Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of StellarOne (NASDAQ: STEL  ) , a commercial, mortgage, and wealth management bank servicing small and medium-sized businesses in Virginia, jumped as much as 20% after agreeing to be purchased by Union First Market Bancshares (NASDAQ: UBSH  ) .

So what: Under the terms of the agreement, StellarOne shareholders will receive 0.9739 shares of Union First Market which, as of yesterday's close, equated to $19.50 per share, or a 20.2% premium. The combined entity will become the largest community banking institution in Virginia with $7.1 billion in assets and $5.8 billion in deposits. The synergies expected to be realized from this merger should add to Union First Market's bottom line in 2014 according to management.

Now what: If there were a sector riper for industrywide consolidation, it'd be regional banking. Although many small-to-mid-sized banks have recovered nicely from the recession, many are still struggling to bring in new deposits and generate loans because of tough peer-to-peer competition, and cash-strapped consumers having difficulty navigating a high unemployment and higher tax environment. Consolidation really makes sense for many smaller banks like StellarOne. I can't say I'm thrilled that it's an all-stock deal as that leaves some downside risk in shares from today's value for StellarOne shareholders, but it nonetheless should add value from Friday's close when all is said and done.

10 Best Diversified Bank Stocks For 2015: Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (CNAT)

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc., incorporated on July 13, 2005, is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of medicines to treat liver disease. The Company is developing its lead compound, emricasan, for the treatment of patients in orphan populations with chronic liver disease and acute exacerbations of chronic liver disease. The Company has designed a clinical program to demonstrate the therapeutic benefit of emricasan across the spectrum of fibrotic liver disease. The Company�� initial development strategy targets indications for emricasan with high unmet clinical need in orphan patient populations, such as patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), chronic liver failure (CLF), and patients who have developed liver fibrosis post-orthotopic liver transplant due to Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV-POLT).

The Company has completed two placebo-controlled Phase II trials in patients with liver disease showing reductions in ALT levels that occur rapidly, within as little as one day after initiation of therapy, and are maintained throughout the treatment period. In the Company�� 204-patient Phase 2b trial, it also measured cCK18, an important biomarker of apoptosis and disease severity. Emricasan has been generally well-tolerated in all of the clinical studies. As of July 23, 2013, the Company had not generated any revenue.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s(CNAT) shares jumped 26% to $7.75 premarket after the biotechnology firm said its treatment for chronic liver disease has been granted a status that could mean quicker approval.

• [By John Udovich]

  While Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ICPT) surged earlier this year and Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHN) has surged this week after Merck & Co. Inc (NYSE: MRK) agreed to purchase hepatitis stock�Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IDIX) at a 239% premium, it seems the herd has realized that small cap Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: CNAT) is also a liver disease stock as shares suddenly surged 56.69% on no apparent company news. But just what is�Conatus Pharmaceuticals and is it worth taking a chance on?

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: VOC Energy Trust(VOC)

VOC Energy Trust owns a term net profits interest of the net proceeds from production of the interests in oil and natural gas properties in the states of Kansas and Texas. It owns an 80% term net profits interest of the net proceeds on the underlying properties. As of December 31, 2009, the underlying properties produced oil from approximately 892 gross (550.2 net) wells located in 193 fields; and had total proved reserves of 13.0 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company was founded in 2010 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  VOC Energy Trust (VOC): Formed by a private energy firm, VOC owns both oil and gas wells in has wells in Kansas and Texas. The royalty trust owns an 80% net royalty on the wells on its properties. That makes a prime play on rising energy prices- no matter which fuel is doing well. VOC’s royalties will expire at the end of 2031 and yield no terminal value. Meaning shares will go to zero. Yet, VOC features a trailing yield of about�14% based on the last four payments.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Greif Inc (GEF)

Greif, Inc., incorporated on January 25, 1926, is a producer of industrial packaging products and services with manufacturing facilities located in over 50 countries. The Company offers a line of industrial packaging products, such as steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It also produces containerboard and corrugated products for niche markets in North America. It sells timber to third parties from its timberland in the south-eastern United States. It has four segments: Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services, Flexible Products & Services, Paper Packaging and Land Management.

Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services

In the Rigid Industrial Packaging and Services, the Company is a provider of rigid industrial packaging products, including steel, fiber and plastic drums, rigid intermediate bulk containers, closure systems for industrial packaging products, transit protection products, water bottles and reconditioned containers, and services, such as container lifecycle management, blending, filling and other packaging services, logistics and warehousing. It sells industrial packaging products to customers in industries, such as chemicals, paints and pigments, food and beverage, petroleum, industrial coatings, agricultural, pharmaceutical and mineral, among others.

Flexible Products and Services segment

In the Flexible Products and Services segment, the Company is a producer of flexible intermediate bulk containers and a North American provider of industrial and consumer multiwall bag products. Its flexible intermediate bulk containers consist of a polypropylene-based woven fabric that is partly produced at its production sites, as well as sourced from strategic regional sup! pliers. Its industrial and consumer multiwall bag products are used to ship a range of industrial and consumer products, such as seed, fertilizers, chemicals, concrete, flour, sugar, feed, pet foods, popcorn, charcoal and salt, primarily for the agricultural, chemical, building products and food industries.

Paper Packaging segment

In the Paper Packaging segment, the Company sells containerboard, corrugated sheets and other corrugated products to customers in North America in industries such as packaging, automotive, food and building products. Its corrugated container products are used to ship such products as home appliances, small machinery, grocery products, building products, automotive components, books and furniture, as well as numerous other applications. Operations related to industrial and consumer multiwall bag products have been reclassified to Flexible Products and Services segment.

Land Management segment

In the Land Management segment, the Company is focused on the active harvesting and regeneration of the United States timber properties to achieve long-term yields. It also sells, from time to time, timberland and special use land, which consists of surplus land, HBU land and development land. As of October 31, 2013, it owned approximately 252,475 acres of timber property in the southeastern United States and approximately 10,300 acres of timber property in Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Geoff Gannon]

  For those of you wondering if Greif Brothers Cooperage has any relation to Greif (GEF) ��yes. It has every relation. It�� the same exact company. And it�� still in pretty much the same business. They used to just make barrels. Now they make all kinds of different drums, containers, etc. That�� not a very big change for a company to make over 60 years or so.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Manchester United PLC (MANU)

Manchester United plc, formerly Manchester United Ltd., incorporated on April 30, 2012, is engaged in the operations of professional sports team. It provides manchester united a platform to generate revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and matchday. The Company had three principal sectors: Commercial, Broadcasting and Matchday.

Commercial

Within the Commercial revenue sector, the Company had three revenue streams which include sponsorship revenue; retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing revenue; and new media and mobile revenue. Retail, Merchandising, Apparel and Product Licensing, it markets and sells sports apparel, training and leisure wear and other clothing featuring the Manchester United brand on a global basis. In addition, it also sells other licensed products, from coffee mugs to bed spreads, featuring the Manchester United brand and trademarks. These products are distributed through Manchester United branded retail centers and e-commerce platforms, as well as its partners' wholesale distribution channels.

The Company retails, merchandizes, apparel & product licensing business is managed by Nike, who pays it a minimum guaranteed amount and a share of the business' cumulative profits. It has formed mobile telecom partnerships in 44 countries. In addition, it markets content directly to its followers through its Website, www.manutd.com, and associated mobile properties.

Broadcasting

The Company generates revenue from distribution and broadcasting of live football content. Broadcasting revenue is derived from the global television rights relating to the Premier League, Champions League and other competitions. In addition, its global television channel, MUTV, delivers Manchester United programming to 54 countries around the world. Broadcasting includes all revenue covering domestic and international television and radio rights. Broadc! asting revenue including, in some cases, prize money received by it in respect of the various competitions.

Matchday

The Company generates revenue during the matchday from the Old Trafford, a sports venue.

Other Matchday revenue includes matchday catering, event parking, program sales as well as membership and travel, Manchester United Museum revenue and a share of the ticket revenue from away matches in domestic cup competitions. Matchday revenue also includes revenue from other events hosted at Old Trafford, including other sporting events (including football matches as part of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the annual Rugby Super League Grand Final), music concerts and entertainment events.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Maureen Farrell]

  Soccer club Manchester United (MANU) reported a jump in quarterly revenue, compared to the prior year, and a surge in net profit, compared to a loss last year. Its stock closed up more than 2%.

• [By Mark Thompson]

  Under the deal with Manchester United (MANU), Adidas will provide uniforms for all the club's teams from the 2015 - 2016 season. Adidas will also be the exclusive worldwide distributor of Manchester United branded merchandise.

• [By Trista Kelley]

  Science in Sport was created by cycling enthusiast Tim Lawson in a kitchen in 1992 and was bought by Provexis two years ago. About 60 percent of sales come from cyclists, though the brand has been raising its profile among other athletes with help from the London Olympics last year and from Wimbledon champion and Go gel user Andy Murray. SiS has also widened its appeal to soccer fans, supplying products to Manchester United Plc (MANU) players, Moon said.

• [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 upgrades for mini-industrialist Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS  ) �and for remote computer access specialist LogMeIn (NASDAQ: LOGM  ) but a downgrade for publicly traded soccer club Manchester United (NYSE: MANU  ) . Let's take them one at a time, beginning with...

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

SPDR Trust, Series 1 (the Trust) is a unit investment trust. The Trust is an exchange-traded fund created to provide investors with the opportunity to purchase a security representing a proportionate undivided interest in a portfolio of securities consisting of substantially all of the common stocks, in substantially the same weighting, which comprise the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Price Index (the S&P Index). Each unit of fractional undivided interest in the Trust is referred to as a Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipt (SPDR).

The Trust utilizes a full replication approach. With this approach, all 500 securities of the Index are owned by the Trust in their approximate market capitalization weight.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mark Thomas]

  I focus more on fundamentals to select the stocks that I trade and suggest on my site. However, I can't ignore technical analysis, and this week there were some very important things that appeared on some very long-term charts. With the S+P 500 (SPY) breaking above 1576 and the Dow Jones industrials (DIA) and the Transportation index (IYT) confirming the move to new all-time highs, the thirteen year secular bear market in stocks is over for now-- and based on history, will be probably for quite a while like for two or three more years.

• [By Tom Aspray]

  In Friday's Wall Street Journal, it was pointed out that the overall trading volume in the popular Spyder Trust (SPY) has been relatively low; about 20 million shares lower than it was during the same period last year.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Volume was slightly down to end the week. Only 99 million shares of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) traded hands, compared to the ten day average of 140 million.

• [By Luke Jacobi]

  Volume was noticeably light on the session. Only around 80 million SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) shares traded hands on the day, compared to a 3-month daily average of 125 million.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Cognex Corporation(CGNX)

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate tasks primarily in manufacturing processes. It operates in two divisions, Modular Vision Systems and Surface Inspection Systems. The Modular Vision Systems division develops, manufactures, and markets modular vision systems that are used to automate the manufacture of discrete items, such as cellular phones, aspirin bottles, and automobile wheels by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing process. The Surface Inspection Systems division develops, manufactures, and markets surface inspection vision systems that are used to inspect the surfaces of materials processed in a continuous fashion, including metals, papers, nonwoven, plastics, and glass. The company serves customers in factory automation, semiconductor and electronics capital equipment, and surface inspection markets. Cognex Corporation sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through a network of integration and distribution partners worldwide. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Garrett Cook]

  Shares of Cognex (NASDAQ: CGNX) got a boost, shooting up 14.94 percent to $43.45 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and issued a strong Q3 revenue outlook.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: K&S AG (KPLUY)

K&S AG is a Germany-based holding company which is active in the chemical sector. The Company divides its activities into four main business segments. The Potash and Magnesium Products segment is engaged in the crude potash and magnesium salts extraction and in processing raw materials into products for industrial, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries. The Nitrogen Fertilizers business segment distributes fertilizers for almost all agricultural crops, and products for home and garden, plant care and plant protection, specialty fertilizers for public green areas, tree nurseries, horticulture and various special crops are offered. The Salt segment offers food grade salt, industrial salt and salt for chemical use, as well as de-icing salt applied to ensure road safety. The Complementary Business segments include recycling activities and the disposal and reutilization of waste salt mines, granulation of CATASAN, logistics, and trading in different basic chemicals. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Yet, Europe's leading potash player K+S (NASDAQOTH: KPLUY  ) just said that, because of the upheaval that's occurred in the market, it was slashing its dividend by 82% for 2013,�reducing the payout ratio to just 11% of adjusted after tax�earnings, a far cry from the miner's usual�ratio of between 40% and 50%. Could this signal a new era of austerity that will ultimately see Potash,�Agrium (NYSE: AGU  ) , and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS  ) �end up whacking their payouts, as well?