Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are some of the hot stocks Jim Cramer talked about on Thursday's "Mad Money" on CNBC:

PIR data by YCharts

Pier 1 Imports (PIR): Cramer said if anyone can buck the slowing retail trend, it'll be Pier 1.

DAL data by YCharts

Delta Airlines (DAL), Boeing (BA), Northrop Grumman (NOC) and Lockheed Martin (LMT): Cramer said these industrial plays should be strong performers going into the end of 2013.

Top Value Companies To Invest In Right Now: Volkswagen AG (VLKAY)

Volkswagen AG is a Germany-based automobile manufacturer. The Company develops vehicles and components, and also produces and sells vehicles, in particular Volkswagen brand passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The Company consists of two divisions: Automotive and Financial Services division. The Automotive division is responsible for the development of vehicles and engines, the production and sale of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses, and the genuine parts business. The Financial services division's portfolio of services includes dealer and customer services in the field of financing, leasing, directbank, insurance and fleet business. The Company's brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and each brand offers a product range from low-consumption small cars to luxury class vehicles, as well as pick ups, busses and heavy trucks in the commercial vehicle sector.

During 2009, the Company introduced two additions to the Audi5 model series: Audi A5 Cabriolet and the Audi A5 Sportback. In addition, Audi A4 allroad Quattro, Audi TT RS, Audi RS Spyder and the Audi 8 were introduced. During 2009, Audi brand delivered 950 thousand vehicles to customers worldwide. The SEAT launched the Exeo in the B segment. This sporty midsized saloon marks the arrival of the Spanish brands. Bentley introduced the Bentley Mulsanne. This saloon includes proportioned interiors. It also introduced GTC Speed and the Bentley Continental Supersports.

The Company has various delivery centers, including Western Europe, China, Brazil, United States and Mexico. During 2009, deliveries of vehicles were 6336222 worldwide.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexander MacLennan]

  Basis for a 9 Series
  Developing an all-new vehicle is very expensive, and automotive companies try to reduce these costs wherever possible. Volkswagen Group AG (NASDAQOTH: VLKAY  ) has even gone as far as to create plans to build 40 vehicle models off one platform. Considering Volkswagen produces numerous varieties of small vehicles, both under the Volkswagen name and the names of other companies owned by Volkswagen Group, using a single platform should mean big savings on development costs.

Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: American Public Education Inc.(APEI)

American Public Education, Inc., together with its subsidiary, American Public University System, Inc., provides online postsecondary education focusing on the needs of the military and public service communities. The company operates through two universities, American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU) serving approximately 110,000 students in the United States and internationally. The universities share a common faculty and curriculum, which includes 87 degree programs and 69 certificate programs in disciplines related to national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, criminal justice, technology, business administration, education, nursing, and liberal arts. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Charles Town, West Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James Brumley]

  American Public Education (APEI) has been one of the biggest victims of the DOE’s partial shutdown. The 41,000 individual online classes scheduled to begin a few days ago were reduced by 13,000 when many military and government employees lost their tuition assistance as of October 1st.

• [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 American Public Education (Nasdaq: APEI  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: Orchids Paper Products Company(TIS)

Orchids Paper Products Company manufactures private label tissue products for the consumer market in the United States. Its product line includes paper towels, bathroom tissue, and paper napkins. The company also offers its products under the Orchids, Velvet, Colortex, Ultra Valu, Dri-Mop, Big Mopper, Soft & Fluffy, Tackle, My-Size, and Care brand names. It serves value retailers (dollar stores), discount retailers, grocery stores, grocery wholesalers and cooperatives, and convenience stores. The company markets its products directly, as well as through independent brokers. Orchids Paper Products Company was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Pryor, Oklahoma.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By David Goodboy]

  My next step was to locate stocks in this industry. One company stood out above the rest as a top performer with plenty of upside. That company is Orchids Paper Products Co. (NYSE: TIS).

Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB)

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. engages in the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities in the United States. As of January 31, 2009, the company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 164 operating apartment communities comprising 45,728 apartment homes in 10 states and the District of Columbia. It also held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 14 communities under construction, as well as held rights to develop an additional 27 communities. The company?s markets are located in New England, the New York/New Jersey metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northern and Southern California regions of the United States. AvalonBay Communities has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Construction delay
  Finally, on Thursday residential real estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB  ) reported that its AVA Theater District project in Boston had suffered a partial collapse during construction. The community had been scheduled to open for occupancy in the third-quarter of 2015, but will likely be pushed out one or two quarters, according to analysts at Wells Fargo. While this isn't good news, like the aforementioned MasterCard and Ford stories it's not devastating, either. AvalonBay ended the year with 81,522 apartment homes across 12 states and the District of Columbia,�meaning it has plenty of avenues to boost occupancy and rent rates in the meantime. With lending rates potentially set to rise sooner rather than later, residential REITs such as Avalon look to be in great shape.

• [By Sean Williams]

  Today, I plan to introduce the final selection to the Basic Needs Portfolio: AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB  ) .

  How it fits with our theme
  There aren't any subtleties or roundabout ways to say this, but a good 99% of Americans need a place to live, and AvalonBay's specialty is putting a roof over your head. AvalonBay Communities is a residential real estate investment trust that owns interests in 273 apartment communities that are comprised of a total of 81,499 apartment homes in 12 states.

Hot Healthcare Technology Stocks To Invest In 2014: McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI)

McGraw Hill Financial, Inc. incorporated on December 29, 1925, is a financial intelligence company. The Company is engaged in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. The Company�� brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power & Associates, McGraw Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company�� credit ratings, indices, price assessments and other capabilities provide clients with the intelligence to manage risk. Standard & Poor�� Ratings Services helps investors and markets participants measure and manage credit risk through credit ratings, research and analytics. S&P Capital IQ is a provider of real-time data, research and analytics to institutional investors, investment and commercial banks, investment advisors and wealth managers, corporations and universities globally. On March 22, 2013, the Company sold McGraw-Hill Education. Effective July 18, 2013, McGraw Hill Financial Inc acquired a remaining undisclosed interest which it did not already own in Tata McGraw-Hill Education Pvt Ltd from Tata charitable trust. In August 2013, McGraw Hill Financial Inc completed the sale of Aviation Week to Penton.

The Company provides a range of capabilities designed to help track performance, generate alpha, identify new trading and investment ideas, and perform risk analysis and mitigation strategies. The Company�� S&P Dow Jones Indices is the provider of financial market indices. Its Platts is a provider of information and a source of benchmark price assessments for the energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture markets. J.D. Power & Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in business sectors, including customer satisfaction research, market research, social media research, and performance improvement programs. McGraw Hill Construction connects people, projects, and products across the design and construction industry. AVIATION WEEK is! the multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  McGraw-Hill Financial� (NYSE: MHFI  ) ,�the owner of the S&P 500 index,�said this week that it�will pay a�regular quarterly dividend�of $0.28 per share on June 12 to the holders of record at the close of business on May 29.�

• [By Sean Williams]

  Today's best performer was ratings agency Moody's (NYSE: MCO  ) , which surged 8.3% after it and McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHFI  ) subsidiary Standard & Poor's settled a lawsuit with slightly more than a dozen plantiffs in a case involving their rating of financial securities relating to the financial crisis. Although no financial figures were disclosed, settlements in cases like this are extremely common and usually for less than the sought-after amount, since court fees can be quite expensive. This could also bode well for future and ongoing litigation such as the U.S. government's suit against McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's for its selected ratings during the financial crisis.

• [By Jeremy Bowman]

  What: Shares of Moody's (NYSE: MCO  ) were getting a ratings boost from investors today, climbing as much as 11% after reaching a settlement over two mortgage bond lawsuits that gave the ratings industry an across-the-board boost. Standard & Poor's parent McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHFI  ) was also up as much as 6% today.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Less diversity, higher risk, dubious ratings
  The Wall Street Journal�notes that these type of investments have seen a lot less action since the financial crisis, since the reliance on only one loan is considered quite risky. But low interest rates have increased investor appetite for yield and, therefore, risk. Also a factor is that ratings agencies like (NYSE: MHFI  ) Standard & Poor's are often giving these products very high investment ratings, as well, fueling speculation that this entity in particular is easing standards in order to get a slice of the pie.