Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Thomas Bishop, editor of BI Research, chose Taseko Mining Ltd. (ASE: TGB) as his favorite for 2007, which rose 44% as of 6/1/07. Please see his original recommendation and his current opinion on the stock.

NutraCea (OTC: NTRZ) is his new stock pick. The advisor explains, "Rice is the most consumed grain on the planet and is a primary food source for 70% of the world's population. However, 65% of its nutritional value is in the bran covering that is routinely stripped off. NutraCea offers a patent technology that preserves these nutrients.

"NutraCea had developed a technology that stabilizes rice bran into an FDA-certified edible product, leaving the nutritional value of the bran intact with a shelf life of one to three years. There is tremendous interest in this highly nutritional product, especially from humanitarian relief organizations, the nutraceutical industry, and both human and animal food companies.

"NutraCea's client roster has 187 customers, including the likes of General Mills, Pepperidge Farms, Con Agra, Archer Daniels Midland, and Purina. In addition, some 500 companies have signed nondisclosure agreements with NutraCea to test using its product in their products.To cut to the chase, NutraCea is facing demand that is expected to exceed its ability to supply it for years to come.

Continue reading Top 20 advisors: Tom Bishop bets on NutraCea

Top 20 advisors: Tom Bishop bets on NutraCea originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In my recent posts, I have been reviewing the most popular sectors for the coming year, according the the newsletter advisors who participated in the Top Picks from 2007 report. In my last post, I highlighted stocks in healthcare, tech, and telecom. Today, I want to review the resource sectors -- energy and metals -- that remain very popular among advisors, despite being out-of-favor in recent trading.

First, let's look at the metals, where gold remains a popular choice. Sy Harding chose ASA Bermuda, a closed-end gold fund, Curtis Hesler selected Yamana, and Martin Weiss opted for Kinross.

Pamela Aden selected the bullion tracking exchange-traded fund, the streetTracks Gold Trust; Mark Leibovit also chose streettracks Gold. Meanwhile, Mary Anne Aden chose the iShares Silver Trust.

Outside of the precious metals, Tom Bishop chose copper play, Taseko Mines, while Neil Macneale selected steel stocks.

Equally as volatile as metals -- and currently out-of-favor -- has been energy. The energy sector has been high on the list of Top Picks for the past 4 years. This year, however, there is a noticeable shift.

Continue reading Top Picks 2007: Out-of-favor favorites in energy and metals

Top Picks 2007: Out-of-favor favorites in energy and metals originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

Taseko Mines Ltd. (ASE: TGB) is the favorite speculative play for 2007 from Tom Bishop, editor of BI Research. He notes, "After living hand to mouth for five or six years during lean copper and gold prices, Taseko bought the Gibraltar mine, which it picked up for a song when copper was down in the low $0.60/lb range.

"Today copper is around $3/lb, the mine is back into production and now its cash stash, including proceeds from a $30 million convertible, is steaming towards C$100 million. The company just added about 38% to its mineral reserves, which now stand at 256 million tons (equating to a 15-year mine life) grading 0.32% copper and 0.01% molybdenum.

Note the molybdenum alone adds over $20 million to revenues annually. The company is upgrading and expanding its Gibraltar mill/production facility, and will be moving to a higher grade softer ore part of the ore body in 2007. Therefore, with mill improvements I expect production to increase 20 to 30% this year and generate about $0.65 to $0.70 of cash flow, which is not bad for a company trading at $2.60.

Continue reading Top Picks 2007: Tom Bishop bets on copper gains for Taseko

Top Picks 2007: Tom Bishop bets on copper gains for Taseko originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.