5 Best Quality Stocks To Watch For 2014

With shares of Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG) trading at around $77.75, is PG an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

C = Catalyst for the Stock�� Movement

Do positives still outweigh negatives for Procter & Gamble? That�� for the reader to decide. However, an opinion will be given in the Catalyst section.

Positives:

Improving market trends in North America Health Care segment saw 8 percent organic sales growth last quarter year-over-year Strong margins Strong cash flow 3.10 percent yield Reduced share count Lower taxes Strong cost savings (overall) Quality debt management (stronger than peers) Held up relatively well in 2008/early 2009 Analysts love the stock: 13 Buy, 12 Hold, 0 Sell Plans to repurchase $6 billion worth of stock Sensational long-term stock performance Innovation and portfolio expansion in Health Care segment

Negatives:

Weak guidance Foreign currency headwinds Weakness in Beauty segment (increased competition) Increased marketing costs

It should be noted that Procter & Gamble has an extraordinarily high rating on Glassdoor.com. Employees have rated their employer a 3.9 of 5. That might not sound high to those unfamiliar with Glassdoor ratings, but it�� one of the highest ratings we have seen. This indicates that the company culture is very strong. An amazing 88 percent of employees would recommend the company to a friend, and a relatively impressive 76 percent of employees approve of CEO Bob McDonald.

5 Best Quality Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Zoetis Inc (ZTS)

Zoetis Inc, incorporated on July 25, 2012, is engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of animal health medicines and vaccines, with a focus on both livestock and companion animals. The primary livestock species are cattle (both beef and dairy), swine, poultry, sheep and fish, and the primary companion animal species are dogs, cats and horses. In February 2014, Benchmark Holdings PLC purchased aquaculture vaccine and development assets from animal health company Zoetis Inc.

The Company�� more than 300 product lines include vaccines, parasiticides, anti-infectives, medicated feed additives and other pharmaceutical products. The Company�� product portfolio also includes businesses, such as diagnostics, genetics, devices and services, such as dairy data management, e-learning and professional consulting. The Company operates in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Other leading firms in the health-care field have caught on. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) has made some of the strongest moves to concentrate on its core recently, selling its infant nutrition business to Nestle and spinning off its former animal health business, Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) , in order to unlock shareholder value. These moves not only allowed Pfizer to concentrate on its high-growth, boom-or-bust pharmaceutical business, but also, as a secondary effect, made the stock attractive to growth investors by focusing the company's future around a core designed for growth.

• [By Brian Orelli]

  Unlike Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) , which had a rough quarter as it struggled with Lipitor exclusivity, the pharma's animal-health spinoff Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) turned in a solid first quarter.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) recently announced plans to sell its remaining 80% stake in animal-health company Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) after about four months on the public market. Margins and profits aren't as high in the animal health business, which has pushed the world's largest pharmaceutical company to streamline its focus. It also highlights a delicate Catch-22 for Big Pharma.

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) is also in the winners circle this morning, with a 3.1% gain. The pharmaceutical giant announced that it will be splitting off the remainder of Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS  ) , its animal health business. The company is offering a share exchange to investors in order to reduce its 80.2% stake in the company. The tax-free transaction would allow shareholders to take over the remaining stake in Zoetis, making it fully independent. The company has risen 27% since its IPO in February. This is one of the final steps in slimming down Pfizer in order to refocus on developing new drugs.

5 Best Quality Stocks To Watch For 2014: Metabolix Inc.(MBLX)

Metabolix, Inc., a bioscience company, develops and commercializes technologies for the production of polymers and chemicals in plants and in microbes. It offers a proprietary microbial fermentation system to produce a family of polymers known as polyhydroxyalkanoates under the Mirel brand. Mirel holds biodegradability characteristics; and would be used in a range of commercial applications, including products used in agriculture and horticulture, compost and organic waste diversion bags, marine and aquatic applications, consumer products, business equipment and durable goods, and general packaging materials. The company also develops a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals, and energy from crops, such as switchgrass, oilseeds, and sugarcane. It has a strategic alliance with ADM Polymer Corporation. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  If you'd rather spend your hard-earned dollars on some bargain-priced stocks rather than face the Black Friday mania at the malls (wise choice, by the way), then you've come to the right place. And, you may want to start you bargain hunt with Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLX) and Unwired Planet Inc. (NASDAQ:UPIP). Both names have been unduly beaten up in recent weeks, and better still, it looks like UPIP and MBLX, are ready to recover... in spades. That's an important detail, as a bargain is only a bargain if it's something actually worth owning. Take a look.

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  Metabolix, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLX) isn't exactly a name hat turns heads within the investment community. With a market cap of only $54.6 million, even big news from the company isn't a game-changer for the market. And, the fact that traders have a tough time defining what the company "does" hasn't helped the MBLX cause much either. Yet, the size of the company and the service it provides don't change the fact that the bullish Metabolix switch got flipped all the way to the on position on Tuesday.

5 Best Quality Stocks To Watch For 2014: Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc.(AUXL)

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a specialty biopharmaceutical company primarily in the United States. It focuses on developing and marketing products to urologists, endocrinologists, primary care physicians, hand surgeons, and rheumatologists, as well as to orthopedic, general, and plastic surgeons. The company markets XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum), an injectable collagenase enzyme for the treatment of adult Dupuytren?s contracture; and Testim, a topical 1% testosterone gel for the treatment of hypogonadism. The company?s clinical development products include XIAFLEX that is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of Peyronie?s disease, as well as in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis. In addition, it has rights to develop other products for the treatment of pain, urologic disease, and hormone replacement using its transmucosal film delivery system. The company has a strategic alliance with Asahi Kasei Ph arma Corporation for the development, commercialization, and supply of XIAFLEX, a biologic for the treatment of Dupuytren?s contracture and Peyronie?s disease. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Also, the testosterone market is also glutted with competition and Aveed, even will likely have a hard time making any meaningful impact for Endo. AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) recently reformulated its AndroGel testosterone treatment into a more potent form at 1.62% and in 2011 received FDA approval after 82% of hypogonadal men achieved normal testosterone levels after 112 days. Also operating in the gel space is Auxilium Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ: AUXL  ) drug Testim, which achieved $45.5 million in sales in the first quarter. That figure actually represents a 23% year-over-year decline because of difficulties in gaining insurance coverage for the gel, but it's yet another hurdle for Aveed to jump over if it were to reach market.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AUXL) was also up, gaining 12.11 percent to $21.67 following FDA approval of its Peyronie's disease treatment, Xiaflex.

5 Best Quality Stocks To Watch For 2014: MYR Group Inc.(MYRG)

MYR Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides electrical construction service in the continental United States. The company operates in two segments, Transmission and Distribution, and Commercial and Industrial. The Transmission and Distribution segment provides design, engineering, procurement, construction, upgrade, maintenance, and repair services. Its services include the construction and maintenance of high voltage transmission lines, substations, and lower voltage underground and overhead distribution systems; and emergency restoration services in response to hurricane, ice, or other storm related damages. This segment?s customers include investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities, cooperatives, federally-owned utilities, independent power producers, independent transmission companies, industrial facility owners, and other contractors. The Commercial and Industrial segment provides electrical contracting services for commercial and industrial construction in the western United States. It offers electrical contracting services for airports, hospitals, data centers, hotels, casinos, arenas, convention centers, manufacturing plants, processing facilities, and transportation control and management systems. This segment?s customers include general contractors, commercial and industrial facility owners, local governments, and developers. MYR Group Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Damian Illia]

  Finally, I always like to see one of the most important financial ratios applying to stockholders, the best measure of performance for a firm's management: the return on equity. The ratio has decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness. Moreover, it is worse than those shown in the table like Aegion Corporation (AEGN), EnerNOC Inc. (ENOC), MYR GroupInc. (MYRG) and Pike Corporation (PIKE).

• [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 MYR Group (Nasdaq: MYRG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By CRWE]

  MYR Group Inc. (Nasdaq:MYRG), a leading specialty contractor serving the electrical infrastructure market in the United States, reported that the Company will be attending the 2012 Wedbush Securities Clean Technology & Industrial Growth Management Access Conference. The conference will take place in San Francisco, California, at The Westin Hotel, September 12, 2012.