Top 5 Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, we'll be looking at a pair of downgrades for both Lear (NYSE: LEA  ) and Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFM  ) , followed by an improved price target at 3M (NYSE: MMM  ) . Let's start with that one.

3M gets an A
3M gave Wall Street a mildly pleasant surprise last week, reporting $1.71 per share in earnings, a 3% improvement over last year and either matching�or a penny ahead of analyst estimates -- depending on whose estimates you're referring to. This news has Swiss banker UBS upping its price target on the stock Monday morning, with UBS now saying the shares could hit $128 within a year, and recommending a buy rating on the stock.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: Fushi Copperweld Inc.(FSIN)

Fushi Copperweld, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes bimetallic wire products, principally copper-clad aluminum (CCA) and copper-clad steel (CCS). Its CCA and CCS conductors are used as a substitute for solid copper conductors in applications where specific electrical or physical attributes are necessary. The company markets its products under Copperweld and Fushi brand names. It primarily serves end-user applications in the telecommunication, electrical utility, and transportation markets. The company?s CCS products in the utility market are used in grounding applications, power cables, electrified railroad tracks, and tracer wires. It?s CCS and CCA wires in transportation market are used in original equipment and aftermarket applications for electrified rail applications, as well as in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, commercial off road equipment, and trailers. The company sells its products through its direct sale s force, as well as through sales agents or distributors primarily in North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the People?s Republic of China. Fushi Copperweld, Inc. is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: Brocade Communications Systems Inc.(BRCD)

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. supplies networking equipment comprising end-to-end Internet protocol based Ethernet and storage area networking solutions. Its Data Storage segment provides infrastructure products and solutions, including directors, switches, routers, fabric-based software applications, distance/extension products, management applications, and utilities to centralize data management; and host bus adapters, converged network adapters, mezzanine cards, and switch modules for bladed servers. The company?s Ethernet Products segment offers Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (OSI) Layer 2-3 switches and routers, which enable the use of bandwidth-intensive network business applications and digital entertainment on local area networks and wide area networks; and OSI Layer 4?7 switches that allow enterprises and service providers to build network infrastructures to direct the flow of traffic, and file area network products and associated management s olutions. The company?s Global Services segment provides break/fix maintenance, extended warranty, installation, consulting, network management, and related software maintenance and support services; consulting and support services that assist customers in designing, implementing, deploying, and managing networking solutions; and post-contract customer support and extended warranties. It serves various businesses and organizations, which include global enterprises and service providers, such as telecommunication firms, cable operators, and mobile carriers. The company has a strategic partnership with LG-Ericsson. It offers its products and services to end-user customers directly, and through various distribution partners comprising original equipment manufacturers, distributors, systems integrators, and value-added resellers in the United States, western Europe, Japan, and the greater Asia Pacific region. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Jose, Cali fornia.

Top Dividend Companies To Buy For 2014: Helios Strategic Income Fd Inc (HSA)

Helios Strategic Income Fund, Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Brookfield Investment Management Inc. It operates as a diversified and closed-end management investment company. The fund primarily invests in debt securities and equity securities. Its portfolio of investments includes investments in corporate bonds, home equity loans, commercial loans, franchise loans, equipment leases, manufactured housing, common stock, collateralized debt obligations, certificate-backed obligations, collateralized mortgage obligations, and government agency securities. It was formerly known as RMK Strategic Income Fund, Inc. Helios Strategic Income Fund, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: RF Industries Ltd.(RFIL)

RF Industries, Ltd. provides interconnect products and systems for radio frequency (RF) communications devices and wireless digital transmission systems in the United States and internationally. Its Connector and Cable Assembly division designs, manufactures, and distributes coaxial connectors and cable assemblies that are integrated with coaxial connectors. The company?s Aviel Electronics division engages in the design, manufacture, and distribution of specialty and custom RF connectors primarily for aerospace and military customers. Its Oddcables.com division primarily sells coaxial, fiberoptic, and other connectors and cable assemblies on a retail basis to local multi-media and communications customers. The company?s Bioconnect division manufactures and distributes cabling and interconnect products to the medical monitoring market. Its Neulink division engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of RF data links and wireless modems for receiving and transmitting contro l signals for remote operation and monitoring of equipment, and personnel and monitoring services. The company?s RadioMobile division provides original equipment manufacturing services of end-to-end mobile management solutions implemented over wireless networks that supplement the operations of its Neulink division. RF Industries markets and distributes its products through warehousing distributors, original equipment manufacturers, hospital suppliers, dealers, distributors, directly or manufacturers representatives, system integrators, value added resellers, and dealers, as well as through the operation of an e-commerce Website, known as OddCables.com. The company was formerly known as Celltronics, Inc. and changed its name to RF Industries, Ltd. in November 1990. RF Industries, Ltd. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Top 5 Penny Stocks To Buy For 2014: BioLase Technology Inc.(BLTI)

BIOLASE Technology, Inc., a medical technology company, develops, manufactures, and markets lasers and related products focused on technologies for improved applications and procedures in dentistry and medicine. Its principal products provide dental laser systems that allow general dentists, periodontists, endodontists, oral surgeons, and other specialists to perform a range of dental procedures, including cosmetic and complex surgical applications. The company offers two categories of laser system products comprising Waterlase systems and Diode systems. The Waterlase systems use a combination of water and laser to perform dental procedures primarily cutting soft and hard tissue plus bone. Its Waterlase systems include the Waterlase iPlus, the Waterlase MD Turbo, and the Waterlase C100 All-Tissue Dental Laser System. The Diode systems consists of the ezlasetm and iLase, semiconductor diode lasers to perform soft tissue, hygiene, and cosmetic procedures, including teeth whi tening and pain relief. The company also provides medical systems, such as the Diolase 10 diode laser for dental and medical pain relief applications, as well as disposable products and related accessories for its laser systems. In addition, it offers dental imaging equipment. BIOLASE Technology, Inc. sells its products through direct sales force and a network of independent distributors in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Societe Endo Technic, SA and changed its name to BIOLASE Technology, Inc. in 1994. BIOLASE Technology, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Goodwin]

  BioLase Technology is a medical-technology company that manufactures and markets lasers, related products and services focused on technologies for improved applications and procedures in dentistry and medicine.

  Shares of BioLase surged in late January after the company issued annual revenue guidance for 2011 in the range of $55 million to $60 million, representing growth of 120% to 140% over 2010.

  Current Share Price: $4.70 (March 29)

  First Quarter Total Return: 168%

  Analyst Ratings: BioLase doesn't have a following from Wall Street research firms. However, TheStreet Ratings has a "sell" rating on BioLase, saying the company's biggest weakness has been declining revenue. "Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 6.1%," the March 20 research note reads.