Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Investors really didn’t like Larry Summers.

REUTERS

Markets are set to open higher this morning after Summers took his name out of contention to replace Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chief. Dow Jones Industrial Futures have gained 156 points this morning, S&P 500 futures have risen 17.90 points and Nasdaq 100 futures are up 31.75 points. The big gains follow last week’s rise across all benchmarks.

Shares of�Blackstone�(BX) have gained 3.4% to $23.61 in pre-open trading after it was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch.

Huntsman (HUN) has gained 2.5% to $19.75 after the chemical company’s shares were raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) has advanced 1.9% to $44.37 after the pharmaceutical company’s shares were upgraded to Overweight from Neutral by JPMorgan.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Celanese Corporation (CE)

Celanese Corporation, a technology and specialty materials company, engages in manufacture and sale of value-added chemicals, thermoplastic polymers, and other chemical-based products. It operates through four business segments: Advanced Engineered Materials, Consumer Specialties, Industrial Specialties, and Acetyl Intermediates. The Advanced Engineered Materials segment offers specialty polymers for application in automotive, medical, and electronics products, as well as other consumer and industrial applications. The Consumer Specialties segment provides cellulose acetate flake, film, and tow that are primarily used in filter products applications; Sunett, a sweetener; and food protection ingredients, such as sorbates and sorbic acid for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. The Industrial Specialties segment produces emulsions and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) performance polymers. Its emulsions products are used in applications, such as paints and coatings, adhesives, construction, glass fiber, textiles, and paper; and EVA performance polymers are used in flexible packaging films, lamination film products, hot melt adhesives, medical products, automotive, carpeting and photovoltaic cells. The Acetyl Intermediates segment offers acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, acetic anhydride, and acetate esters for use as starting materials for colorants, paints, adhesives, coatings, and medicines. It also provides organic solvents and intermediates for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical products. The company offers its products directly, as well as through distributors and electronic marketplaces in North America, Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and South America. Celanese Corporation was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Celanese (NYSE: CE  ) will have to pony up a significantly higher amount of money for its shareholder payouts. The company has declared a common stock dividend of $0.18 per share, to be paid on August 15 to shareholders of record as of August 5. That amount is exactly double the company's previous distribution of $0.09.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Celanese (NYSE: CE) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.04 per share on revenue of $1.59 billion.

  Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets

• [By Magic Diligence]

  Given this fact, and the fact that consumer electronics (CE) is a cyclical industry, flash supply and demand balance is very tenuous. Frantic production to catch up to demand often leads to dramatic over-supply when the CE market cools off. One needs only to look at SanDisk's financials to see this. The company swung from a $917 dollar operations loss in 2008 to a $1.5 billion dollar profit in 2011, and which was then cut in half to just a $700 million profit the following year!

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Enzymotec Ltd (ENZY)

Enzymotec Ltd., incorporated on March 08, 1998, is engaged in manufacturing of ingredients and medical foods company. Its technologies, research, and clinical validation process enables the Company to develop differentiated solutions across a variety of products. The Company markets its product portfolio primarily to established global consumer companies and target large and growing consumer health and wellness markets. Its clinically validated products include bio-functional lipid-based compounds designed to address dietary needs, medical disorders and common diseases. The Company operates in two segments: Nutrition and VAYA Pharma. In addition to its existing products, the Company has several other products to address additional indications in the development phase. enzyme processes; lipid modification; lipid analysis; and process technology and development.

Nutrition

The Company�� Nutrition segment develops and manufactures nutritional ingredient products based on lipids, such as phospholipids, which form the structural basis of cell membranes and are easily recognized, incorporated and used by the body. Its customer base for this segment includes formula and nutritional supplement companies such as Biostime and IVC. Its two selling nutritional ingredient products are InFat, a clinically-proven fat ingredient for infant formula, and krill oil. Its other products in this segment are targeted at improving brain health and providing benefits in memory, learning abilities and concentration.

VAYA Pharma

VAYA Pharma, develops, manufactures and sells branded, prescription-only medical foods for the dietary management of patients with certain medical conditions or diseases having special, medically determined nutrient requirements. Although medical foods must be safe and effective as demonstrated in human clinical studies, they do not require the same expensive and time consuming regulatory approval process typical of prescription drugs. In addition to! its existing products, it has several other products to address additional indications in the development phase.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Victor Selva]

  Finally, as opposed to what we just discussed, the firm is currently Zacks Rank # 4��ell, and it also has a longer-term recommendation of ��eutral�� A Sell rating indicates that the stock, over the next 1 to 3 months, will perform at an annualized rate of 4.8%, which is not attractive for investors. For investors looking for a Strong Buy Rank, BioLife Solutions, Inc. (BLFS) and Enzymotec Ltd. (ENZY) could be the options.

Top 10 Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Axiall Corp (AXLL)

Axiall Corporation (Axiall), formerly Georgia Gulf Corporation, incorporated on April 16, 1984, is a manufacturer and an international marketer of chlorovinyl and aromatic chemicals and also manufacture and market vinyl-based building and home improvement products. The Company operates in three business segments: Chlorovinyls segment consists of two product groups: Electrovinyls products, which are composed of chlorine, caustic soda, ethylene dichloride (EDC), vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and vinyl resins; and Compound products, which are composed of vinyl compounds, compound additives and plasticizers; Building Products segment consists of two primary product groups: Window and Door Profiles and Mouldings, and Outdoor Building Products, which consists of siding, pipe and pipe fittings and deck, fence and rail products, and Aromatics segment also contains two commodity chemical product groups: cumene; and phenol and acetone. In January 2013, the combined company formed by uniting Georgia Gulf with PPG's former commodity chemicals business is named Axiall Corporation.

Chlorovinyls segment

The chlorovinyls segment consists of an integrated chain of products, which including chlor-alkali and derivative products (chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), vinyl resins, ethylene dichloride, chlorinated solvents, calcium hypochlorite, hydrochloric acid and phosgene derivatives and compound products (vinyl compounds and compound additives and plasticizers). In North America, the Company is one of the producers of VCM, vinyl resins, and vinyl compounds.

During the year ended December 31, 2012, approximately 45%t of its vinyl resins production was sold into the United States and Canadian merchant markets where its vinyl resins were used in a variety of flexible and rigid vinyl end-use applications. During 2012, the largest end-uses of its products were for pipe and pipe fittings, siding, extruded sheet and film and window profiles. Approximately 24% of its pro! duction was sold into the export market, and approximately 31% of its vinyl resins were used internally in the manufacture of its vinyl compounds and vinyl building products. During 2012, the Company used substantially all of its VCM production in the manufacture of vinyl resins in its PVC manufacturing operations. The Company sells all of its caustic soda to customers domestically and overseas in numerous industries, with the pulp and paper, chemical and alumina industries constituting its markets. Other markets for its caustic soda include soap and detergents and the water treatment industries.

Vinyl compounds are highly customized formulations that offer specific end-use properties based on customer-determined manufacturing specifications that enable its customers to utilize them directly in their manufacturing processes to fabricate their finished products. The Company produces flexible and rigid compounds, which are used in many different applications, including wire and cable insulation and jacketing, electrical outlet boxes and pipe fittings, window and furniture profiles and food-grade and general-purpose bottles. It also supplies chlorinated vinyl compounds (CPVC), to the extrusion and injection molding markets, mainly for production of hot water pipe and pipe fittings. The Company produces lubricants, stabilizers, impact modifiers and process aids used in the production of compounds, and which are part of the typical compound formulations. The majority of its additives and plasticizers are consumed internally.

Building Products Segment

The Window and Door Profiles and Mouldings Products have a level of customization based on customer specifications, whereas Outdoor Building Products are based more on industry standards. The Company manufactures and extrude vinyl window profiles, including frames, sashes, trim and other components, as well as vinyl patio door components and fabricated patio doors, which are sold primarily to window and door fabricators. I! ts sales ! are primarily to the custom segment of the vinyl window profile market with the profile design customized to a window fabricator's specific requirements. It manufactures and markets extruded decorative mouldings and millwork. Its decorative trim products are used for interior mouldings, such as crown, base and chair rail. For exterior mouldings, its products are used in applications, such as brick mouldings, and as components used in the fabrication of doors, windows and spas. This product line includes a series of offerings, such as bendable trim and paintable/stainable trim.

The Company�� outdoor building products (OBP) include siding; pipe and pipe fittings; and deck, fence, and rail. It manufactures vinyl siding, and it also offers a range of accessories, including vinyl soffit, aluminum soffit, fascia and trim and molded vent mounts and exterior shutters. These additional product offerings to its existing offerings include rich, dark, color-fast shades, as well as a siding system, which enables siding panels to withstand harsh wind conditions. It manufactures pipe and pipe fittings for the municipal and electrical markets, as well as pipe for plumbing applications. Its municipal pipe and pipe fittings product lines are used in potable water applications, as well as in storm and sewer applications. Its plumbing lines are used in residential and industrial applications to move storm and sanitary wastewater from the building to the municipal sewer at the property line. This product line is focused on at drain, waste and vent applications. Electrical, pipe, conduit and fittings are available in a range of sizes and configurations, to meet the needs of both commercial and residential applications.

The Company manufactures vinyl deck products that are sold by distributors and used primarily by professionally installed market segments. The Company�� deck product lines are positioned as a lower-maintenance alternative to conventional wood products.

Aromatics Seg! ment

The aromatics segment is integrated and consists of cumene and phenol/acetone products. Phenol/acetone products are co-products made from cumene in the same production process. The Company�� aromatic products are primarily commodity based products. It operates cumene plant located in Pasadena, Texas. About 28 % of its cumene was consumed internally, during 2012, to produce phenol and acetone. Cumene is used as an intermediate to make phenol and acetone and specialty chemicals and can be sold as an additive for gasoline blending.

Phenol is sold to a base of customers who are producers of a range of phenolic resins, engineering plastics and specialty chemicals. Phenolic resins are used as adhesives for wood products, such as plywood and Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Engineering plastics are used in compact discs, digital video discs, automobiles, household appliances, electronics and protective coating applications. It also sells phenol for use in insulation, electrical parts, oil additives and chemical intermediates. Acetone is a chemical used primarily in the production of acrylic resins, engineering plastics and industrial solvents. The Company sells the majority of its acetone into the acrylic resins market, where it is used in the manufacture of various plastics and coatings used for signage, automotive parts, household appliances, paints and industrial coatings. Other uses range from solvents for automotive and industrial applications to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Leading and Lagging Sectors
  In trading on Thursday, basic materials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.20 percent. Among the leading sector stocks, gains came from Axiall (NYSE: AXLL), Materion (NYSE: MTRN), Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) and Joy Global (NYSE: JOY).

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Specialty chemicals maker�Axiall� (NYSE: AXLL  ) �announced yesterday its second-quarter dividend of $0.08 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past four quarters after reinstating the payout.

• [By Seth Jayson]

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

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

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Johnson Matthey PLC (JMAT)

Johnson Matthey Plc is a global specialty chemicals company operating in three divisions: Environmental Technologies, Precious Metal Products and Fine Chemicals. Environmental Technologies is a supplier of catalysts and related technologies for applications, such as pollution control, cleaner fuel, hydrocarbons and the hydrogen economy. Precious Metal Products��activities comprise the marketing, distribution, refining and recycling of platinum group metals (pgms), fabrication of products using precious metals and related materials, manufactures pgm and base metal catalysts and pgm chemicals. Fine Chemicals is a supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients, fine chemicals and other specialty chemical products and services to chemical and pharmaceutical industry�� customer supplier of catalysts. In March 2012, Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. acquired U.S. patent 7,851,482 B2 for oxymorphone hydrochloride from the Company. In March 2013, the Company acquired Formox AB. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Atos declined 3.5 percent after an investor cut its stake in the company. Intermediate Capital Group Plc lost 3.5 percent after Numis Securities Ltd. lowered its rating on the money manager. European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. slid 1.2 percent after UBS AG removed it from its recommended list of stocks. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) climbed 3.6 percent after reporting a profit increase in the first half of the year.

• [By Sarah Jones]

  Barclays Plc (BARC) led a selloff by U.K. lenders as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. sold half of its stake in the bank. EasyJet Plc (EZJ) lost 4.1 percent as the carrier reported passenger numbers for May. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) rallied 6.3 percent after posting pretax profit that beat analysts��estimates.

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Barclays Plc (BARC) fell to a one-month low as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. sold a stake in the lender. Fiat SpA lost 6.5 percent as Chrysler Group LLC went in for a vehicle recall. France Telecom SA (FTE) rose after its Orange Business Services unit won a five-year deal to deploy a private network for Heineken NV. Johnson Matthey Plc (JMAT) jumped to its highest price in at least 23 years after posting full-year profit that beat estimates.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Cabot Corp (CBT)

Cabot Corporation (Cabot), incorporated in 1960, is a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company. The Company�� principal products are rubber and specialty grade carbon blacks, fumed metal oxides, inkjet colorants, aerogels and cesium formate drilling fluids. Cabot and its affiliates have manufacturing facilities and operations in the United States and approximately 20 other countries. The Company operates in four business segments: the Core Segment, the Performance Segment, the New Business Segment and the Specialty Fluids Segment. It is organized into three geographic regions: The Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. On January 23, 2012, the Company sold its Supermetals Business to Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd. On August 1, 2012, it acquired Norit.

Core Segment

Carbon black is a form of elemental carbon that is manufactured in a highly controlled process to produce particles and aggregates of varied structure and surface chemistry, resulting in many different performance characteristics for a variety of applications. Its rubber blacks products are used in tires and industrial products. The Company owns, or has a controlling interest in, and operates plants that produce rubber blacks in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands and the United States.

Performance Segment

The Performance Segment consists of two product lines: specialty grades of carbon black and thermoplastic concentrates; and fumed silica, fumed alumina and dispersions thereof. In each product line, it designs, manufactures and sells materials that deliver performance in a range of customer applications across the automotive, construction and infrastructure, and electronics and consumer products sectors. In addition, Cabot manufactures and sources thermoplastic concentrates and compounds that are marketed to the plastics industry. The Company owns, or has a ! controlling interest in, and operates plants that produce specialty grades of carbon black in China, The Netherlands and the United States. Its products are produced in facilities that it owns, or has a controlling interest in, located in Belgium, China and the United Arab Emirates. The Company also owns, or has a controlling interest in, manufacturing plants that produce fumed metal oxides in the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Germany. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011), it closed its masterbatch manufacturing facility in Grigno, Italy.

New Business Segment

The Company�� New Business Segment consists of the Inkjet Colorants, Aerogel, Cabot Superior MicroPowders and Cabot Elastomer Composites Businesses. During fiscal 2011, its Cabot Elastomer Composites Business became part of its New Business Segment. The Company produces and sells aqueous inkjet colorants primarily to the inkjet printing market. Its inkjet colorants are produced for various inkjet printing applications, including small office and home office, corporate office, and commercial and industrial printing, as well as for other applications. Its inkjet colorants are manufactured at its facility in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Cabot�� aerogel is a hydrophobic, silica-based particle with a high surface area that is used in a variety of thermal insulation and specialty chemical applications. In the construction industry, the product is used in insulative composite building products and translucent skylight, window, wall and roof systems for insulating eco-daylighting applications. In the oil and gas industry, aerogel is used to insulate subsea pipelines. In the specialty chemicals industry, the product is used to provide matte finishing, insulating and thickening properties for use in a variety of applications. It manufactures its aerogel products at its facility in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Company manufactures its aerogel products at its facility in F! rankfurt,! Germany. Finished products for use in the oil and gas industry are fabricated at a facility in Billerica, Massachusetts. The principal area of commercial focus for Cabot Superior MicroPowders Business (CSMP) is in developing covert taggants for a range of anti-counterfeiting security applications. Development and manufacturing activities are conducted primarily at its facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Mountain View, California. In addition to the carbon black the Company makes using conventional carbon black manufacturing methods, it has developed elastomer composite products that are compounds of natural latex rubber and carbon black made by a liquid phase process. Its Cabot Elastomer Composites Business (CEC) products are targeted for tire, defense, mining, automotive and aerospace applications. It manufactures CEC products at its facility in Port Dickson, Malaysia.

Specialty Fluids Segment

The Company�� Specialty Fluids Segment produces and markets cesium formate as a drilling and completion fluid for use primarily in high pressure and high temperature oil and gas well construction. It has a mine and a cesium formate manufacturing facility in Manitoba, Canada, as well as fluid blending and reclamation facilities in Aberdeen, Scotland and in Bergen and Kristiansund, Norway.

The Company competes with Aspen Aerogel, Inc.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Cabot (NYSE: CBT  ) has elected not to shift its dividend policy for the time being. The company declared its latest common stock distribution, which is to be $0.20 per share paid on September 13 to shareholders of record as of August 30.�That amount matches each of the firm's previous five distributions, the most recent of which was handed out in the middle of last month. Prior to that, Cabot paid $0.18 per share.

• [By Victor Selva]

  The company has a current ratio of 17.8% which is higher than the industry mean of 6.55%. Also, it's higher than the one registered by Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY), Cabot Corporation (CBT) and Olin Corporation (OLN). For investors looking for a higher ROE, PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) could be the option.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: W. R. Grace & Co (GRA)

W.R. Grace & Co. (Grace), incorporated on August 6, 1997, is engaged in the production and sale of specialty chemicals and specialty materials on a global basis. The Company operates in three segments: Grace Catalysts Technologies; Grace Materials Technologies; and Grace Construction Products. Grace Catalysts Technologies will include catalysts and related technologies used in refining, petrochemical and other chemical manufacturing applications. Grace's Advanced Refining Technologies LLC (ART) joint venture will be managed in this segment. Grace Materials Technologies will include engineered materials, coatings and sealants used in industrial, consumer, pharmaceutical and packaging applications. Grace Construction Products will include specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials used in commercial, infrastructure and residential construction. The Company conducts business in over 40 countries. In July 2012, the Company acquired Rheoset Industria e Comercio de Aditivos Ltda. In November 2012, the Company acquired the assets of Noblestar Catalysts Co., Ltd. In April 2013, it acquired Chemind Construction Products. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of the Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business of The Dow Chemical Company.

Refining Technologies

The Company is engaged in developing and manufacturing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and additives for petroleum refiners. Grace markets hydroprocessing catalysts primarily through ART, its joint venture with Chevron Products Company (Chevron). The Company established ART to combine its technology with that of Chevron and to develop, market and sell hydroprocessing catalysts to customers in the petroleum refining industry worldwide. Grace is a supplier of hydroprocessing catalysts designed for processing these feedstocks. The Company offers products for fixed-bed resid hydrotreating, on-stream catalyst replacement, ebullating-bed resid hydro! cracking and distillate hydrotreating processes. It also offers a full line of catalysts, customized for individual refiners, used in processing ultra-low sulfur content gasoline and diesel fuel, including its SMART Catalyst System and ApART catalyst system.

Grace provides enabling technologies that are silica- and silica-alumina-based functional additives and process aids, such as silica gel, colloidal silica, zeolitic adsorbents, precipitated silica and silica-aluminas, for a range of applications. The Company�� product portfolio includes PERKASIL, LUDOX, PHONOSORB, PHONOSORB MTX, SYLOBEAD, SYLOSIV, CRYOSIV, SAFETYSORB, PoliEdge, SYLODENT, SYLOID FP, SYLOBLANC, ELFADENT, SYLOID, DARACLAR, TriSyl, SHIELDEX, SYLOWHITE, SYLOJET, DURAFILL, LUDOX, DAREX, DARAFORM, DARASEAL, DARABLEND, Sincera, Celox, Apperta, Sistiaga, and SAFETYSORB.

Specialty Technologies

The Company is a provider of catalyst systems and catalyst supports to the polyolefins industry for a variety of polyethylene and polypropylene process technologies. These types of catalysts are used for the manufacture of polyethylene and polypropylene resins used in products such as plastic film, high-performance plastic pipe, automobile parts, household appliances and household containers. Its Magnapore polymerization catalyst is used to produce high performance polyethylene in the slurry loop process for pipe and film applications. Its POLYTRAK polymerization catalyst is used in automobile bumpers and household appliances. The Company's DAVICAT standard and customized catalysts offer a range of chemical and physical properties based on its material science technology for supported catalysts, polystyrene, herbicide, neutriceuticals and on purpose olefins. The Company's RANEY nickel, cobalt and copper hydrogenation and dehydrogenation catalysts are used for the synthesis of organic compounds for the fibers, polyurethanes, engineered plastics, pharmaceuticals, sweeteners and petroleum industries.

Gr! ace Const! ruction Products

Grace Construction Products produces and sells specialty construction chemicals and specialty building materials. It includes construction chemicals including concrete admixtures and fibers used to modify the rheology, improve the durability and enhance various other properties of concrete, mortar, masonry and other cementitious construction materials; and additives used in cement processing to improve energy efficiency in manufacturing, enhance the characteristics of finished cement and improve ease of use, and Building materials used in both new construction and renovation/repair projects. The products protect buildings and civil engineering structures from water, vapor and air penetration. The portfolio includes waterproofing membranes for commercial and residential buildings, specialty grouts for use in waterproofing and soil stabilization applications, air and vapor barriers, and other products to solve the specialized needs of preventative and repair applications.

The Company competes with Albemarle, BASF, Criterion, Haldor Topsoe, Axens, PQ/INEOS, Evonik, UOP, Altana, Waters Corporation, Agilent Technologies, Thermo-Fisher and Sika.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Johanna Bennett]

  Dow Chemical recently agreed to sell its polypropylene licensing and catalysts business to fellow chemicals company W. R. Grace & Co. (GRA) for $500 million.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Tiger Global Management reduced its stake in lots of companies, including specialty chemical company W. R. Grace (NYSE: GRA  ) , which is getting close to emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its last earnings report featured revenue and earnings below the company's own expectations, but that didn't faze Goldman Sachs, which recently upgraded Grace stock to its Conviction Buy list, citing its cash flow and a strengthening construction market.

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Yet the price spike also spurred the development of�alternatives to the metals. Toyota (NYSE: TM  ) , for example, began manufacturing cars with induction motors rather than with those using rare earth magnets, as did General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) , which noted that although they're slightly less efficient, they're also a heckuva lot cheaper to make and buy. General Electric (NYSE: GE  ) began developing wind turbine generators that relied less upon permanent-magnet machines and W.R. Grace (NYSE: GRA  ) offered fluid catalytic cracking catalysts, which oil refiners use to produce gasoline and diesel, that contained�less�lanthanum.�

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company(DD)

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company operates as a science and technology company worldwide. It operates in seven segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Electronics & Communications, Performance Chemicals, Performance Coatings, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, and Pharmaceuticals. The Agriculture & Nutrition segment provides hybrid seed corn and soybean seed, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, value enhanced grains, and soy protein under the Pioneer brand name. The Electronics & Communications segment supplies materials and systems for photovoltaic products, consumer electronics, displays, and advanced printing. The Performance Chemicals segment offers fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers, specialty and industrial chemicals, and white pigments for various markets, such as plastics and coatings, textiles, mining, pulp and paper, water treatment, and healthcare. The Performance Coatings segment supplies high performance liquid and powder coatings for motor vehicle origi nal equipment manufacturers (OEM); the motor vehicle after-market; and general industrial applications, such as such as coatings for heavy equipment, pipes and appliances, and electrical insulation. The Performance Materials segment provides polymers, elastomers, films, parts, and systems and solutions for the automotive OEM and associated after-market industries, as well as electrical, electronics, packaging, construction, oil, photovoltaics, aerospace, chemical processing, and consumer durable goods. The Safety & Protection segment primarily offers nonwovens, aramids, and solid surfaces for the construction, transportation, communications, industrial chemicals, oil and gas, electric utilities, automotive, manufacturing, defense, homeland security, and safety consulting industries. The Pharmaceuticals segment represents its interest in the collaboration relating to Cozaar/Hyzaar antihypertensive drugs. The company was founded in 1802 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Dela ware.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jacob Roche]

  Monsanto (NYSE: MON  ) has been a busy bee lately. In March, Monsanto and DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) settled multiple patent lawsuits against each other, instead agreeing to cross-license some of each other's technology. Last week, Monsanto inked another cross-license deal with Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW  ) , and finally another with Bayer AG this week.

• [By Matt Thalman]

  This past week, eight of the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) 30 components reported earnings: McDonald's, DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) , AT&T, Travelers (NYSE: TRV  ) , United Technologies, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT  ) , Boeing, and 3M (NYSE: MMM  ) .

• [By Jim Jubak]

  E.I. du Pont de Nemours, hereafter DuPont (DD), is a clear case of addition through subtraction.

  After selling its performance coatings unit—which makes paints for cars and other industrial uses—for $4.9 billion in February, and after the planned spin-off of its performance chemicals unit—which makes titanium dioxide pigments used in paint, and paper, Teflon, and fluorochemicals—du Pont will look like a totally different company.

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Balchem Corp (BCPC)

Balchem Corporation incorporated on Jan 30, 1967, is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of specialty performance ingredients and products for the food, nutritional, feed, pharmaceutical and medical sterilization industries. The Company operates in three segments: Specialty Products, Food, Pharma & Nutrition and Animal Nutrition & Health. The Company sells its products through its own sales force, independent distributors and sales agents. The Company operates five wholly owned domestic subsidiaries, such as BCP Ingredients, Inc., Aberco, Inc., Balchem BV, Balchem Trading BV and Balchem Italia Srl.

Food, Pharma & Nutrition

The Food, Pharma & Nutrition (FPN) segment provides microencapsulation solutions to a variety of applications in food, pharmaceutical and nutritional ingredients to enhance performance of nutritional fortification, processing, mixing, and packaging applications and shelf-life. Major product applications are baked goods, refrigerated and frozen dough systems, processed meats, seasoning blends, confections, and nutritional supplements. The Company also markets human grade choline nutrient products through this segment for wellness applications.

Specialty Products

The Company's Specialty Products segment operates in industry as ARC Specialty Products. Ethylene oxide, at the 100% level, is sold as a sterilant gas, primarily for use in the health care industry. It is used to sterilize a wide range of medical devices because of its versatility and effectiveness in treating hard or soft surfaces, composites, metals, tubing and different types of plastics. The Company's 100% ethylene oxide product is distributed in uniquely designed, recyclable, double-walled, stainless steel drums. Contract sterilizers, medical device manufacturers, and medical gas distributors are the Company's principal customers for this product. In addition, the Company also sells single use canisters with 100% ethylene oxide for uses in medical dev! ice sterilization.

The Company markets and sells propylene oxide as a fumigant to aids in the control of insects and microbiological spoilage and to reduce bacterial and mold contamination in shell and processed nut meats (except peanuts), processed spices, cacao beans, cocoa powder, raisins, figs and prunes. The Company distributes its propylene oxide product primarily in recyclable, single-walled, carbon steel cylinders The Company also sells propylene oxide to customers seeking smaller quantities and whose requirements include utilization in various chemical synthesis applications, to make paints more durable and for manufacturing specialty starches and textile coatings.

Animal Nutrition & Health

The Company's Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) segment provides the animal nutrition and health markets with products derived from the Company's microencapsulation, chelation, and basic choline chloride technologies. Commercial sales of REASHURE Choline, a microencapsulated choline, NITROSHURETM, a microencapsulated urea, and NIASHURETM, the Company's microencapsulated niacin for dairy cows, boosts health and milk production in transition and lactating dairy cows, delivering nutrient supplements that survive the rumen and are biologically available, providing required nutritional levels. The Company's AMINOSHURE-L product, a rumen-protected lysine for use in dairy rations, gives nutritionists and dairy producers a precise and consistent source of rumen-protected lysine. The Company also markets chelated mineral supplements for uses in animal feed throughout the world. ANH also manufactures and supplies basic choline chloride, an essential nutrient for animal health, predominantly to the poultry and swine industries. The ANH segment also includes choline and certain derivatives manufactured and sold into various industrial applications, predominately as a component for hydraulic fracturing of shale natural gas wells, and methylamines which are a primary building block fo! r the man! ufacture of choline products and are also used in a wide range of industrial applications.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Lisa Levin]

  Balchem (NASDAQ: BCPC) surged 13.56% to $59.19. The volume of Balchem shares traded 499% higher than normal. Balchem announced its plans to aquire SensoryEffects for $567 million.

• [By John Udovich]

  Small cap ingredients stock Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ: BCPC) jumped 22.76% yesterday on news about an acquisition, meaning its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with potential peers like small cap MGP Ingredients Inc (NASDAQ: MGPI) and the PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEARCA: PBJ).

Best Chemical Stocks To Invest In Right Now: BioAmber Inc (BIOA)

BioAmber Inc. (BioAmber), incorporated on October 15, 2008, is a chemical company. The Company manufactures its bio-succinic acid in a facility using a commercial scale 350,000 liter fermenter in Pomacle, France. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company produced 487,000 pounds, or 221 metric tons, of bio-succinic acid at this facility. Succinic acid is used to manufacture a range of products used every day, including plastics, food additives and personal care products, and can also be used as a building block for a range of derivative chemicals. The Company produces and sells bio-succinic acid using its process for petroleum-derived succinic acid. It also has additional bio-based products under development with partners including bio-succinic acid derivatives, such as BDO, and applications of bio-succinic acid, such as plasticizers, polyurethanes and de-icing solutions. During 2011, the Company created a wholly owned subsidiary, BioAmber International, S.a.r.l.

The Company develops bio-succinic acid for a range of markets, such as personal care products and food additives, plasticizers, polyurethanes, resins and coatings. The applications for bio-succinic acid include plasticizers, polyurethanes, personal care products, de-icing solutions, resins and coatings, food additives, lubricants and other products. Plasticizers are organic esters that are primarily used to make flexible polyvinyl chloride. Adipic acid is used in polyester polyols, which are used to make polyurethanes. Polyurethanes are used in, among other things, soles for footwear, molded foams for automotive applications, such as car seats and arm rests, and non-foam applications such as coatings, adhesives and sealants. Other applications of bio-succinic acid that are developed and tested by potential customers, which include anti-freeze solutions, solvents, water treatment chemicals and effervescence agents such laundry tablets and bath salts.

The Company competes with Gadiv Petrochemical Industries ! Ltd., Mitsubishi Chemical, DSM, Anqing Hexing Chemical Co Ltd, Anhui Sunsing Chemicals Co., Ltd., Genomatica, Inc., Myriant Corporation and Roquette Freres S.A.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Matt Jarzemsky]

  Out of the 2013 vintage, some of the best performers so far this year have been early-stage healthcare firms like BioAmber Inc.(BIOA), up 86% year-to-date through Thursday, and Kindred Biosciences Inc.(KIN), up 82%. A number of high-flying tech startups have also continued to soar. Cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc.(FEYE) has gained 67% since the start of the year. Online coupon company RetailMeNot Inc.(SALE) is up 48%.