Out Fox The $treet

Last week, both Rocket Fuel ( NASDAQ: FUEL     ) and Millennial Media ( NYSE: MM     ) confirmed that the fourth quarter was a strong period for programmatic digital ads. While Millennial Media suggested the automotive sector might have pulled some revenue forward to the fourth quarter from the start of 2014, the general indication is that digital ads will increasingly move to programmatic platforms due to growing complexity. Read the full article here. Disclosure: Long FUEL and MM. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After large gains following a successful IPO, it is typical for the company to do a follow-on offering allowing for pre-IPO shareholders to cash out. While this may appear to be the insiders cashing out at the top, the reality is that the top stocks doing these secondary offerings tend to move even higher. Recent hot stock Rocket Fuel ( NASDAQ: FUEL     ) announced plans to sell at least 5 million shares following the release of preliminary fourth-quarter 2013 earnings. The company provides a leading programmable advertising solution based on artificial intelligence, or AI. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long FUEL. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After the announcement of the acquisition of Jumptap back in early August, Millennial Media ( NYSE: MM     ) plunged. The independent leader in mobile advertising was unable to satisfy analysts concerned about organic growth, but should that matter to an investor? The primary reason for the purchase of Jumptap is that the company supposedly spent the last few years building a mobile platform the exact opposite of Millennial Media. In fact, Jumptap focused on a programmatic buying network that recently fueled the strong IPO of Rocket Fuel ( NASDAQ: FUEL     ) . With programmatic buying seeing such strong growth, should investors care whether the growth was bought or built? Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long MM and FUEL. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Small-Cap Insight  Even after a very successful IPO in the ad tech sector in Rocket Fuel ( FUEL ) , the rest of the sector continues to languish below original IPO price ranges. This includes a wide variety of stocks from mobile to video ad networks and now a revenue acquisition management (RAM) leader. In the case of Marin Software ( MRIN ) , the company might fit better in the Software-as-a-service (SAAS) category, though it definitely trades like an ad tech stock. Marin Software provides a leading RAM platform used by advertisers and agencies to manage more than $5 billion in annualized ad spend. The platform allows advertisers to measure, manage, and optimize their digital advertising investments across search, display, social, and mobile channels. Basically it allows marketers to execute the full spectrum of ad spend within one platform that eliminates the complexities of the digital ad world and saves the advertiser time and improves the ad effectiveness. Th...

It's rare to see a technology company, much less one involved in advertising, to so predominantly display a focus on scientists. In the case of  Rocket Fuel ( NASDAQ: FUEL     )  , the ad tech firm that recently had a spectacular IPO focuses on using artificial intelligence, or AI, and big data to drive predictive modeling and automated decision-making. In essence, the company believes that sophisticated machines can optimize business outcomes for advertisers as the digital world moves at the speed of light. The company focuses on programmatic buying via real-time bidding, or RTB. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long FUEL. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After an ad tech IPO opened up over 100%, will the other recent ad tech IPOs now rocket higher? Last week, the developer of an automated decision-making platform focused on digital advertising named Rocket Fuel ( NASDAQ: FUEL     ) had a fantastic day, suggesting that other ad tech stocks could finally perk up. Prior to this IPO surge, the whole sector had been seen as a major failure with disappointing offerings over and over. Rocket Fuel was probably the catalyst for recent surges in sector stocks of Tremor Video ( NYSE: TRMR     ) and Marin Software ( NYSE: MRIN     ) . Both stocks have traded horribly since recent IPOs, but the huge rally by Rocket Fuel might signal a major shift in sentiment in the sector. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long FUEL and MRIN. Please read the disclaimer page for more details.