical models, is cleanly and rapidly converted into the active compound.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  The next big thing in treating hepatitis-C
  The other currently experimental therapy very likely to make it onto the FDA's desk before the midpoint of 2014 is AbbVie's (NYSE: ABBV  ) direct-acting antiviral combo drug. In similar fashion to Sovaldi, this DAA-combo therapy, which includes ABT-450 from Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENTA  ) , is running six confirmatory late-stage trials on various genotypes. There are, however, two primary differences between AbbVie's DAA-combo therapy and Sovaldi.

• [By George Budwell]

  Normally, such strong efficacy results would be hailed as a major achievement. However, these results are actually less impressive than those by competing drug's developed by AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) , Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENTA  ) and Gilead. Bristol-Myers' therapy also has a treatment duration double that of Gilead's drug Sovaldi for genotype 1 patients. So, while these results are impressive in their own right, the therapy's commercial prospects may be limited due to the presence of superior competitors in the market.�

• [By James Fink]

  And lastly I'll go into healthcare, which is kind of a growth cyclical type name. It's partially defensive, partially growth. I think the more growth-oriented section of healthcare would be biotech, and right now, a very promising biotech stock is Enanta Pharmaceuticals. That's a NASDAQ stock; ticker symbol (ENTA).

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2014: Agility Public Warehousing Co KSC (AGLTY)

Agility Public Warehousing Company KSC is a Kuwait-based company engaged, along with its subsidiaries, in the provision of global integrated logistics solutions. The Company is organized into two business segments: the Logistic and Related services segment provides logistics offering to its clients, including freight forwarding, transportation, contract logistics, project logistics and fairs and events logistics, and the Infrastructure segment provides other services, which include industrial real estate airport and airplane ground handling and cleaning services, customs consulting, private equity and waste recycling. The Company operates under the brand name of Agility. The Company�� subsidiaries include Global Express Transport Co. WLL, PWC Transport Company WLL, Agility DGS Logistics Services KSCC and Gulf Catering Company for General, among others. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fiona MacDonald]

  The Kuwait SE Price Index rose for a sixth day, climbing 0.5 percent to 6,851.17 at the close. Kuwait Real Estate Co. (KRE) climbed to the highest level in a month. Agility (AGLTY) advanced 1.7 percent after winning a $190 million UN contract in Sudan�� Darfur region. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index, which tracks the biggest 200 companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, fell 0.1 percent.

5 Best Mid Cap Stocks To Own For 2014: Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (CRL)

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. provides research models and laboratory animal support expertise to help its global partners advance their research and drug development efforts. The company offers a portfolio of services to support discovery and imaging, preclinical and early-phase clinical studies, and biopharmaceutical and endotoxin products and services for manufacturing and quality control. Its portfolio spans the entire research and drug development process, from IND consultation to discovery through market approval, allowing customized approaches to support both single-study or broad-based programs. Charles River Laboratories International serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as government agencies, hospitals, and academic institutions. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  Then there's Charles River Laboratories (NYSE: CRL). The company provides outsourcing for clinical research, allowing drug firms to keep their overhead down and pass the savings on to patients and their insurers.

• [By Damian Illia]

  Based in Valencia, Calif., and founded in 1991, MannKind Corporation (MNKD) is a development stage biopharmaceutical company. It is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutic products for diseases like diabetes. The company's lead and only late stage pipeline candidate for this year is Afrezza, an inhalation powder which is an ultra insulin therapy for the treatment of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes to control their hyperglycemia. Currently, it is in late-stage clinical trials and a final decision from the U.S. regulatory body is expected by April 15, 2014. There is great concern revolving around this decision, as MannKind has already received two complete response letters (CRL) for Afrezza from the FDA, and it was requested to conduct two phase III trials with the next-generation inhaler. Further delay in approval or another setback related to this candidate could be a great danger for the company. Over and probably excessive dependence on Afrezza ���s the company discontinued any other reasearch in other candidates ���s something to worry about. The company has generated no revenue last year round and its shares have experienced a total annual loss of $0.64 so far.