Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now

Biotech in general has been one of the market�� hottest sectors this year thanks to plenty of mostly good news�along with�new IPOs while small cap biotech stocks Delcath Systems (NASDAQ: DCTH), ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: ZIOP), Recro Pharma (NASDAQ: REPH), TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TLOG)�and TNI BioTech (OTCMKTS: TNIB) have also produced their share of news�this week or in recent weeks. Just consider the following:

Biotech Stock Bubble Debate in 14 Charts. Haven�� decided whether there is a bubble in the biotech sector just yet? The Street has a short but to the point article with 14 charts showing how biotech stocks have had an unbelievable�year, but have also underperformed the broader market in the past month with momentum-driven biotech stocks (mostly small caps or mid caps)�having been hit with some serious selling over the past month. There was�also a chart showing how well orphan drug stocks have performed���up until the past month. Charting Biotech Blowups. As noted by Business Insider, ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum recently issued a note to clients that�included a chart counting the�number of biotech stock "blowups" each year since 1990 with a ��lowup��being defined as a�one day downward stock move of 25% or more. Apparently, Schoenebaum wrote: "If you look at the trend, it doesn't look scary to me . . . . what do you think?"

Top Gas Companies To Buy Right Now: Energen Corporation (EGN)

Energen Corporation, an energy holding company, engages in the development, acquisition, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the continental United States. The company is also involved in the purchase, distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as to other end-users of natural gas in central and north Alabama. In addition, it provides gas transportation services to industrial and commercial customers located on its distribution system. As of December 31, 2012, the company had approximately 750 million barrels of oil-equivalent proved, probable, and possible reserves. Energen Corporation was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Energen Corp.(EGN) said it expects last month’s severe weather in West Texas to weigh on results from the oil-and-gas production company’s Permian Basin operations.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Oil and gas energy holding company Energen (EGN) raised its quarterly dividend 3.4% to 15 cents per share, payable on Mar. 3 to shareholder of record as of Feb. 14.
  EGN Dividend Yield: 0.86%

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: iSoftStone Holdings Limited(ISS)

iSoftStone Holdings Limited provides various information technology (IT) services and solutions in the Greater China and internationally. It offers an integrated suite of IT services and solutions, including consulting and solution services, IT services, and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. The company provides a range of consulting services for an overall engagement or discrete consulting services in conjunction with other services. It also develops industry-specific solutions, including treasury management, cash management, property and casualty insurance core, financial holding company business analysis, trust company core, and banking risk management solutions for banking, financial services, and insurance industries; supply chain management, enterprise information portals, business intelligence, business process integration, and management and e-commerce solutions for energy, transportation, and public sectors; mobile and embedded technology, next generati on platforms, business intelligence functionality, and network security products for the communications industry. In addition, the company offers various IT services consisting of application development and maintenance, research and development, and infrastructure and software services. Further, it provides a range of BPO services, such as securities trade processing services for the investment banking industry; digitization and archiving of policyholder information, as well as account processing and customer service for insurance industry; and cross-industry BPO services comprising finance and accounting, customer care, and human resources. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  iSoftStone Holdings (NYSE: ISS  ) reported earnings on May 17. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), iSoftStone Holdings beat expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Insulet Corporation(PODD)

Insulet Corporation, a medical device company, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of insulin infusion systems for people with insulin-dependent diabetes in the United States. The company offers OmniPod Insulin Management System (OmniPod System), which consists of the OmniPod disposable insulin infusion device and the handheld wireless personal diabetes manager to provide diabetes management solution for people with insulin-dependent diabetes. It is also involved in the distribution of durable medical equipment, including blood glucose testing supplies, insulin pumps, pump supplies, pharmaceuticals, and other products for the management and treatment of diabetes. The company sells its OmniPod System directly to patients through referrals from healthcare professionals and through patient leads, as well as through third-party distributors; and delivers durable medical equipment to endocrinologists, insurers, and clients. Insulet Corporation was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines feature a pair of downgrades for document storage company Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM  ) and insulin treatments-equipment maker Insulet (NASDAQ: PODD  ) . But the headlines aren't all bad, so before we break the bad news to you, let's start off on a bright note about...

• [By James Brumley]

  And just for the record, theme-based buyout speculation doesn’t improve your chances of picking an acquisition target. Back in 2012 after Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) bought Amylin for control of its diabetes pipeline following the purchase of Neighborhood Diabetes by Insulet (PODD), pundits were sure it would spark a wave of other diabetes-driven acquisitions. Those other M&A candidates began getting bid up, but as it turns out, no more meaningful buyouts materialized in the diabetes space.

Best Mid Cap Companies To Own In Right Now: Newport Corporation(NEWP)

Newport Corporation and its subsidiaries provide technology products and systems to scientific research, microelectronics, aerospace and defense/security, life and health sciences, and industrial markets in the United States, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. The company operates in three divisions: Photonics and Precision Technologies (PPT), Lasers, and Ophir. The PPT division provides photonics instruments and systems; vibration isolation systems and subsystems; precision positioning devices, systems, and subsystems; optics and optical hardware; opto-mechanical subassemblies and subsystems; and advanced manufacturing systems. It also offers automated systems for various applications in the manufacture of solar panels, and communications and electronic devices, including microwave, optical, radio frequency, and multi-chip modules. The Lasers division provides laser and laser-based system, such as ultrafast lasers and systems, diode-pumped solid state Q-switched lasers, diode-p umped solid state continuous wave (CW) and quasi-CW lasers, pulsed Nd:YAG and tunable lasers, and gas lasers. The Ophir division offers optics, photonics instruments, and three-dimensional non-contact measurement equipment and sensors. It also provides laser instrumentation, including laser power and energy meters, and laser beam profilers. This division serves the scientific research, microelectronics, aerospace, defense/security, life and health sciences, and industrial markets. The company offers its products under the ILX Lightwave, New Focus, Newport, Ophir, Optimet, Oriel Instruments, Richardson Gratings, Spiricon, and Spectra-Physics names. It sells its products to original equipment manufacturers and end-user customers through direct sales organizations, a network of independent distributors, and sales representatives, as well as through product catalogs and Web sites. Newport Corporation was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Stoffel]

  Rofin-Sinar (NASDAQ: RSTI  ) , Coherent (NASDAQ: COHR  ) , Newport (NASDAQ: NEWP  ) , and JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU  ) all offer fiber-optic lasers as well.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Newport (NASDAQ: NEWP  ) got crushed today, down by as much as 12% after the company reported earnings that fell short of expectations.