10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now

Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), a mid cap marketer and distributor of energy drinks and alternative beverages, has been a monster of a performer since the end of the financial crisis as the stock is up around 308% over the past five years, but could new or overlooked players like small cap beverage stocks�Jones Soda Co (OTCMKTS: JSDA), Celsius Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: CELH) and Konared Corp (OTCBB: KRED) repeat that performance? A look strictly at the long term performance of all three small caps might have you thinking otherwise. After all, none of these small cap beverage stocks are profitable while�the beverage industry can be a long hard expensive slog just to increase market share by one or two points when you are competing for shelf space with industry giants like Pepsi and Coke. But past performance is just that���the past and only part of the story as there is much more to consider about these small cap beverage stocks which could also make them potential acquisition targets by larger beverage players seeking to expand their product line up with innovative products:

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Panera Bread Company(PNRA)

Panera Bread Company, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and franchises retail bakery-cafes in the United States and Canada. Its bakery-cafes offer fresh baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads, custom roasted coffees, and other complementary products, as well as provide catering services. The company also manufactures and supplies dough and other products to company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes. As of March 29, 2011, it owned and franchised 1,467 bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co., and Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Steve Symington]

  And for those of you keeping track, that 5.5% growth also shows a marked improvement over the last quarter's paltry 1% comparable restaurant sales increase, and even beats the pants off of Panera Bread Company's (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) respectable 3.3% comp-sales growth in Q1.

• [By Michael Lewis]

  Not alone
  Chipotle and Noodles are just two examples of the QSR craze. Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA  ) trades at 23 times forward earnings. While not as unreasonably priced as the other two, it's still got a hefty price tag for a company that has already gone through its biggest growth phase.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Hot Topic Inc.(HOTT)

Hot Topic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mall- and Web-based specialty retailer in the United States. The company operates Hot Topic and Torrid store concepts, as well as an e-space music discovery concept, ShockHound. Its Hot Topic stores sell music/pop culture-licensed merchandise, including tee shirts, hats, posters, stickers, patches, postcards, books, novelty accessories, CDs, and DVDs; and music/pop culture-influenced merchandise comprising women?s and men?s apparel and accessories, such as woven and knit tops, skirts, pants, shorts, jackets, shoes, costume jewelry, body jewelry, sunglasses, cosmetics, leather accessories, and gift items for young men and women primarily between the ages of 12 and 22. The company?s Torrid stores sells casual and dressy jeans and pants, fashion and novelty tops, sweaters, skirts, jackets, dresses, hosiery, shoes, intimate apparel, and fashion accessories for various lifestyles for plus-size females primarily betw een the ages of 15 and 29. As of July 30, 2011, it operated 636 Hot Topic stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada; 145 Torrid stores; and Internet stores, hottopic.com and torrid.com. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in City of Industry, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marshall Hargrave]

  In May True Religion (TRGL) announced a buyout offer from TowerBrook Capital for $826 million. Also in May, Rue21 decided to sell itself to Apax Partners for $2.2 billion. Before that, in March, Hot Topic (HOTT) announced that Sycamore Partners was buying out it out for $600 million.

Best New Companies To Invest In Right Now: FuelCell Energy Inc.(FCEL)

FuelCell Energy, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacturing, and sale of high temperature fuel cells for clean electric power generation primarily in South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The company offers proprietary carbonate Direct FuelCell Power Plants that electrochemically produce electricity from hydrocarbon fuels, such as natural gas and biogas. Its fuel cells operate on a range of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas, renewable biogas, propane, methanol, coal gas, and coal mine methane. The company also develops carbonate fuel cells, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology, and other fuel cell technologies. It provides its products to universities; manufacturers; mission critical institutions, such as correction facilities and government installations; hotels; and natural gas letdown stations, as well as to customers who use renewable biogas for fuel, including municipal water treatment facilities, br eweries, and food processors. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Burrows]

  Like fellow fuel-cell stocks Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) and FuelCell Energy (FCEL), PLUG stock trades wildly from headline to headline. The volatility alone makes Plug Power too risky because it’s far too easy to buy high.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Fuel-cell stocks have run out of juice today after Citron Research panned Plug Power (PLUG) in a note today and FuelCell Energy (FCEL) reported earnings.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited(CNR)

China Metro-Rural Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the development and operation of agricultural logistics and trade centers in northeast China. It also involves in purchasing, processing, assembling, merchandising, and distributing pearls and jewelry products. The company markets its pearls and jewelry products to wholesale distributors and mass merchandisers in Europe, the United States, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia. In addition, it develops, sells, and leases residential and commercial properties in Hong Kong and the People?s Republic of China. The company is based in Tsimshatsui, Hong Kong.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Katie Brennan]

  Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) added 0.9 percent to C$104.93 and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. rose 1.7 percent to C$131.73.

  Niko Resources surged 3.4 percent to $8.64 after the company entered an agreement for a $60 million loan that will be funded by a group of institutional investors. Net proceeds from the loan will be used to fund working capital requirements.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: InterDigital Inc.(IDCC)

Interdigital, Inc. engages in the design and development of digital wireless technology solutions. The company offers technology solutions for use in digital cellular and wireless products and networks, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. It holds patents related to the fundamental technologies that enable wireless communications. The company licenses its patents to equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular and IEEE 802-related products; and licenses or sells mobile broadband modem solutions, including modem IP, know-how, and reference platforms to mobile device manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and other equipment producers that manufacture, use, and sell digital cellular products. InterDigital?s solutions are incorporated in various products comprising mobile devices, such as cellular phones, tablets, notebook computers, and wireless personal digital assistants; wireless infrastructure equipment, such as base stations; and components, dongles, and modules for wireless devices. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  When traders think of an IP (intellectual property) company, they tend to conjure up names like InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC), VirnetX Holding Corporation (NYSEMKT:VHC), or of course, the well-known Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNG). And, investors see these patent-enforcement names as such for good reason.... between VRNG, IDCC, and VHC, the three organizations own well over 20,000 technology patents, and their efforts to enforce them have been well-documented, and well publicized. Thing is, as the patent-protection industry matures, companies like Vringo, InterDigital, or VirnetX Holding may well find that it's the quality of the patent portfolio rather than the quantity of patents that makes an IP owner a potent investment. Enter Endeavor IP Inc. (OTCBB:ENIP).

• [By Lauren Pollock]

  Wireless digital company Interdigital Inc.(IDCC) lost its patent-infringement case against a group of companies, including Nokia Oyj and Huawei Technologies Co., Bloomberg News reported. Shares dropped 11% to $28.50 premarket.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Petroquest Energy Inc(PQ)

PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of oil and gas properties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, as well as onshore and in the shallow waters offshore the Gulf Coast Basin. As of December 31, 2009, the company had estimated proved reserves of 1,931 thousand barrels of oil and 167,361 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. It owned working interests in 9 net producing oil wells and 277 net producing gas wells. PetroQuest Energy was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  PetroQuest Energy Inc. (NYSE: PQ) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan.

  Rubicon Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RBCN) was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: OCZ Technology Group Inc(OCZ)

OCZ Technology Group, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes computer components for computing devices and systems worldwide. It primarily offers solid state drives, flash memory storage, memory modules, thermal management solutions, AC/DC switching power supply units, and computer gaming solutions. The company?s products are used in industrial equipment and computer systems; computer and computer gaming solutions; mission critical servers and high end workstations; personal computer (PC) upgrades to extend the useable life of existing PCs; high performance computing and scientific computing; video and music editing; home theatre PCs and digital home convergence products; and digital photography and digital image manipulation computers. OCZ Technology Group, Inc. offers its products to retailers, on-line retailers, original equipment manufacturers, systems integrators, and distributors. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, Califo rnia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  The not-so-great and wonderful OCZ
  There was no company-specific news that caused solid-state-drive maker OCZ Technology (NASDAQ: OCZ  ) to fall almost 8% Wednesday. But an article that appeared on Seeking Alpha �questioning whether the company had six months or less to live before it filed for bankruptcy seemed to coincide with its fall.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: OmniVision Technologies Inc.(OVTI)

OmniVision Technologies, Inc. designs, develops, and markets semiconductor image-sensor devices. The company offers CameraChip image sensors, which are single-chip solutions that integrate various functions, such as image capture, image processing, color processing, signal conversion, and output of a processed image or video stream for use in various consumer and commercial mass-market applications; and CameraCube imaging devices that are image sensors with integrated wafer-level optics. It also provides companion chips used to connect its image sensors to various interfaces, including the universal serial bus and other industry standard interfaces; and companion digital signal processors that perform compression in standardized still photo and digital video formats. In addition, the company designs and develops software drivers for Linux, Mac OS, and Microsoft Windows, as well as for embedded operating systems, such as Blackberry OS, Palm OS, Symbian, Windows CE, Windows Embedded, and Windows Mobile. Its products are used in mobile phones, notebooks, Webcams, digital still and video cameras, commercial and security and surveillance, and automotive and medical applications, as well as in entertainment devices. The company sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers and value added resellers, as well as indirectly through distributors worldwide. OmniVision Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of image sensor specialist OmniVision Technologies (NASDAQ: OVTI  ) spiked 19% today after its quarterly results and outlook topped Wall Street expectations.

• [By John Kell]

  OmniVision Technologies Inc.'s(OVTI) fiscal third-quarter profit rose 43%, boosted by a one-time benefit related to the initial public offering of the company’s equity investee China WLCSP Ltd. Shares rose 15% to $18.60 premarket.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Rackspace Hosting Inc(RAX)

Rackspace Hosting, Inc. operates in the hosting and cloud computing industry. It provides information technology (IT) as a service, managing Web-based IT systems for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises worldwide. The company?s service suite includes dedicated hosting comprising customer management portal and other management tools that manage data center, network, hardware devices, and operating system software; and cloud computing that enables customers to provide and manage a pool of computing resources, as well as delivery of computing resources to business when they need them. It offers cloud servers, cloud files, and cloud sites, as well as cloud applications, such as email, collaboration, and file back-ups; and hybrid hosting that provides a combination of dedicated hosting and cloud computing services. The company also offers customer support services. It sells its service suite through direct sales teams, third-party channel partners, an d online ordering. The company was formerly known as Rackspace.com, Inc. and changed its name to Rackspace Hosting, Inc. in June 2008. Rackspace Hosting, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Beyers]

  Real money was on the line then as it is now, which means any one of the five stocks you see below could ruin my investment strategy. None has fit that description more in recent weeks than Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX  ) . The stock recently set a new 52-week low amid concerns over intensifying competition.

10 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(ACHN)

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of treatments for infectious diseases. The company focuses on the development of antivirals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C; and the development of antibacterials for the treatment of resistant bacterial infections. Its drug candidates for the treatment of chronic HCV include ACH-1625, a protease inhibitor, which is in phase IIa clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV; ACH-2684, a pangenotypic protease inhibitor, which is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of chronic HCV infection; and NS5A inhibitors for the treatment of chronic HCV infection, including ACH-2928, which is to enter a phase I clinical trial, as well as various additional NS5A inhibitors in preclinical development. Its pipeline of product candidates also includes ACH-702 and ACH-2881 for drug resistant bacterial infections; elvucitabine for HIV infection; and AC H-1095 for HCV infection. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in New Haven, Connecticut.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  An under-$10 biotechnology player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN), discovers, develops and commercializes anti-infective drug therapies in the U.S. and internationally. This stock has been destroyed by the sellers so far in 2013, with shares down big by 66%.

  If you take a look at the chart for Achillion Pharmaceuticals, you'll notice that this stock has been trending sideways for the last month and change, with shares moving between $2.26 on the downside and $2.98 on the upside. This sideways trading pattern is occurring after shares of ACHN gapped down sharply in late September from $7.50 to under $3 with heavy downside volume. Shares of ACHN are now starting to trend higher and move within range of triggering a big breakout trade above the upper-end of its sideways trading chart pattern.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ACHN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.85 to $2.98 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 2.76 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ACHN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its gap down day high from September at $3.62 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give ACHN a chance to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone that started at $7.50 a share.

  Traders can look to buy ACHN off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support levels at $2.44 to $2.26 a share. One can also buy ACHN off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

• [By Jon C. Ogg]

  Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) is getting destroyed on poor hep-C test results, and shares are down about 50%. Bank of America�Merrill Lynch downgraded it to Underperform from Buy after the news.

• [By Keith Speights]

  Liver quivers
  Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACHN  ) ranks as the top drop of the week. Shares plunged 24% on news that the Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold on experimental hepatitis C drug�sovaprevir.

• [By Dan Carroll]

  Few biotechs were hit as hard as Achillion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACHN  ) this week, however. Achillion makes up around 2% of the weight of the SPDR Biotech ETF, and its 7.5% loss this week was a major reason for the fund's fall. This stock has failed to capitalize on the markets' surge this year, losing 10% year-to-date. The company only recently named a new CEO, lifting its former R&D head and chief science officer to the top job. Achillion's still in the developmental stage of its life and thus produces no revenue, and the company's cash burn makes it seem likely that more share dilution is on its way as the company looks to advance its hepatitis-C pipeline over the coming years. Until Achillion produces some meaningful results from that pipeline, this stock will remain a risky play in an already risky space.