Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014

Think of The Motley Fool as kind of your TiVo for investment conferences. We'll help you skip to the good parts and zip past all the rest.

There were definitely some good parts in what Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: KERX  ) had to say at this week's Stifel Nicolaus Weisel Healthcare Conference in Boston. A lot was said, but here are the three highlights you'll want to know about.

1. Commercialization of Zerenex
Keryx submitted its New Drug Application, or NDA, for Zerenex in August for treating hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, or CKD, on dialysis. While the company is waiting to find out whether the NDA has been accepted, most expect that it will. If so, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should announce a decision on the drug by the third quarter of 2014.

In the meantime, Keryx is taking a two-pronged approach. CEO Ron Bentsur said that the company is having "good development dialogue." By that, he undoubtedly means that Keryx is in the middle of conversations with possible commercialization partners for Zerenex. Bentsur didn't mention any names, though.

Top 10 Safest Companies To Watch In Right Now: Paradigm Resource Management Corp (PRDC)

Paradigm Resource Management Corp., formerly China Digital Ventures Corporation, incorporated on March 26, 2007, is a development-stage company. In April 2012, the Company acquired all of the mineral rights properties of ARNEVUT Resources Inc. (ARNEVUT). ARNEVUT is an exploration and mining company. ARNEVUT has an option to acquire majority control of the Island Mountain property from Gateway Gold Corporation (Gateway). The property consists of 53 unpatented lode mineral claims that consists of an area of 920 acres (372 hectares) situated near the northeast end of the Jerritt Canyon Trend. The East Canyon property is located in Elko County, Nevada and Box Elder County, Utah. Most of the claims are located in Box Elder County, Utah. The Zia Uranium property is nine miles northeast of Grants, New Mexico. The property contains uranium mineralization hosted by the Todilto Limestone and probable uranium mineralization hosted by sandstones of the Morrison Formation. These claims are wholly owned by ARNEVUT.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), the Company had no revenue and operations. The principal business of the Company was its Web-based telecom and Internet protocol television (IPTV) businesses.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap resource or green stocks Paradigm Resource Management Corp (OTCMKTS: PRDC), Extreme Biodiesel Inc (OTCMKTS: XTRM) and Pan Global Corp (OTCMKTS: PGLO) have all been getting some attention lately thanks in part to a few paid stock promotions. However, two of these small cap appear to be the subject of minimal paid promotion activity, but even a small paid promotion or investor relations campaign can increase a stock�� volatility. So do these three small cap resource or green stocks have what it takes to deliver some Christmas cheer for investors and traders alike? Here is a quick reality check:

Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014: Heartland Payment Systems Inc. (HPY)

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. provides bankcard payment processing services in the United States and Canada. It facilitates the exchange of information and funds between merchants and cardholder�s financial institutions; and offers end-to-end electronic payment processing services, including merchant set-up and training, transaction authorization and electronic draft capture, clearing and settlement, merchant accounting, merchant assistance and support, and risk management to merchants. The company also provides other merchant services comprising payroll processing, gift and loyalty programs, and prepaid and stored-value solutions; paper check processing; payroll and related tax filing services; and secure point-of-sale solutions, as well as sells and rents point-of-sale devices and supplies. In addition, it develops, manufactures, sells, services, and maintains computer software to facilitate accounting and management functions of food service operations of K to 12 sch ools. The company markets its bankcard payment processing services directly to small and mid-sized merchants, and national and mid-tier merchants. Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE: HPY  ) is set to be an enthusiastic buyer of its own shares. The company's board has authorized a fresh stock repurchase program to the tune of $75 million. The move is effective immediately, and its term is open-ended.

Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014: Valiant Holding AG (VAT)

Valiant Holding AG is a Switzerland-based regional bank engaged in the provision of products and services in retail banking, small and medium sized enterprises (SME) banking, private banking and asset management. The Company�� products include operating loan, investment loan, collateral loan, lease, construction loan, variable mortgage, fixed rate mortgage, flexible mortgage, savings account, time deposit account, medium-term notes, pension fund management, current account, maestro card, business card, corporate card, travel cash, payment services and e-banking services. The Company operates through a network of branches and automated teller machines (ATMs). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nitish]

  The iPhone remains Apple's most important product by far, accounting for close to half of the company's value, according to our estimates. For this quarter, Apple shipped about 35 million iPhones, representing a 12.7% jump over the same quarter a year ago, although revenue growth was slightly lower at around 9% possibly due to a greater mix of lower-end handsets. Business remained healthy in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, where iPhone shipments grew by around 55% year-over-year. China turned out to be particularly strong market, with overall revenues (from all products) growing by roughly 28% year-over-year and iPhone sales growing twice as fast as the broader Chinese smartphone market. However, sales in Japan, which had been one of the iPhone's fastest growing markets in recent quarters, were impacted by an increase in value added taxes (VAT) and some changes to the regulatory environment for mobile carriers.

Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014: RCM Technologies Inc.(RCMT)

RCM Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, and delivery of business and technology solutions for commercial and government sectors in North America. It operates through three segments: Information Technology (IT), Engineering, and Commercial Services. The IT segment provides enterprise business solutions, application services, infrastructure solutions, competitive advantage and productivity solutions, and life sciences solutions. The Engineering segment offers engineering and design, engineering analysis, engineer-procure-construct, configuration management, hardware/software validation and verification, quality assurance, technical writing and publications, manufacturing process planning and improvement, reliability centered maintenance, component and equipment testing, and risk management engineering services. The Commercial Services segment provides long-term and short-term staffing, executive search, and placement servic es in various fields, including rehabilitation, nursing, managed care, allied health care, health care management, and medical office support, as well as offers in-patient, outpatient, sub-acute and acute care, multilingual speech pathology, rehabilitation, geriatric, pediatric, and adult day care services to hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, sports medicine facilities, and private practices. This segment also offers contract and temporary services, and permanent placement services for full-time and part-time personnel in various functional areas, including office, clerical, data entry, secretarial, light industrial, shipping, receiving, and general warehousing. The company offers its services to aerospace/defense, energy, financial services, life sciences, manufacturing and distribution, public sector, and technology industries. RCM Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is based in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  RCM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCMT) reported that primarily due to unexpected and extended client procedural delays in awarding certain engagements under an existing contract with a major North American utility, the Company’s second quarter revenues and operating income will fall short of its expectations.

Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014: Alon USA Partners LP (ALDW)

Alon USA Partners, LP (Alon USA), incorporated on August 17, 2012, owns and operates refining and petroleum products marketing business. Its integrated downstream business operates primarily in the South Central and Southwestern regions of the United States. It owns and operates a crude oil refinery in Big Spring, Texas with total throughput capacity of approximately 70,000 barrels per day (bpd). The crude oil pipelines the Company utilizes consist of the Amdel, White Oil, Mesa Interconnect, Centurion and Centurion Interconnect. Its Big Spring refinery produces ultra-low sulfur gasoline, ultra-low sulfur diesel, jet fuel, petrochemicals, petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt and other petroleum products.

During the year ended December 31, 2011 and the six months ended June 30, 2012, sour crude, such as West Texas Sour (WTS), represented approximately 80.4% and 80.4% of its throughput, respectively, and sweet crude, such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), represented approximately 15.8% and 17.1% of its throughput, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2011 and the six months ended June 30, 2012, the Company produced approximately 49.1% and 49.2% gasoline, 32.3% and 32.5% diesel/jet fuel, 7.1% and 6.4% asphalt, 6.0% and 6.0% petrochemicals and 5.5% and 5.9% other refined products, in each case, respectively. The Company distributes fuel products through a product pipeline and terminal network of seven pipelines totaling approximately 840 miles and six terminals that it owns or access.

The Company competes with Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  How bad has this week been? Marathon Petroleum has fallen 4.3% through yesterday’s close, while HollyFrontier has dropped 2.5%, Valero Energy (VLO) has declined 3.5% and Alon USA Partners (ALDW) has slipped 5.7%. Western Refining (WNR) has weathered the selling and has ticked down just 0.3%.

Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014: TMS International Corp.(TMS)

TMS International Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides outsourced industrial services to steel mills in North America and internationally. It principally offers scrap management and preparation; semi-finished and finished material handling; metal recovery and slag handling, processing, and sales; surface conditioning; raw materials procurement and logistics; and proprietary software-based raw materials cost optimization services. The company?s scrap management and preparation services include the provision of inspection, preparation, and delivery of raw materials, primarily scrap, as well as inventory control through logistics management services. Its semi-finished and finished material handling services comprise handling and transportation of semi-finished and finished steel products, such as steel slabs, billets, and plates; metal recovery and slag handling, processing, and sales services consist of recycling and processing the slag to recover metallic material; an d surface conditioning services include removing imperfections from semi-finished steel products to be used in applications that require unblemished finishes, such as household appliances and automobiles. The company?s raw materials procurement and logistics services comprise purchasing, on behalf of customers, raw material inputs, including ferrous scrap, scrap substitutes, coke, coal, ore, non-ferrous metals, ferro-alloys, and other raw materials used in steel making, as well as arranging point-to-point delivery logistics. Its proprietary software-based raw materials cost optimization services consist of development and marketing of Scrap OptiMiser and GenBlend software applications that aid mills in the planning, procurement, and utilization of ferrous scrap and scrap substitutes. The company was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Glassport, Pennsylvania. TMS International Corp. is a subsidiary of Onex Corporation.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Outsourced industrial services provider�TMS International (NYSE: TMS  ) announced on Friday its second-quarter dividend of $0.10 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after initiating the payout.

• [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 TMS International (NYSE: TMS  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top 10 Stock Investments For 2014: Ship Finance International Limited(SFL)

Ship Finance International Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership and operation of vessels and offshore related assets in Bermuda, Cyprus, Malta, Liberia, Norway, the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the Marshall Islands. The company also involves in the charter, purchase, and sale of assets. As of March 22, 2011, it owned 29 oil tankers, 8 oil/bulk/ore carriers, 3 dry bulk carriers, 9 container vessels, 2 jack-up drilling rigs, 3 ultra-deepwater drilling units, 6 offshore supply vessels, and 2 chemical tankers. The company offers its services to various sectors of shipping and offshore industry, including oil transportation, drybulk shipments, chemical transportation, container transportation, drilling rigs, and offshore supply vessels. Ship Finance International Limited was founded in 2003 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  But they’re also potent. Not only do they contain the possibility for significant capital appreciation, but they also offer plenty as far as dividends are concerned. In fact, of the following four small caps, the weakest dividend yield is still a very healthy 8%.

  Ship Finance International Limited (SFL)

  SFL Dividend Yield: 9.1%