Top 5 Tech Companies To Own In Right Now

Karen Bleier, AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON -- It looks as though President Barack Obama's fickle health insurance website is finally starting to put up some respectable sign-up numbers, but its job only seems to have gotten harder. Two months in and out of the repair shop have left significantly less time to fulfill the White House goal of enrolling 7 million people by the end of open enrollment on March 31. Signups were just over 100,000 nationally as of the end of October. The 36 states served by the federal government's website accounted for a paltry one-fourth of that, fewer than 27,000 people. But officials now say an additional 29,000 people enrolled through the revamped HealthCare.gov in just two days at the start of this week, despite heavy volume that not long ago would have caused the system to lock up. HealthCare.gov is the online portal to subsidized private health insurance for people who don't have job-based coverage. Though it's too early to say whether the corner is being turned, Obama is inviting consumers to give the website a second chance. Here's a look at the changes you can expect: Speed and Availability Independent testers question the blazing Internet speeds claimed by techies at the Health and Human Services Department but say there's been noticeable progress. "The trend is in the right direction ... but there are still things they can do to make the user experience better," said Michael Smith, a vice president of engineering at Compuware Corp. (CPWR), which helps companies monitor the technical performance of their websites. As of Thursday morning, the number of states where consumers are experiencing unacceptably long wait times had been cut in half, down to 13 from 26 states in late October. Compuware defines "unacceptable" as more than 8 seconds average response time to load the home page. The government claims a response time of less than 1 second. But Smith says that is likely being measured from computers with fast Internet connections and doesn't account for the experience of consumers with less than ideal access, which is incorporated in his company's testing. HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters acknowledged: "As with any website, the response times for individual consumers will vary depending on their computer's performance and the speed of their Internet." Compuware says availability -- a measure of consumers' success accessing the site -- is up to 98 percent, close to the standard for commercial websites. Window-Shopping Many consumers were puzzled and frustrated when the federal website went live because it would not let them browse health plans without first setting up an account. That's the opposite of how e-commerce generally works. Most websites ask consumers to open an account after they're ready to purchase. The flaw drove many people to an accounts creation page that turned out to be riddled with bugs and contributed to the system's early woes. On Monday, HHS announced the deployment of a window-shopping function that lets prospective customers see plans and prices in their area, including previously unavailable details such as deductibles and cost-sharing, as well as provider networks. Reset Button People who got stuck in the system can now zap away their old applications and start over. To do that, you log into your account, select the application in progress and hit "remove." You have to follow that by closing and reopening your Web browser. Then you log back in and start a new application. The reset process may not be entirely foolproof because HHS advises consumers to reach out to the call center at 800-318-2596 if they have trouble. Orderly Lines To help stave off problems during periods of high user volume, the website now has a queuing system. Consumers can request email notifications of when is a good time to come back. The feature kicked in this week as people flooded back to check out the revamped website. The site can now handle 50,000 simultaneous users. Each visitor spends an average of 20 to 30 minutes on the site. In theory, the site will support more than 800,000 consumer visits a day. The big spikes in traffic are still to come. Expect that to happen after the middle of this month, since Dec. 23 is the last day that people can apply for coverage that will take effect Jan. 1. Even heavier volume is likely toward the end of open enrollment March 31, as procrastinators jump in. Confident that the site is stable, the government is emailing people who got stuck in the system and inviting them back. Still, reaching the goal of 7 million sign-ups seems like a tall order. The government's initial projections estimated that 1.2 million people would have enrolled by the end of November, and the number is likely to be only a fraction of that. And the March 31 deadline doesn't mean that enrollment comes to a full stop. That's because under the law, people who experience a significant change in their life circumstances can still get coverage after the open enrollment period is over. Such changes include divorce, the birth of a child, loss of coverage, moving to another state or losing a job. Rick Curtis of the nonprofit Institute for Health Policy Solutions estimates that as many as 20 million people could become eligible for coverage later in 2014, though it's not clear how many of those would enroll. "About as many people will become eligible over the course of the year as are eligible now," Curtis said.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Mellanox Technologies Ltd.(MLNX)

Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., a fabless semiconductor company, engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of interconnect products primarily in North America, Israel, Europe, and Asia. It offers semiconductor interconnect products that facilitate data transmission between servers, communications infrastructure equipment, and storage systems in enterprise data centers, high-performance computing, and embedded systems. The company provides solutions based on InfiniBand, including host channel adapter, switch and gateway ICs, adapter cards, switch and gateway systems, cables, and software. Its products also support the Ethernet standard. The company provides adapters to server, storage, communications infrastructure, and embedded systems OEMs as ICs or standard card form factors with PCI-X or PCI express interfaces; support server operating systems, including Linux, Windows, AIX, HPUX, Solaris, and VxWorks; and InfiniBand switch ICs to server, storage, communicati ons infrastructure, and embedded systems OEMs to create switching equipment. The company offers its products under the Mellanox, BridgeX, ConnectX, InfiniBlast, InfiniBridge, InfiniHost, InfiniPCI, InfiniRISC, PhyX, InfiniScale, and Virtual Protocol Interconnect trademarks in the United States. It primarily serves enterprise data center, high-performance computing, and embedded end-user markets, as well as embedded systems OEMs. The company sells its products directly, as well as through a network of domestic and international sales representatives, and independent distributors. Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Yokneam, Israel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Finally, Tiger Global's biggest closed positions included Starz�and Yandex N.V. Other closed positions of interest include Mellanox (NASDAQ: MLNX  ) . Mellanox, based in Israel, is a semiconductor company. Its last few years were quite strong, as it invested heavily in cloud computing and beat Wall Street estimates, though its latest earnings report was mixed. Mellanox is buying Kotura, a high-speed networking technology company. Some wonder whether Mellanox's best years are behind it, as it faces significant competition. �

• [By Alex Planes]

  What: Shares of Mellanox Technologies (NASDAQ: MLNX  ) lost nearly 13% of their value today despite beating expectations last night. Analysts at two investment firms are not at all convinced that last night's good news will translate into long-term strength.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO)

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on June 29, 1983, is engaged in the development of a new generation of vaccines, called synthetic vaccines, focused on cancers and infectious diseases. The Company's SynCon technology enables the design of universal vaccines capable of providing cross-protection against existing or changing strains of pathogens, such as influenza and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The Company's electroporation delivery technology uses brief, controlled electrical pulses to increase cellular uptake of the vaccine. Its clinical programs include cervical dysplasia (therapeutic), avian influenza (preventive), prostate cancer (therapeutic), leukemia (therapeutic), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV vaccines. It is advancing preclinical research and clinical development for a universal seasonal/pandemic influenza vaccine, as well as preclinical work for other products, including malaria and prostate cancer vaccines. Its partners and collaborators include University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health/Malaria Vaccine Initiative (PATH/MVI), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Merck, ChronTech, University of Southampton, United States Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP), the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and HIV Vaccines Trial Network (HVTN). As of December 31, 2011 it owned 16.1% interest in VGX Int��.

Inovio�� Solution

The Company�� synthetic vaccine platform consists of its SynCon vaccine design process and electroporation delivery technology. It has developed a preclinical and clinical stage pipeline of vaccines. The Company�� synthetic vaccines are designed to prevent a disease (prophylactic vaccines) or treat an existing disease (therapeutic vaccines). Its synthetic vaccine consists of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) plasmid encoding a selected antigen! (s), which is introduced into cells of humans or animals with the purpose of evoking an immune response to the encoded antigen. The Company�� synthetic vaccines are designed to generate specific antibody and/or T-cell responses.

The Company�� SynCon technology provides processes that employ bioinformatics, which combine extensive genetic data and sophisticated algorithms. Its design process uses the genetic make-up of a common antigen(s) from multiple strains of a virus within a viral sub-type or taxonomic group (family) of pathogens, such as HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), influenza and other diseases to synthetically create a new antigen for the desired pathogen target that does not exist in nature. Its synthetic vaccine candidates are being delivered into cells of the body using its electroporation (EP) DNA delivery technology.

Cancer Synthetic Vaccines

The Company has two broad types of cancer vaccines: preventive (or prophylactic) vaccines, which are intended to prevent cancer from developing in healthy people, and treatment (or therapeutic) vaccines, which are intended to treat an existing cancer by strengthening the body�� natural defenses against the cancer. Two types of cancer preventive vaccines are available in the United States. The United States Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) has approved two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix that protect against infection by the two types of HPV-types 16 and 18-that cause approximately 70% of all cases of cervical cancer worldwide. In addition, Gardasil protects against infection by two additional HPV types, 6 and 11, which are responsible for about 90% of all cases of genital warts in males and females but do not cause cervical cancer.

Cervarix manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is composed of virus-like particles (VLPs) made with proteins from HPV types 16 and 18. Cervarix is approved for use in females��ages 10 to 25 for the prevention of cervical cancer caused by! HPV type! s 16 and 18. Gardasil manufactured by Merck, is approved for use in females for the prevention of cervical cancer, and some vulvar and vaginal cancers, caused by HPV types 16 and 18 and for use in males and females for the prevention of genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. The vaccine is approved for these uses in females and males ages 9 to 26. The FDA has also approved a cancer preventive vaccine that protects against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Inovio�� VGX-3100 is designed to raise immune responses against the E6 and E7 genes of HPV types 16 and 18 that are present in both pre-cancerous and cancerous cells transformed by these HPV types. E6 and E7 are oncogenes that play an integral role in transforming HPV-infected cells into cancerous cells. In March 2011, it initiated a randomized, double-blind Phase II study of VGX-3100 delivered using the CELLECTRA intramuscular electroporation device in women with HPV Type 16 or 18 and diagnosed with, but not yet treated for, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3. The study is designed to enroll 148 subjects. In January 2011, it announced the publication of a scientific paper in the journal Human Vaccines detailing potent immune responses in a preclinical study of its SynCon vaccine for prostate cancer targeting two antigens, prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA).

In January 2011, the Company announced the regulatory approval of a Phase II clinical trial (WIN Trial) to treat leukemia utilizing its new ELGEN 1000 automated vaccine delivery device. The single dose level, Phase II study, called WT1 immunity via DNA fusion gene vaccination in haematological malignancies by intramuscular injection followed by intramuscular electroporation. Cancer Vaccines encodes for hTERT, an antigen related to non-small cell lung, breast and prostate cancers. The vaccine is delivered using its electroporation delivery technology.

Infectious Disease Synthetic Vaccines

In Marc! h 2011, the Company announced the initiation of a follow-on open label, single dose Phase II clinical study in collaboration with ChronTech of the ChronVac-C HCV DNA vaccine delivered using its electroporation technology in treatment naive HCV infected individuals. Its HIV vaccines consist of candidates for HIV prevention, as well as therapy or treatment. PENNVAX-B is designed to target HIV clade B (most commonly found in the United States, North America, Australia and the European Union (EU). PENNVAX-G is designed to target HIV clades A, C and D, which are more commonly found in Asia, Africa, Russia and South America. This Phase I clinical study of PENNVAX-B (HVTN-080) vaccinated 48 healthy, HIV-negative volunteers to assess safety and levels of immune responses generated by Inovio�� PENNVAX-B vaccine delivered with its CELLECTRA electroporation device. PENNVAX-B is a SynCon vaccine that targets HIV gag, pol, and env proteins.

The Company�� VGX-3400X targets H5N1. The vaccine consists of three distinct DNA plasmids coded for a consensus hemagglutinin (HA) antigen derived from different H5N1 virus strains; a consensus neuraminidase (NA) antigen derived from different N1 sequences; and a consensus nucleoprotein (NP) fused to a small portion of the m2 protein (m2E) based on a broader cross-section of influenza viruses in addition to H5N1 and H1N1. Conventional vaccines are strain-specific and have limited ability to protect against genetic shifts in the influenza strains they target. They are therefore modified annually in anticipation of the next flu season�� new strain(s). It is focused on developing DNA-based influenza vaccines able to provide broad protection against known as well as newly emerging, unknown seasonal and pandemic influenza strains.

Animal Health/Veterinary

VGX Animal Health, Inc. (VGX AH), a majority-owned subsidiary, has licensed LifeTide, a plasmid-based growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) technology for swine. LifeTide is one of onl! y four DN! A-based treatments approved for use in animals and is the only DNA-based agent delivered using electroporation that has been granted marketing approval (Australia). VGX AH is also developing a GHRH-based treatment for cancer and anemia in dogs and cats. It is developing a synthetic vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) administered by its vaccine delivery technology. The FMD virus is one of the most infectious diseases affecting farm animals, including cattle, swine, sheep and goats, and is a serious threat to global food safety.

The Company competes with Crucell N.V, Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Inc., Novartis, Inc., MedImmune and CSL.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By George Budwell]

  Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT: INO  ) develops DNA-based vaccines and delivers them using a proprietary electroporation technique. Shares of Inovio have been a roller coaster all year long, and have certainly been the playground of day traders. Last week, Inovio shares lost more than 10% of their value on heavy volume, suggesting the stock may continue to experience downward pressure. This rapid move downward is surprising because the company recently signed a licensing deal with Roche (NASDAQOTH: RHHBY  ) to commercialize Inovio's multi-antigen DNA immunotherapies for prostate cancer and hepatitis B. As part of the deal, Inovio received $10 million upfront, and milestone payments could go as high as $412 million.

• [By Sean Williams]

  On the clinical data front, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY  ) and Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NYSEMKT: INO  ) both put investors in their happy place.

Best Small Cap Companies To Buy Right Now: Amgen Inc.(AMGN)

Amgen Inc., a biotechnology medicines company, discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets human therapeutics based on advances in cellular and molecular biology for grievous illnesses primarily in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company markets recombinant protein therapeutics in supportive cancer care, nephrology, and inflammation. Its principal products include Aranesp and EPOGEN erythropoietic-stimulating agents that stimulate the production of red blood cells; Neulasta and NEUPOGEN to stimulate the production of neutrophils, which is a type of white blood cell that helps the body to fight infections; and Enbrel, an inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor that plays a role in the body?s response to inflammatory diseases. The company also markets other products comprising Sensipar/Mimpara, a small molecule calcimimetic that lowers serum calcium levels; Vectibix, a monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to the epidermal growth factor receptor; and Nplate, a thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist that mimics endogenous TPO, the primary driver of platelet production. In addition, it provides Denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody that targets RANKL, an essential regulator of osteoclasts. Further, the company offers product candidates in mid-to-late stage development in a variety of therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, inflammation, bone, nephrology, cardiovascular, and general medicine consisting of neurology. It markets its products to healthcare providers, including physicians or their clinics, dialysis centers, hospitals, and pharmacies; consumers; and wholesale distributors of pharmaceutical products. The company has various collaborative arrangements with Pfizer Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline plc; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited; Array BioPharma Inc.; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd.; and Cytokinetics, Inc. Amgen Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Biotech giant Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN  ) popped 42%. Bulls are excited about drugs in its pipeline that tackle melanoma and ovarian cancer, among other diseases. Amgen is also looking to acquire Onyx Pharmaceuticals, which would bring with it more cancer treatments and success in getting drugs approved for multiple indications. (Others are eyeing Onyx as well.) Some see Amgen now so big that it can't grow as rapidly as its smaller biotech brethren. But it does offer a solid dividend yield of 1.8% and seems more attractively valued than many rivals.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: DigitalGlobe Inc (DGI)

DigitalGlobe, Inc. provides commercial earth imagery products and information services worldwide. It collects imagery products and services through its QuickBird, WorldView-1, and WorldView-2 satellites, as well as aerial and satellite imagery from third party suppliers. The company offers a range of online and offline distribution options, including desktop software applications; Web services, which provide direct online access to the company�s image library; file transfer protocol; physical media, such as CD, DVD, and hard drive; and direct access program that facilitates certain customers to task and download data from its WorldView-1 and WorldView-2 satellites. Its imagery products and services support various uses, including defense, intelligence and homeland security, mapping and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, and infrastructure management. DigitalGlobe, Inc. serves defense contractors; civil government agencies; providers of location-b ased services; and various companies in energy, telecommunications, utility, forestry, mining, financial services, environmental, and agricultural industries through direct and indirect channels. The company was formerly known as EarthWatch, Incorporated and changed its name to DigitalGlobe, Inc. in August 2002. DigitalGlobe, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. DigitalGlobe, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI  ) reported earnings on May 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

  The 10-second takeaway
  For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), DigitalGlobe missed estimates on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

• [By Maxx Chatsko]

  The second well-researched pick that worked out in the long run was satellite manufacturer GeoEye. After a few balks, the company was acquired by DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI  ) . Similar to Hess, GeoEye was caught in a temporary downturn caused by short-term-minded investors. The company still held the highest-resolution commercial remote-sensing satellite and, despite having a smaller geospatial archive than DigitalGlobe, was 3.6 times more efficient in turning its imagery into revenue. The company was trading at $19 per share 13 months ago, but ended life as an independent company at over $35 per share.

Top 5 Tech Companies To Own In Right Now: General Communication Inc.(GNCMA)

General Communication, Inc. provides communication services to residential and business customers under the GCI and Alaska Wireless brand names in Alaska. The company?s Consumer segment provides local and long distance voice services; video services and products, including cable, high-definition television, digital video recorder, premium channel programming, video on demand, and pay-per-view programming services; Internet access; and fixed and mobile wireless voice and data services. This segment also sells handsets, personal computer wireless data cards, and accessories to residential customers; and offers bundled services and products, which comprise long-distance, cable television, cable modem Internet access, local access, and wireless services. Its Network Access segment provides interstate and intrastate-switched message telephone, multi-protocol label switching, frame relay, private line and dedicated Internet, and wireless services to GSM and CDMA wireless carrie rs. The company?s Commercial segment offers local and long distance communication, video, Internet, data network, managed, wireless, and bundled products and services. Its Managed Broadband segment offers Internet access, data network, and managed services to rural school districts, hospitals, and health clinics. The company?s Regulated Operations segment provides wireline communications services, including local access and long-distance, and Internet services and products, to residential, business, and governmental customers in areas of rural Alaska. General Communication, Inc. sells its services primarily through direct contact marketing, as well as through local media advertising, and its retail stores and Website. As of December 31, 2011, it had approximately 87,900 long-distance customers, 138,100 local access lines in service, 142,600 basic cable subscribers, 139,900 wireless subscribers, and 119,400 cable modem subscribers. The company was founded in 1979 and is bas ed in Anchorage, Alaska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  Alaska Communications and General Communications, (NASDAQ: GNCMA  ) , or GCI, today signed the network sharing agreement they proposed last summer.