Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014

The stock market can be a wonderful thing, helping you grow your wealth and enjoy a comfortable retirement. But it can also fry your precious nest egg if you're not careful. My colleague Morgan Housel has noted that the financial industry "is dominated by cranks, charlatans, and salesmen" -- but very often, we're the ones who most endanger our portfolios and our financial futures with our reckless investment ideas. Permit me to review just a few.

"Wow, this cheap stock is only $0.13 per share! I can buy 10,000 shares for just $1,300!"
Penny stocks -- those trading for less than about $5 per share -- are usually very bad investment ideas, as they can be easily manipulated and are often tied to shaky, unproven companies. Sure, they entice us with their seemingly cheap prices, and the thought of owning 10,000 shares of something is somehow more exciting than owning far fewer shares. But a low price isn't necessarily a cheap price. A $200 stock can be undervalued and more likely to rise than fall while a $0.13 stock can be worth much less than that and be more likely to fall than rise.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Capital Bank Corporation(CBKN)

Capital Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for Capital Bank that provides general commercial banking products and services in North Carolina. Its deposit products include checking, savings, negotiable order of withdrawal, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises loans for real estate, construction, businesses, agriculture, personal use, home improvement, and automobiles, as well as equity lines of credit, mortgage loans, credit loans, consumer loans, and credit cards. It also offers safe deposit boxes, bank money orders, Internet banking services, traveler?s checks, and notary services, as well as electronic funds transfer services, including wire transfers and remote deposit capture. In addition, the company provides automated teller machine access to its customers; and a line of uninsured investment products and services. It operates 32 branch offices in North Carol ina, including 5 in Raleigh, 4 in Asheville, 4 in Fayetteville, 3 in Burlington, 3 in Sanford, 2 in Cary, and 1 each in Clayton, Graham, Hickory, Holly Springs, Mebane, Morrisville, Oxford, Pittsboro, Siler City, Wake Forest, and Zebulon. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capital Bank Corporation is a subsidiary of North American Financial Holdings, Inc.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Skechers U.S.A. Inc.(SKX)

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. engages in the design, development, marketing, and distribution of footwear for men, women, and children in the United States and internationally. The company offers various products comprising casuals, such as boots, shoes, and sandals for men, as well as slip-ons, lug outsole and fashion boots, and casual sandals for women; dress casuals; relaxed fit for men; sandals; and casual fusion under the Skechers USA brand name. It also provides a line of sport footwear for men and women, including men?s lifestyle athletic footwear, lightweight women?s sneakers, and sport sandals under the Skechers Sport brand name. In addition, the company offers men?s and women?s casuals, field boots, hikers, and athletic shoes under the Skechers Work brand name; and a range of infants, toddlers, boys, and girls? boots, shoes, and sneakers under the Skechers Kids brand name. Further, its product line includes Skechers Active products, such as casual everyday and sport fusi on sneakers for females; Tone-ups and Tone-ups Fitness products comprising casual and athletic-inspired sandals for women, as well as sneakers; Shape-ups toning footwear for men and women; and Skechers Resistance Runner technical shoes for runners. Skechers U.S.A. markets its products through department and specialty stores, athletic and independent retailers, and boutiques, catalog and Internet retailers, as well as through own e-commerce Website and retail stores. As of February 15, 2011, it operated 105 concept stores, 99 factory outlet stores, and 40 warehouse outlet stores in the United States, as well as 28 concept stores and 16 factory outlets internationally. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Manhattan Beach, California.

Top 5 Bank Stocks For 2014: PostRock Energy Corporation(PSTR)

PostRock Energy Corporation, an integrated independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas in the United States. It operates in two segments, Oil and Gas Production, and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Oil and Gas Production segment primarily focuses on the development of coal bed methane in the Cherokee basin and the Marcellus Shale in Appalachian Basin, as well as has oil properties in Central Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2009, it had approximately 51.9 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) of estimated net proved reserves; development rights to approximately 516,184 net acres; and operated approximately 2,849 gross wells in the Cherokee Basin. It also had approximately 44,507 net acres of oil and natural gas producing properties with estimated proved reserves of 18.9 Bcfe and approximately 498 gross wells in Appalachian Basin; and had 65 gross wells, development rights to approximately 1,4 80 net acres, and estimated net proved reserves, 3.9 Bcfe in Central Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment involves in transporting, gathering, treating, and processing natural gas. It owns and operates a natural gas gathering pipeline networks of approximately 2,173 miles in the Cherokee Basin and 183 miles in the Appalachian Basin; and a 1,120 mile interstate natural gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from northern Oklahoma and western Kansas to the metropolitan Wichita and Kansas City markets. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc.(KLIC)

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells capital equipment and expendable tools used to assemble semiconductor devices, including integrated circuits, high and low powered discrete devices, light-emitting diodes, and power modules. It also services, maintains, repairs, and upgrades its equipment. The company operates in two segments, Equipment and Expendable Tools. The Equipment segment manufactures and sells a line of ball bonders, heavy wire wedge bonders, stud bumpers, and die bonders. Its Ball bonders are used to connect very fine wires, primarily made of gold or copper, between the bond pads of the semiconductor device or die, and the leads on its package; Heavy wire wedge bonders are used in the power semiconductor and automotive power module markets; and Die bonders are used to attach a die to the substrate or lead frame, which will house the semiconductor device. This segment?s Stud bumpers mechanically apply bumps to die, while still in the wafer format, for some variants of the flip chip assembly process. The Expendable Tools segment manufactures and sells various expendable tools for a range of semiconductor packaging applications. Its products include capillaries, bonding wedges, and saw blades. The company?s customers primarily comprise semiconductor device manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test providers, other electronics manufacturers, and automotive electronics suppliers in the United States and the Asia/Pacific region. Kulicke and Soffa Industries sells its products through manufacturers? representatives and distributors. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Singapore.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: (NWBO)

Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc., a development stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of immunotherapy products that generate and enhance immune system responses to treat cancer in the United States. Its technology platforms comprise dendritic cell-based cancer vaccines (DCVax) and monoclonal antibodies for cancer therapeutics. The company?s product candidates include DCVax-Prostate for the treatment of non-metastatic hormone independent prostate cancer, which cleared Phase III clinical trial; DCVax-Brain that is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme; and DCVax-LB, which cleared Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Its product candidates also comprise DCVax-Direct that cleared Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of ovarian, head, and neck cancer; and DCVax-L, which completed Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of resectable solid tumors. In addition, the company develops CXCR4 antibodies, which are involved in various phases of disease progression, including proliferation of the primary tumor, migration of cancer cells out of the primary tumor, and establishment of distant metastatic sites for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, colon cancer, melanoma, prostate, pancreatic, kidney, ovarian, and certain blood cancers. Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jim Lowell]

  Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc (OTC: NWBO)is up 20.40% to $0.530 on volume of over 414K shares.Biomedreports published a specialreporton the drug developer and some developments involving its clinical trials of DCVax for GBM brain cancer. (OTC:NWBO), (NWBO)

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund(CFP)

Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund is a closed-ended equity fund of fund launched and managed by Cornerstone Advisors, Inc. The fund invests funds investing in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. Cornerstone Progressive Return Fund was formed on April 26, 2007 and is domiciled in the United States.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Terra Nova Royalty Corporation(TTT)

Terra Nova Royalty Corporation operates as a mineral royalty company in Canada. It owns a royalty stream on the Wabush iron ore mine located in Labrador Newfoundland. The company was formerly known as KHD Humboldt Wedag International Ltd. and changed its name in March 2010 to Terra Nova Royalty Corporation as a result of spin off of KHD Humboldt Wedag International Ltd. Terra Nova Royalty Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: BNC Bancorp(BNCN)

BNC Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of North Carolina, which provides a range of commercial banking products and services to individuals, and small to medium size businesses in North Carolina. The company offers various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market demand accounts, noninterest-bearing accounts, and fixed interest rate certificates with varying maturities. Its loan portfolio comprises business loans secured by real estate, personal property, and accounts receivable; unsecured business loans; consumer loans that are secured by consumer products, such as automobiles and boats; unsecured consumer loans; commercial real estate loans; and commercial, installment, and personal loans. The company also offers safe deposit boxes and other associated services. As of December 31, 2009, it operated a main office in Thomasville, 15 other branch offices, and 1 limited services office. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in High Point, North Carolina.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Orion Marine Group Inc(ORN)

Orion Marine Group, Inc. operates as a marine specialty contractor serving the heavy civil marine infrastructure market. The company provides a range of marine construction and specialty services on, over, and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, the West Coast, Canada, the Caribbean Basin, and the Pacific Northwest. The company?s marine construction services include construction of marine transportation facilities, marine pipelines, bridges and causeways, and marine environmental structures. Its marine transportation facility construction projects comprise public port facilities for container ship loading and unloading; cruise ship port facilities; private terminals; recreational use marinas and docks; and other marine-based facilities. Orion Marine Group?s marine pipeline service projects consist of the installation and removal of underwater buried pipeline transmission lines; installation of pipeline intakes and outfalls for industrial facilities ; construction of pipeline outfalls for wastewater and industrial discharges; river crossing and directional drilling; and creation of hot taps and tie-ins. Its bridge and causeway projects include the construction, repair, and maintenance of bridges and causeways, as well as the development of fendering systems in marine environments; and marine environmental structure projects primarily comprise the installation of concrete mattresses to ensure erosion protection, and the installation of geotubes for wetlands and island creation. In addition, the company offers dredging services; specialty services, including salvage, demolition, surveying, towing, diving and underwater inspection, excavation, and repair; and survey services comprising surveying pipelines and performing hydrographic surveys. Its customers include federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as private commercial and industrial enterprises. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Houst on, Texas.

Top 10 Penny Companies To Invest In 2014: Stewart Enterprises Inc.(STEI)

Stewart Enterprises, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides funeral and cemetery products and services in the death care industry in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company also offers a range of funeral merchandise and services, as well as cemetery property, cremation, merchandise, and services. Its funeral homes provide various services and products, including the family consultation, removal and preparation of remains, usage of funeral home facilities for visitation, worship and funeral services, transportation services, flowers, and caskets. The company also sells cemetery property and related merchandise, which includes lots, lawn crypts, family and community mausoleums, monuments, markers, and burial vaults; and provides burial site openings and closings and inscriptions. In addition, it maintains cemetery grounds under cemetery perpetual care contracts and local laws. As of January 31, 2011, the company owned and operated 218 funeral homes and 141 cemeterie s. Stewart Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1910 and is based in Jefferson, Louisiana.