Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now

Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ONXX  ) is having a garage sale, but it doesn't appear that Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN  ) has been invited.

The promising cancer developer confirmed over the weekend that Amgen had made an offer to acquire Onyx for $120 per share, a 38.2% premium above Friday's close. Onyx certainly didn't waste any time rejecting the bid, commenting that it "significantly undervalued Onyx and its prospects, and was not in the best interest of Onyx or its shareholders." That hasn't, however, stopped Onyx from actively engaging in additional acquisition chatter with other interested parties outside of Amgen.

The interest in Onyx will come down to two big questions: How much is it worth considering that it only receives a percentage of net sales on two of its three cancer drugs? And who might the buyer be?

How Onyx makes its money
The first question, as I've noted, is quite tricky.

Nexavar, the company's most mature cancer drug, is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat the most common forms of kidney and liver cancer. Aside from Japan, though, it splits the profits of Nexavar with licensing partner Bayer�down the middle. There's also a strong possibility that Nexavar could be in line for an added indication in treating thyroid cancer based on the extended progression-free survival it delivered relative to the placebo in a late-stage trial.

10 Best Recreation Stocks To Buy For 2016: Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund 2 Inc (NPM)

Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund 2, Inc. (NPM) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund seeks to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax by investing primarily in a portfolio of municipal obligations issued by state and local government authorities or certain United States territories. Nuveen Asset Management (NAM) is the Fund's investment adviser. NAM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuveen Investments, Inc. Effective January 1, 2005, Nuveen Advisory Corp. (NAC) and its affiliate, Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp. (NIAC), were merged into NAM.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chuck Carnevale]

  Next, I turned to an evaluation of gross profit margin (gpm), net profit margin (npm), return on assets (roa), return on equity (roe) and return on invested capital (roi). The example below only includes gross and net profit margin, however, I review data on all the metrics stated above.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cohen & Steers Inc (CNS)

Cohen & Steers, Inc. (CNS) is a global investment management firm focused on global real estate securities, global listed infrastructure, real assets, large cap value stocks, and preferred securities. The Company also manages alternative investment strategies such as hedged real estate securities portfolios and private real estate multimanager strategies for qualified investors. It serves individual and institutional investors through a range of investment vehicles. CNS manages three types of accounts: institutional accounts, open-end mutual funds and closed-end mutual funds. Its revenue is derived primarily from investment advisory, administration, distribution and service fees received from open-end and closed-end mutual funds and investment advisory fees received from institutional accounts.

Institutional Accounts

The 113 institutional accounts for which the Company is an investment adviser represent portfolios of securities it manage for institutional clients. It manages the assets in each institutional account in a manner tailored to the investment preferences of that individual client as defined within each client's individual investment advisory agreement. Sub-advisory assets, which may be sold to retail investors, are included in its institutional account assets. Sub-advisory assets represent accounts for which it has been named as a sub-adviser by the investment adviser to that account.

Open-End Mutual Funds

The 14 open-end mutual funds for which the Company is an investment adviser offer and issue new shares continuously as funds are invested and redeem shares when funds are withdrawn. Investment advisory fees for the open-end mutual funds vary based on each fund's investment objective and strategy, fees charged by other comparable mutual funds and the nature of the investors to whom the mutual fund is offered. In addition, it receives a separate fee for providing administrative services to each open-end mutual fund at a rate that is design! ed to reimburse the Company for the cost of providing these services. Each of the open-end mutual funds pays the Company a monthly administration fee based on a percentage of the fund's average assets under management.

Closed-End Mutual Funds

The eight closed-end mutual funds for which the Company is an investment adviser are registered investment companies that have issued a fixed number of shares through public offerings. It receives a separate fee for providing administrative services to seven of the eight closed-end mutual funds at a rate that is designed to reimburse the Company for the cost of providing these services.

Portfolio Consulting and Other Services

The Company maintains two indices, Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index (RMP) and Cohen & Steers Global Realty Majors Index (GRM). RMP is the basis for the iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund (ICF) sponsored by BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. GRM is the basis for Cohen & Steers Global Realty Majors Fund (GRI) sponsored by ALPS Fund Services, Inc. and Claymore Global Real Estate ETF (CGR) sponsored by Claymore Investments, Inc. It provides services in connection with model-based strategies (MBS) accounts. As portfolio consultant for a number of MBS accounts, it constructs portfolios of securities that fulfill the investment objective of the mandate and supply models on a regular basis. As portfolio consultant, it provides several services in connection with investment products, such as unit investment trusts (UITs). As portfolio consultant to a number of UITs, it constructs a portfolio of securities.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) is one of the largest U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies in the area of developing, producing and selling central nervous system (CNS)-related prescription drugs. The company also focuses on the development and introduction of new products, including products developed in collaboration with licensing partners.

• [By Anna Prior]

  Cohen & Steers Inc.(CNS) said Monday that it will separate the chairman and chief executive roles in January, as the investment management firm divides up the positions among its two namesakes.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now: Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd(XIN)

Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in residential real estate development in China. The company?s residential projects comprise various residential buildings that include multi-layer apartment buildings, sub-high-rise apartment buildings, or high-rise apartment buildings; auxiliary services and amenities, such as retail outlets, leisure and health facilities, kindergartens, and schools; and small scale residential properties. It also offers property management and other real estate related services, such as landscaping and installing intercom systems. In addition, the company leases properties, including an elementary school, a basement, three clubhouses, five kindergartens, and parking facilities. As of December 31, 2010, it had 21 completed projects with a total gross floor area (GFA) of approximately 2,049,460 square meters and comprising a total of 23,324 units, as well as 8 projects under construction with a total GFA of 1,804,946 sq uare meters. It primarily operates in seven tier II cities, comprising Hefei, Jinan, Kunshan, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Xuzhou, and Chengdu. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Benjamin Shepherd]

  In the meantime though, I would avoid betting on a hard Chinese landing, a bet that has cost many investors dearly over the past few years. I would, however, avoid most of the leading Chinese real estate developers such as China Vanke (OTC: CVKEF) and Xinyuan Real Estate (NYSE: XIN) which are almost entirely dependent on the domestic markets.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now: Plug Power Inc.(PLUG)

Plug Power Inc., an alternative energy technology provider, involves in the design, development, commercialization, and manufacture of fuel cell systems for the industrial off-road markets and stationary power markets worldwide. It develops and sells a range of fuel cell systems comprising hydrogen-fueled Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) systems. The company?s product line includes PEM GenDrive power unit for sale on commercial terms for industrial off-road consisting of forklift or material handling applications, with a focus on multi-shift high volume manufacturing and high throughput distribution sites. It sells its products to business, industrial, and government customers through direct product sales force, original equipment manufacturers, and their dealer networks. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Latham, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Since the beginning of the year, fuel cell makers Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) and FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) have posted share price gains of around 289% and 76%, respectively, with most of the spike coming since the middle of February. A year ago, Plug Power stock was trading at $0.25 on its way down to $0.15. The stock closed Monday night at $5.69, after peaking at $11.72 on March 10.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  In trading on Tuesday, industrials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.61 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) and Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL).

Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cerus Corporation(CERS)

Cerus Corporation, a biomedical products company, engages in the development and commercialization of the INTERCEPT Blood System. The company?s INTERCEPT system is designed to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in donated blood components intended for transfusion. It markets the INTERCEPT system for platelets and plasma primarily in Europe, the Russian Federation, and the Middle East. The company is also developing INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells or red blood cell system, which is designed to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in donated red blood cells for transfusion. Cerus Corporation has collaboration agreements with Baxter International, Inc.; and BioOne Corporation, as well as the United States Armed Forces. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Concord, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Cerus (Nasdaq: CERS  ) is expected to report Q1 earnings on April 30. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

  The 10-second takeaway
  Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Cerus's revenues will expand 15.0% and EPS will remain in the red.

Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now: Konica Minolta Inc (KNCAY)

Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. is a Japanese manufacturer. The Company's operating segments include Business Technologies, engaged in the manufacture of copy machines and printers; Optics, engaged in the production of optical devices and electronic materials, Photo Imaging, manufacturing photographic film and materials, ink-jet products and cameras, Medical and Graphic Imaging, engaged in the production of x-ray or graphic film and equipment for medical or graphic use, and Sensing, engaged in the manufacture of industrial or medical measurement instruments. The Others segment is engaged in the provision of business support services, the warehouse and delivery businesses, the management of real estate, the construction of facilities, the development of systems and the manufacture, sale and installation of planetariums, among others.

In March 2006, a portion of the camera production assets related to the development, design and production of digital single lens reflex (SLR) cameras was transferred to Sony Corporation. As a result, the Company ceased camera-related operations at the end of March 2006. In addition, minilab business activities were also discontinued in March 2006.

The Company competes with Canon, Xerox, Ricoh and HP.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  As we can see, the firm has a higher ROE than it peers: Ricoh Ltd. (RICOY), Konica Minolta Inc. (KNCAY), Canon�Inc. (CAJ); but is lower than the one registered by Pitney Bowes (PBI).

Top 10 Promising Companies To Invest In Right Now: Rochester Medical Corporation(ROCM)

Rochester Medical Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of PVC-free and latex-free urinary continence and urine drainage care products for the home and acute care markets. Its home care products include a line of silicone and latex male external catheters for managing male urinary incontinence; intermittent catheters for managing both male and female urinary retention, including Magic 3 line of silicone intermittent catheters; and the FemSoft Insert, a soft, liquid-filled, urethral insert for managing stress urinary incontinence in adult females. The company manufactures male external catheters in six models, including UltraFlex, Pop-On, Wide Band, Natural, Clear Advantage, and Transfix catheters; and intermittent catheters in four versions that include standard, antibacterial, hydrophilic, and antibacterial personal catheters. Its acute care products include a line of standard Foley catheters and Strata brand of Foley catheters; and Strata-NF Catheter, an antibacterial Foley catheter that reduces the incidence of hospital acquired urinary tract infection. The company?s primary customers include distributors, extended care facilities, and individual hospitals and healthcare institutions. It markets its products under the Rochester Medical brand name through a direct sales force in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, as well as through independent distributors in other international markets. The company also supplies its products to various medical product companies for sale under private label brands owned by these companies. Rochester Medical Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Stewartville, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Back in February, my colleague David Englander noted that a potential buyout was one reason to buy shares of Rochester Medical (ROCM). Today, Rochester agreed to be purchased by CR Bard (BCR) for $262 million.