The Intellectual Property Litigation space is quite confusing and highly volatile. It seems that almost during the course of a single day, stocks operating in the space see large moves either higher or lower, and on very little news. Such volatility can be surmised due to these companies not being typical, as they exist in an industry that creates revenue by acquiring and owning IPs and then suing those that infringe on the technology. Hence, participants in the space shouldn't simply be viewed as traditional public companies, but rather public law firms that have tremendous upside, pending a successful suit.

The "Erin Brockovich" of the Stock Market

I'm sure that most people have seen the movie "Erin Brockovich", a movie released in the year 2000 that highlights a legal clerk's instrumental role in winning the largest settlement ever paid in a direct action lawsuit. The case involved the

As I visit my friends in NY and LA, I notice that there are certain trends emerging throughout the country that should give investors some pointers on the stock market. It is like Warren Buffett's rule of investing: If you understand consumers, it is easy to follow the products. Let us shine a light on three major trends in the U.S., and how investors can profit.

The Innovation of Healthy Living

While the core principles of "healthy living" remain the same, "exercise and diet", the fads and information surrounding health change by the minute. In the U.S., healthcare, weight-loss, medicine, etc. is the largest single industry, and there is always new research and companies in the market looking to benefit in some way, shape, or form.

In 2010/2011 it was the season of ordered meals and large returns from NutriSystem (NTRI) and Weight Watchers (WTW). Prior to this

I like a company that makes money, pays a dividend and has no debt, and that describes PetMed Express, Inc. (PETS). PetMed Express, which does business as 1-800-PetMeds, markets prescription and non-prescription pet medications and other health products for dogs and cats, and has served over 6 million consumers via its 800-number or its website. Pet care is a lucrative market, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association; $50 billion a year is spent on pet care in the United States, and $3.5 billion of that is spent on pet medication. PetMed, which is a licensed pharmacy accredited by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, carries roughly 750 different products, with about 59% of its sales coming from non-prescription medicines and 40% from prescription medicines.

For years, veterinarians have had a virtual monopoly on pet medications and enjoyed considerable mark-ups, but in 1996, PetMed

With the Affordable Health Care Act approaching and retail pharmacies gearing up for the estimated 30 million new customers that will soon be able to receive health insurance benefits, Walgreen (WAG), the country's second largest retail pharmacy, announced it has expand its Take Care Clinic healthcare services to include diagnosing and treating patients for chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and high cholesterol. What this move is basically doing is laying the foundation for Walgreen to be more than a retail pharmacy store, but also a primary care center, as the company's Take Care Clinics move from acute care to chronic care, which account for roughly 75% of the healthcare dollars, and could be a big revenue maker for the company when the Affordable Care Act is implemented.

Overseen by physicians, Walgreen's Take Care Clinics will staff nurse practitioners and physician assistants at more than 300 retail pharmacies

Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) stock has bounced back strongly in the past six months, rising 62%, largely in part to the company filing its first quarterly profit in a number of years and strong sales. However, the uptick in sales may be short-lived considering most of the rise came at the expense of Walgreen's (WAG) spat with Express Scripts (ESRX), when ESRX customers were forced to find a new pharmacy to fill their prescriptions. Now that WAG and ESRX are back together, RAD may well find its sales decline, as was evident when sales for the five weeks ended March 2, 2013 dropped 3.6%.

In 2012 RAD's estimated revenues on prescription sales were $17.7 billion, or 6% of the retail prescription market. Add in front-end sales, and RAD's total revenue for 2012 was $26.1 billion, up from $25.2 billion in 2011, as the company's

Netflix (NFLX) might be the most controversial services company in the market. The company has massive short interest, but also has a significant number of bullish investors to come to its defense. Here lately the bulls have won the battle. But the question is whether or not these gains can continue and if past gains are a result of fundamentals or speculation.

Catalysts Pushing Shares Higher

In three months, shares of Netflix went from 52-week lows to gains of 70% and a price near $100. There are signs that its rally has not been a bounce from the bottom and that it has been due to key developments and fundamental possibilities. Here are just a few of the company-changing developments/announcements that have occurred in favor of Netflix in the last three months:

• CEO Reed Hastings continues to reiterate the focus on expanding into Europe over the next two to three

There is little doubt that stevia continues to grow in favor as more people become aware of its many uses, and more countries around the globe continue to approve the sweet extract for both food and beverage products. The most recent country to approve stevia's use was Canada, giving its 9 million diabetics the ability to enjoy the much needed natural zero calorie sugar substitute. Interestingly though, the trend for stevia's future success seems to be more in stevia/sugar blends, which reduces the caloric counts to levels up to 50% without losing the sweet sugary flavor that the consumers demand. Many of the sugar companies now have sugar/stevia blends on market shelves, like Domino's sugar blend Domino Light, or Cargill's Truvia baking blend; and many manufacturers now have products containing stevia/sugar blends on grocers' shelves, like PepsiCo's (PEP) Trop 50. Below are three companies that

For the last year Gilead Sciences (GILD) has been one of the best performing large-cap stocks in the market. The company has continued to grow year-after-year while enjoying industry-leading margins. The company has made few mistakes and has enjoyed a 95% return over the last year in the process. So if the company is so efficient and mistake free, then why do so many people doubt its recent acquisition of YM Bioscience (YMI)? And what is the potential upside to this acquisition?

By now everyone's heard about Gilead's $510 million acquisition of YM Bioscience. Gilead making an acquisition is nothing new, but for the company to spend such a large amount of cash outside its virology specialty is a bit odd. Perhaps the company is just looking to expand its horizon and become a more well-rounded biotechnology company, or maybe it saw something special in

The global sweetener market is a $56 billion dollar industry, 80% of which is classified as caloric, meaning sugar or HFCS. The remaining 20% is non-caloric which falls into two categories, artificial and natural. Aspartame and Splenda are examples of artificial while stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol a sugar alcohol are considered natural. Artificial has dominated the zero calorie market, but according to the August 2011 report by the market research firm Mintel, the trend is turning toward natural sweeteners with stevia gaining market share. According to Mintel the global market for stevia sweeteners reached an estimated $500 million by mid-2011, and food consultant Zenith International expects stevia sales to reach $825 million by 2014. In a report from Packaged Facts of the U.S. it estimates the world stevia sales in 2011 were somewhere between $800m and $2 billion in 2011. However, as noted below it's mostly in

There will be over 1.6 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in the U.S. in 2012 with close to 600 thousand people expected to die from the disease this year. Numbers are more staggering on a global scale; according the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 alone there were over 12.7 million cases of new cancers diagnosed, and 7.6 million deaths related to the disease. About half of the cancer deaths are from 5 cancers - lung, stomach, liver, colorectal, and breast. On a positive note, with advancing treatments and early detection, the 5 year survival rate from cancer is up 67% over the past 10 years. Older technologies of systemic poisoning via chemotherapy or radiotherapy have gradually given way to more targeted means of therapy administration, which not only increases the effectiveness of the therapies, but also dramatically increases the safety profiles of the therapies used.

The stevia industry recently got a big boost when cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality, Dr. Mehmet Oz, on his top 25 rated Dr. Oz show aired, "Should You Give Up Artificial Sweeteners?" In the opening segment he "set the record straight" on artificial sweeteners, and millions of people were introduced to his choice for the best sugar substitute available today, naturally-derived stevia. Given the near $60 billion spent on television advertising in 2011 to get products noticed, stevia, at no cost, was introduced as the best sugar substitute to millions of viewers by a doctor who is considered by Esquire Magazine as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century. To better understand that television has a great influence on getting a product into the hands of millions of people across the world, one needs to look no further than Oprah Winfrey's frequently-televised book

Galena Biopharma (GALE) was founded in March 2011 when RXi Pharmaceuticals (RXII.OB) acquired Apthera. After the CEO was replaced, the company went through restructuring, during which time it was renamed Galena Biopharma. Since the restructuring, the company has been focusing on developing NeuVax, a cancer vaccine acquired as part of the deal with Apthera. Within a short period of time, the company has transformed itself from a preclinical stage biotech with a questionable future to a later stage biotech with marketing approval likely, depending on results of its phase 3 trial, which is already underway.

NeuVax, a synthetic breast cancer vaccine, is currently undergoing a large scale phase 3 trial under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) awarded by the FDA. The phase 3 testing is aimed at preventing the recurrence of breast cancer in women after an initial treatment via resection, chemotherapy or radiation. The idea of using

There is one change in the medical arena that investors are going to have to embrace, or at least accept: cell therapy. In 2012, some of the best performing stocks in biotechnology have been in cell therapy. Already, we have crossed a number of barriers. We've seen the first approved product with a cell therapy as a main component: Osiris Therapeutics' (OSIR) Prochymal. Shares of Neuralstem (CUR) have nearly doubled in the last month alone as its cell therapy showed a benefit of motor function in paralysis, a benefit never before reached. StemCells (STEM) has also been a big-time performer following data that its cell therapy restored memory and enhanced synaptic function in Alzheimer's disease. And if that's not enough, Baxter (BAX) recently reached endpoints never before conquered, increasing exercise capacity and reducing angina due to chronic myocardial ischemia. The takeaway: It

The ongoing war against cancer is showing more hope thanks to the hard work of novel pharmaceuticals and the investment money that make it all possible. Although individual intentions are good with caring and diligent employees within these companies, shareholder funding is a necessity to fund the operations and pay the bills, particularly in early-stage companies not yet generating revenue. Shareholders willing to invest their funds in these risky ventures hope their trust is rewarded with significant gains as the companies' pipelines progress through the regulatory process. For the larger revenue-generating companies, shareholder money is also necessary, with the shareholders' tradeoff of more stability offset by less dramatic upside potential versus lesser downside risk. Depending on investor risk tolerance and investment timeframes, companies in varying stages of development can present significant gains. Following are synopses of three companies that are on the frontlines in the battle against cancer. Listed in

The quarterly performance and key developments of a company is what drives the short-term direction of its stock. A company's short-term catalysts can create a boost of excitement and lead to excessive gains for those who invest at the right time. However, for long-term investors, there is often more to the story than the headlines from a quarterly report. A company can often dig a hole so deep that in spite of quarterly performance and a bright future, the company may still fail due to its past. In this article, I am looking at several companies that have shown signs of short-term upside, yet are still left with mounting debt and a troubled balance sheet that must be addressed. Each of these companies could overcome the issues but it will not be done overnight.

Sprint Nextel (S)

The first company has made the S&P 500's 16.5% 2012 gains look frail

The market is an interesting machine, one in which patterns are often repeated but are then realized very quickly. If you are lucky, you can capitalize on patterns or trend several times over, but once the market realizes the trend, it gets smart and the trend ceases to exist. With this in mind, Apple (AAPL) has a history of strong run-ups leading to a big product announcement and then selling on the news. This happened last year with the iPhone 4S and with just about all of Apple's announcements. The market's biggest topic will be how to play the announcement. An investor must consider the possibility that the market has gotten smart; that Apple will rally upward following the announcement and if any other stocks will follow the same trend, and how should investors play it?

Following last year's iPhone 4S announcemen

Vivus' (VVUS) and Arena's (ARNA) approvals of their respective obesity drugs were huge catalysts for investors willing to endure the risks associated with possible FDA rejection or delay. The headlines for these two companies were frontline in many healthcare, pharmaceutical, and investment publications, and illustrated two key points. First, there is a huge area of need with society's changing lifestyle in the U.S. and abroad to help individuals to lose weight and maintain these losses. Secondly, as illustrated above, this area of need can be utilized for investment gains if proper entries and exits are utilized. One of the biggest contributing factors to the obesity epidemic that Vivus' and Arena's drugs hope to address is consumption of calories, which, combined with our more sedentary lifestyle, has largely contributed to the problem. The use of sugar and high fructose corn syrup in society's diet in everything from soft drinks and snacks

In the US, it wasn't too long ago where the only places to find the zero calorie natural sweetener, stevia, was on health food store shelves. That has all changed when bottling behemoths Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP), battling it out for a healthier, non-artificial alternative to sweeten their beverages without losing flavor, entered the stevia market.

Today, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products sweetened with stevia can be found in every supermarket with an ever expanding product line from beverages to sweetener blends for baking. It is important to understand that the global sweetener market is a $56 billion dollar industry comprising of two main segments, 80% caloric (nutritive) with sugar and high fructose corn syrup leading the way, the other 20% are non- caloric (non-nutritive) sweeteners, such as aspartame, Splenda, and stevia. Nutritive sweeteners are expected to grow in-line with yearly population expansion of 1.1%, while non-nutritive sweeteners are

According to an article in The Lancet Oncology, dated May 31, 2012, cancer incidences are predicted to rise 75% by 2030. Mark Ahn, President and CEO of Galena Biopharma, Inc (GALE) stated at the June 20, 2012 Marcum Microcap Conference, "Sadly, as early as you diagnose (breast cancer) and as aggressively as you treat (breast cancer), one in four (patients) will have a recurrence of that same breast cancer. It might happen locally or (as a) visceral disease in other organs like liver cancer, but it will be basically the same breast cancer tumor that will re-grow in 3 years time." The statement is alarming, but there is hope on the horizon. Vaccines, drugs and new forms of treatments are being developed, tested, and manufactured from large healthcare conglomerates like Roche (RHHBY.PK) to small micro companies such as Galena Biopharma, Inc. or Syntax Pharmaceuticals (SNTA). With

Thursday was by most accounts a very balanced trading day that maintained a level of gains, but did not provide anything particularly special. The gains, however, were surprising after weak economic data and a mixed bag with earnings. There were a few "special" stocks that traded considerably higher, by more than 20%, with great news. I am looking at five stocks that traded significantly higher, the news that drove the stocks higher, and how to play what happens next.

Five Below (FIVE) was the big news of the day, after pricing its IPO at the high end of its range ($17), the stock rallied and held gains throughout the day to close at $26.50 with a 55.88% gain. Five Below has a good chance to perform well in the market. Previous IPOs of retailers suggest that it will trade slightly lower in the next few days, but retailers have