Top 5 Rising Stocks To Buy Right Now

In my previous blog post, I criticized the latest annual BIS report on several grounds. One of them was their analysis of monetary policy. Let me extend some of the arguments I made yesterday because I see the same inconsistencies (and errors) being brought up by others.

I find it surprising that those who argued that QE had very little effect on the economy are now ready to blame the central bank for all the damage they will do to the economy when they undo those measures. So they seem to have a model of the effectiveness of central banks that is very asymmetric -- I would like to see that model. It is also surprising that those who express concern about the excessive expansionary nature of monetary policy do not bother comparing the performance of inflation against its target. Shouldn't we measure output and performance when judging central banks?

Let me bring back a chart from the BIS report that I included yesterday in my post, the one where they compare interest rates in advanced and emerging economies against what the Taylor rule would suggest (click on the image for a larger version).

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Buy Right Now: ECOtality Inc (ECTYQ)

Ecotality, Inc., incorporated in 1999, is a provider of electric transportation and storage technologies. The Company provides electric vehicle infrastructure products and solutions that are used in on-road, grid-connected vehicles (including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV)), material handling and airport electric ground support applications. Through its main operating subsidiary, Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), the Company�� primary product offering is the Minit-Charger line of advanced battery fast-charge systems that are designed for various motive applications. In addition to its electric transportation focus, Ecotality, Inc. is also involved in the development, manufacture, assembly and sale of specialty solar products, advanced battery systems, and hydrogen and fuel cell systems. Its subsidiaries and primary operating segments consist of eTec, Innergy Power Corporation (Innergy), and ECOtality Stores (doing business as Fuel Cell Store). In addition, the Company has a wholly owned subsidiary in Mexico providing manufacturing services for it and a wholly owned subsidiary in Australia, ECOtality Australia Pty Ltd, to market and distribute battery charging equipment to support on-road electric vehicles, industrial equipment, and electric airport ground support equipment.

The Company�� products include energy engineering services (hydrogen, solar, battery, coal gasification and energy delivery infrastructure); eTec�� Minit-Charger fast-charge systems for material handling and airport ground support equipment; charging systems (Level 2 and 3) for on-road grid-connected electric vehicles; eTec Bridge Power Manager (BPM) systems; hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE) vehicle conversions; industrial battery systems; solar panel production; specialty solar solutions; specialty thin-sealed lead battery products, and various solar products for consumer, emergency response programs and remote power systems. The Compan! y�� products also include third-party hydrogen and education related products, and EV Microclimate Program.

Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation

As the Company�� primary operating subsidiary, eTec is engaged in the research, development and testing of advanced transportation and energy systems, and is the exclusive provider of the Minit-Charger line of battery fast-charge systems and technologies. Specializing in alternative-fuel, hybrid and electric vehicles and infrastructures, eTec offers consulting, technical support and field services. The Minit-Charger brand is the result of a consolidation of the two fast-charging technologies: eTec SuperCharge and Edison Minit-Charger. In March 2008, all eTec fast-charging products, including the eTec SuperCharge product line, were consolidated under the eTec Minit-Charger brand.

eTec holds the exclusive contract for the United States Department of Energy�� (DoE) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) program and has conducted more than six million miles of vehicle testing on more than 200 advanced fuel vehicles. The Company acquired eTec as an expansion platform for its core capability in battery technologies, fast charging systems, energy distribution infrastructure, and advanced vehicle technologies and testing, which includes electric vehicle (EV), hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), PHEV and hydrogen vehicle technologies. As of December 31, 2009, eTec had installed more than 5,100 charging stations for motive applications.

On August 5, 2009, eTec was selected by the DoE for a grant to undertake the deployment of EVs and charging infrastructure. On September 30, 2009, eTec accepted the grant. eTec, as the lead applicant for the proposal, partnered with Nissan North America to deploy EVs and the charging infrastructure to support them. The project will install electric vehicle charging infrastructure and deploy up to a total of 4,700 Nissan battery electric vehicles in strategic markets in fiv! e states:! Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.

Innergy Power Systems

Innergy Power Systems is based in San Diego, California, with a manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Mexico. Innergy is a manufacturer of both renewable energy solar modules and thin-sealed rechargeable batteries, as its solar photovoltaic (PV) product line addresses the worldwide demand for solar energy products and off-grid power. Innergy�� fiberglass reinforced panel (FRP) solar modules are designed to meet a range of applications for emergency preparedness and recreation. Applications include logistics tracking, asset management systems, off-grid lighting, mobile communications, mobile computing, recreational vehicles, signaling devices and surveillance cameras. Innergy and the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary providing manufacturing services, Portable Energy De Mexico, S.A. DE C.V., provides the Company the ability to further expand its production, manufacturing and assembly capabilities for Innergy�� solar products and energy storage devices, as well as products of its other subsidiaries, including eTec�� Minit-Charger products.

ECOtality Stores (doing business as Fuel Cell Store)

ECOtality Stores is the Company�� wholly owned subsidiary and operates as its online retail division. Fuel Cell Store (www.fuelcellstore.com) is an e-commerce marketplace that offers consumers an array of fuel cell products from around the globe. Based in San Diego, California, and with international operations in Japan, Russia, Italy and Portugal, Fuel Cell Store develops, manufactures and sells a range of fuel cell products that includes fuel cell stacks, systems, component parts and educational materials. In addition to primary retail operations, Fuel Cell Store also offers consulting services for high schools, colleges and research institutes, and is available to host workshops, conferences and corporate events.

Hydrality

Hydrality is a reactor system t! hat store! s and delivers hydrogen on-demand using magnesium compounds and water. The EPC/Hydrality technology was initially developed in conjunction with National Aeronautics and Space Administration�� (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and subsequently advanced by Arizona State University, Green Mountain Engineering and Airboss Aerospace, Inc. The Company initially sought to design and license a Hydrality system for use in motorized vehicles and industrial equipment, it has identified several additional applications for Hydrality that include stationary applications for remote power, back-up power systems, and large-scale industrial and utility use.

The Company competes with AeroVironment, Inc., Aker Wade Power Technologies LLC, Power Designers, LLC, and C&D Technologies, Inc., Better Place, Coulomb Technologies, AeroVironment, Inc., Aker Wade Power Technologies, LLC, Delta-Q Technologies, Elektromotive, BP Solar International Inc., Evergreen Solar, Inc., First Solar Inc., Kyocera Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Motech Industries Inc., Q-Cells AG, Sanyo Corporation, Sharp Corporation, SolarWorld AG, Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd., Airgas, Inc., Air Liquide, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Linde AG, Praxair Technology, Inc., Distributed Energy Systems Corporation, Hydrogenics Corporation, Statoil Hydro, Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc., Heliocentris Fuel Cells AG, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, Ltd., BCS Fuel Cells, Inc., Electrochem, Inc., Fuel Cell Scientific, LLC, GasHub Technology, JHT Power, H-Tech, Inc., Element-1 Power Systems and miniHYDROGEN.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By abirk]

  Founded in 1883, Kroger, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer in the United States. The company also manufactures and processes food for sale in its supermarkets. With a market cap of 22.72 billion, this Cincinnati, Ohio, based company is the seventh largest grocery retailer in the world and, along with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), one of only three U.S. companies in the top ten. Extending well beyond its retail grocer core business, Kroger operates under nearly two dozen banners including: Kroger Real Estate, The Little Clinic, I-Wireless, Kroger Convenience Stores, Littman Jewelers, Fred Meyer Jewelers, Kroger Manufacturing, Kroger Pharmacies, and the recently-acquired Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. (HTSI) (merger transaction between the two companies was completed on January 28, 2014). About half of the Kroger's supermarkets include gas stations. Further, partnering with Ecotality, Inc. (ECTYQ), Kroger has introduced electric car charging stations.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Captain, I just don't have the infrastructure!
  Without question, car companies are on a quest to create the perfect blend of performance, fuel-efficiency, and zero emissions. At the moment, only one company has done a good job of that, and its name is Tesla Motors. But looking at the big picture, the electric vehicles that Tesla produces make up just a fraction of the current automotive market. The real barrier to entry for any alternative modes of transportation is a lack of infrastructure, which is why I think the recent rally in ECOtality (NASDAQOTH: ECTYQ  ) is unwarranted.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Buy Right Now: Spectra Energy Partners LP(SEP)

Spectra Energy Partners, LP operates as an investment arm of Spectra Energy Corp. Spectra Energy Partners, LP, through its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of natural gas through interstate pipeline systems, and the storage of natural gas in underground facilities in the United States. As of December 31, 2007, it owned and operated 100% of the approximately 1,400-mile East Tennessee interstate natural gas transportation system that extends from central Tennessee eastward into southwest Virginia and northern North Carolina, and southward into northern Georgia; and a liquefied natural gas storage facility in Kingsport, Tennessee with working gas storage capacity of approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and re-gasification capability of 150 million cubic feet per day. The company also owned a 24.5% interest in the approximate 700-mile Gulfstream interstate natural gas transportation system, which extends from Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama across the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida; a 50% interest in Market Hub, which owns and operates 2 salt cavern natural gas storage facilities, the Egan storage facility with gas capacity of approximately 20 Bcf, and the Moss Bluff storage facility with working gas capacity of 15 Bcf. The company transports and stores natural gas for local gas distribution companies, municipal utilities, interstate and intrastate pipelines, direct industrial users, electric power generators, marketers, and producers. Spectra Energy Partners (DE) GP, LP, operates as the general partner to Spectra Energy Partners, LP. The company is based in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) was reiterated as Buy with a $38 price target (versus a $34.92 closing price) at Argus. The move follows the Spectra’s announcement that it will drop its storage and transmission assets down to its master limited partnership, Spectra Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: SEP). Argus now believes that Spectra will be able to grow its dividend faster than the firm had originally projected and will be rewarded with a higher valuation multiple.

Hot Logistics Stocks To Buy Right Now: Clean Harbors Inc. (CLH)

Clean Harbors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides environmental, energy, and industrial services. Its Technical Services segment offers hazardous material management services, including the packaging, collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste; and CleanPack services comprising the collection, identification, categorization, specialized packaging, transportation, and disposal of laboratory chemicals and household hazardous wastes. The company?s Field Services segment offers various environmental cleanup services on customer sites or other locations on a scheduled or emergency response basis, including tank cleaning, decontamination, remediation, spill cleanup; used oil and oil products recycling; polychlorinated biphenyls management and disposal; and filtration and water treatment services. The company?s Industrial Services segment offers industrial and specialty services, such as high-pressure and chemical cleaning, cata lyst handling, decoking, material processing, and industrial lodging services to refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills, and other industrial facilities. The company?s Exploration Services segment provides exploration services, such as geospatial data imaging, line clearing, heli-portable and track drilling, seismic surveying, and land development; and directional boring services, including installing pipeline, fiber optic, cable, gas, and water and sewer lines to the oil and gas exploration and production, and power generation companies, as well as municipalities. Clean Harbors, Inc. has approximately 175 locations, including 50 waste management facilities. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bulgaria, China, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. It serves Fortune 500 companies and private entities, as well as federal, state, provincial, and governmental agencies. The company was founded in 1980 and is based in N orwell, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Courtenay]

  ATW, which next reports earnings on May 1st, has a market cap of only $3.32 billion, which is bite-size for a XOM or a GE. Another one-swallow menu item for these behemoth acquirers is a company like Clean Harbors, Inc. (CLH), which steps into the earnings confessional on April 29th.

• [By Damian Illia]

  Furthermore, the company has a wide economic moat largely stemming from three factors: its efficient scale, its high switching costs and its intangible assets. Of the 20 commercial hazardous-waste landfills operational in the U.S., the majority are run by US Ecology and its main competitors Waste Management Inc. (WM), and Clean Harbors Inc. (CLH). With barriers to entry stemming from regulatory permits, and a limited market size, ECOL has managed to achieve an efficient scale in the market with five hazardous waste-sides. The company�� intangible assets consist of long-term regulatory permits, which enable US Ecology to posses a ��atekeeper privilege��regarding barriers to new entrants. In addition, customer switching costs are high, thus further adding to the firm�� ability to sustain growth in the long term.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Has Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI  ) turned the corner with investors? Will Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM  ) continue to grow its margins? Will Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH  ) clean up on Wall Street? In this installment of Motley Fool Money, our analysts discuss three stocks to watch.

• [By Jason Moser]

  Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH  )
  I love finding companies that fly under the radar, and Clean Harbors is one. It's a smaller company with a market cap of just over $3 billion. But with its founder Alan McKim steering the ship as CEO, I think there is plenty of room for this company to grow. Oh yeah, did I also mention McKim owns almost 8% of shares outstanding? I love founder/leaders like McKim (and Bezos) who eat their own cooking.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Buy Right Now: Theravance Inc.(THRX)

Theravance, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule medicines for various therapeutic areas, including respiratory disease, bacterial infections, and central nervous system (CNS)/pain. The company?s key development programs with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) include the RELOVAIR, a Phase 3 clinical trial program for the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and/or asthma; the LAMA/LABA program, a Phase 3 COPD program; and the Bifunctional Muscarinic Antagonist-beta2 Agonist (MABA) program, a Phase 2b program for the treatment of COPD, as well as Peripherally Selective Mu-Opioid Receptor Antagonist (P Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

  First up is $4 billion biopharmaceutical firm Theravance (THRX). It's been one heck of a year already for THRX's shareholders. Since the calendar flipped over to January, shares of the firm have rallied more than 75%. But the setup forming in shares points to even higher ground for the final quarter of 2013.

  That's because Theravance is currently forming an ascending triangle pattern, a bullish setup that's formed by a horizontal resistance level above shares at $42 and uptrending support to the downside. Basically, as Theravance bounces in between those two technical levels, it's getting squeezed closer and closer to a breakout above that $42 resistance level. When that happens, traders have a buy signal.

  Whenever you're looking at any technical price pattern, it's critical to think in terms of those buyers and sellers. Ascending triangles and other pattern names are a good quick way to explain what's going on in a stock, but they're not the reason it's tradable. Instead, it all comes down to supply and demand for shares.

  That $42 is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a place where sellers have been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above it so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

  Don't be early on this trade.

• [By Sean Williams]

  On the bright side, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK  ) and Theravance (NASDAQ: THRX  ) received a much-expected drug approval for once-daily inhaled COPD maintenance treatment Breo Ellipta from the Food and Drug Administration. Having proved non-inferior to the placebo in trials, and delivering a favorable safety profile while reducing flare-ups and helping relieve air flow obstruction, Breo Ellipta has a good shot at being a blockbuster drug within the next couple of years. Breo Ellipta is expected to be available to patients next quarter. In addition, as I've alluded to on numerous occasions, it could be the impetus that encourages Glaxo to gobble up Theravance's Royalty Management -- one of two proposed entities that Theravance plans to split into. This is certainly a big win for both companies.

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Theravance (NASDAQ: THRX  ) , a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on central nervous system and respiratory disorders, leapt as much as 19% -- its second double-digit jump this week -- following a positive recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration's panel regarding COPD drug Breo Ellipta.

Top 5 Rising Stocks To Buy Right Now: Transportadora de Gas del Sur SA (TGS)

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. (TGS) is engaged in the transportation of natural gas and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids (NGL). TGS�� pipeline system connects major gas fields in southern and western Argentina with gas distributors and industries in those areas and in the greater Buenos Aires area. The Company also renders midstream services, which consist of gas treatment, removal of impurities from the natural gas stream, gas compression, wellhead gas gathering and pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance services. The Company operates in three segments: natural gas transportation services through its pipeline system; NGL production and commercialization, and other services, which include midstream and telecommunication services.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company�� gas transportation represented approximately 42% of total net revenues. During 2009, its NGL production and commercialization segment accounted for 50% of the total revenues of the Company. During 2009, its other services segment accounted for 8% of total revenues of the Company. Its other services segment consists of midstream and telecommunications services. Through midstream services, TGS provides integral solutions related to natural gas from wellhead up to the transportation systems. The services consists of gas gathering, compression and treatment, as well as construction, operation and maintenance of pipelines, which are generally rendered to natural gas and oil producers at wellhead. The customers��portfolio also includes distribution companies, industrial users, power plants and refineries.

During 2009, the Company provided a range of technical services to different customers. The services consisted of connections to the transportation system, engineering inspections, project management and professional technical counseling. Telecommunication services are provided through Telcosur S.A. (Telcosur), who renders services both as an independent c! arrier of carriers and to corporate clients within its area. Telcosur has a digital land radio connection system.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend]

  Transportadora de Gas Del Sur S.A. (TGS) has a market capitalization of $308.26 million. The company employs 829 people, generates revenue of $466.44 million and has a net income of $43.33 million. Transportadora de Gas Del Sur�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $170.33 million. The EBITDA margin is 36.52 percent (the operating margin is 27.41 percent and the net profit margin 9.29 percent).