Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2015

Given that you clicked on this article, it seems safe to assume you either own stock in City National Corp. (NYSE: CYN  ) or are considering buying shares in the near future. If so, then you've come to the right place. The table below reveals the nine most critical numbers that investors need to know about City National stock before deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold it.

But before getting to that, a brief introduction is in order. While City National could easily be lumped together with regional banks, it more closely resembles a large community bank and trust with satellite offices in strategic cities throughout the country, including Las Vegas, New York City, Nashville, and Atlanta. Founded by a "small group of entrepreneurs in 1954," the bank is headquartered in Los Angeles and is loosely known as the banker to the stars given its past support of Frank Sinatra, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and others, and the fact that about one-fifth of its business loans are entertainment-related. Its balance sheet boasts $29 billion in assets and it oversees an additional $57 billion in assets under management or administration.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp (SHIP)

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation of dry bulk commodities. As of May 7, 2013, the company�s fleet consisted of 7 drybulk carriers, including 2 Panamax, 2 Supramax, and 3 Handysize vessels with a total carrying capacity of approximately 326,255 dwt. Its fleet carries various dry bulk commodities, including coal, iron ore, and grains, as well as bauxite, phosphate, fertilizer, and steel products. Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. was founded in 2008 and is based in Athens, Greece.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Another stock that looks poised to trigger a near-term breakout trade is Seanergy Maritime (SHIP), which provides transportation solutions in the dry bulk shipping sector through its vessel-owning subsidiaries for a range of dry bulk cargoes, including coal, iron ore, and grains, bauxite, phosphate and steel products. This stock has been red hot so far in 2013, with shares up a whopping 63%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Seanergy Maritime, you'll notice that this stock has just started to spike back above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages with above-average volume. In fact, volume for SHIP over the last few weeks has been showing bullish flows as the stock has flirted with those key moving averages. This move is quickly pushing shares of SHIP within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SHIP if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance at $1.74 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action 12,297 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then SHIP will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $2.06 to $2.09 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then put $2.19 to its 52-week high at $2.71 into range for shares of SHIP.

  Traders can look to buy SHIP off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $1.44 a share. One could also buy SHIP off strength once it takes out $1.74 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Rebecca McClay]

  And dry bulk shippers like FreeSeas Inc. (Nasdaq: FREE), Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHIP), and Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Nasdaq: EGLE) are noting big gains today as shipping rates strengthen. FREE is up 8%, SHIP is up 13%, and EGLE is up 7% as capesize shipping rates increased overnight by about 10%, exceeding $20,000 for the first time since January 2012.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: Mattson Technology Inc.(MTSN)

Mattson Technology, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and support of semiconductor wafer processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits for the semiconductor industry worldwide. Its dry strip products include the SUPREMA strip system that incorporates its inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technology photoresist process module, and vacuum-based productivity platform for processing of sub 30 nm devices. The company?s rapid thermal processing products include the Helios and Helios XP systems for conventional annealing applications, and the Millios system for millisecond anneal applications. Its etch products comprise the paradigmE and Alpine that feature a proprietary Faraday-shielded ICP with etch bias control to provide process on-wafer performance. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distribution agreements to foundries, and memory and logic device manufacturers. Mattson Technology, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  Mattson Technology (MTSN) designs, manufactures and markets semiconductor wafer processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. This stock closed up 5.1% to $2.25 in Tuesday's trading session.

  Tuesday's Range: $2.15-$2.30
  
  52-Week Range: $0.70-$2.55
  
  Tuesday's Volume: 593,000
  
  Three-Month Average Volume: 825,998

  From a technical perspective, MTSN bounced higher here back above its 50-day moving average at $2.23 with lighter-than-average volume. It looks like MTSN has now put in a double bottom chart pattern, since the stock has found some buying interest over the last month at $2.05 to $2.07. If that bottom can hold, then shares of MTSN will not set up to trigger a major breakout trade. That trade will hit if MTSN manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.40 to $2.52 and then once it clears its 52-week high at $2.55 with high volume.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in MTSN as long as it's trending above $2.07 to $2.05 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 825,998 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then MTSN will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.17 to its three-year high at $3.30.

• [By Ben Axler]

  In the table below, we've listed a sample of small-cap semiconductor capital equipment stocks such as Entegris (ENTG), Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS), ATMI Inc. (ATMI), MKS Instruments (MKSI), Photronics Inc. (PLAB), Rudolph Technologies (RTEC),FormFactor (FORM) and Mattson Technology (MTSN). The peers trade at approximately 1.0x and 15.5x 2014E revenues and EPS, respectively. Furthermore, the average peer trades at 2.1x tangible book value. However, these multiples are based on average 2014E industry revenue and earnings growth of 18% and 119%, respectively. Axcelis is poised to grow at a rate substantially above the industry average.

• [By Stephen Simpson, CFA]

  Ultratech isn't the only game in town, though, and there are multiple technologies and process steps that are going to play significant roles in the production of FinFETs and 3D circuits. With that, I would take a look at Mattson Technologies (MTSN), as this company has already accomplished the not-so-easy task of gaining meaningful share in the dry strip, rapid thermal processing (RTP), and etch markets despite competing with giants like Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Tokyo Electron (TOELY.PK).

Best Cheapest Companies To Watch For 2015: Xing AG (O1BC)

Xing AG, formerly Open Business Club AG, is a Germany-based company engaged in the provision and maintenance of online business communication services. It offers companies enterprise solutions afforded by Web 2.0 and manages the communities for professional networking. It supplies support in establishing new business contacts, expanding and managing the network of contacts and organizing meetings and events. It enables its customers to identify experts in several fields and receive advice on any topic as well as promote themselves in their business environments. It serves a number of networkers worldwide. The product portfolio consists of four categories: openBC platform; openBC Premium Groups; openBC mobile, with mobile phone access; openBC plugin, supporting Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook. The solutions are offered in 16 languages and data as well as privacy protection is provided. It co-operates with epublica, a Web-based corporate solution provider and Sevenval AG. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Morgan]

  RWE AG (RWE), Germany�� second-largest utility, slipped 2.4 percent after RBC Capital Markets cut its recommendation on the stock. Lufthansa followed its European peers higher, recovering some of its Aug. 2 selloff. Xing AG (O1BC), the business social network, jumped the most since October as Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) upgraded its rating on the shares.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp (XPL)

Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp. is an exploration company. The Company is a gold producer with its development-stage Mt.Hamilton gold project in Nevada. The Company has a portfolio of royalty structured joint ventures on advanced mineral projects with partners, such as Votorantim Metais, Anglo Platinum and Newmont Mining. The Company�� advanced projects include Mt. Hamilton: gold project, the United States, Bongara: zinc-lead-silver, Peru, and Pedra Branca: platinum-palladium, Brazil. Its gold-silver exploration projects include Pachuca Real: silver-gold, Mexico and Cerro Azul: Gold-Silver, Peru. The Company�� base metal and polymetallic exploration projects include Chambara: zinc-lead-silver, Peru and La Promesa: silver-zinc-lead-indium, Peru. In December 2013, Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp raised its interest to 23.537% from 3.233%, by acquiring a 20.304% stake in Ely Gold & Minerals Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Wolfe]

  Solitario Exploration & Royalty (XPL)

  Several insiders made significant buys this week as the company�� share price continues to dwindle beneath its all-time lows. Most notably, President and CEO Christopher Herald bought 400,000 shares. He purchased these shares at $0.84 per share for a total transaction amount of $336,000. Since this buy, the share price has increased approximately 11.9%.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2015: Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (GEX)

Market Vectors-Global Alternative Energy ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible the price and yield performance of the Ardour Global Index (Extra Liquid) (the Index). The Index, published by Ardour Global Indexes, LLC and calculated by Dow Jones Indexes, is a benchmark for the global alternative energy industry. The Index is a rules-based index that seeks to track the overall performance of a global universe of listed companies engaged in the alternative energy industry. As of April 2007, the Index consisted of publicly traded stocks of 30 of the largest, most actively traded alternative energy companies from worldwide. Companies included in the Index generate over 50% of their revenues from alternative energy and/or related technologies, and are engaged in five core industry sectors: alternative energy resources (solar, wind, bio-fuels, water and geothermal), which constitute approximately 70% of the Index; distributed generation, which constitutes approximately 3% of the Index; environmental technologies related to alternative energy, which constitutes approximately 9% of the Index; energy efficiency, which constitutes approximately 4% of the Index, and enabling technologies, which constitutes approximately 14% of the Index.

The Index consists of the 30 stocks in the Ardour Global Index (Composite) with the highest average of daily trading volume and market capitalization. The Ardour Global Index (Composite) is a modified capitalization-weighted, float-adjusted index comprising publicly traded companies engaged in the production of alternative fuels and/or technologies related to the production of alternative energy power. The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in stocks of companies primarily engaged in the business of alternative energy. The Fund, utilizing a passive or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicate the Index. The ! Fund will hold all of the securities, which comprise the Index in proportion to their weightings in the Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 95% of its total assets in securities that comprise the Index. Van Eck Associates Corporation serves as the investment advisor of the Fund.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]

  The news was predictably good for a pair of ETFs that should be known as "Tesla ETFs." The Market Vectors Global Alternatve Energy ETF (NYSE: GEX) and the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund (NASDAQ: QCLN) both traded higher on a down day for U.S. stocks, rising to within pennies of their previous 52-week highs.