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Bear of the Day: Autoweb (AUTO)

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A name change can be good, if you’re changing direction, looking for a rebirth of some kind. But if you’re just changing names to try and shake an image and don’t make the changes to support it, then a rose by any other name…well you know how it goes. Now that I’ve managed to squeeze a Shakespearean reference in here, lets talk about this star-crossed Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). The company formerly known as Autobytel, Autoweb .

AutoWeb, Inc. operates as an automotive marketing services company in the United States. It assists automotive retail dealers and manufacturers to market and sell new and used vehicles to consumers through its programs. The company's products include new vehicle lead program, which allows consumers to submit requests for pricing and availability of specific makes and models; and used vehicle lead program, as well as finance leads program, which provides vehicle financing and other services from dealers or financial institutions. It owns and operates an automotive Website, Autobytel.com that offers consumers the information and tools to aid them with their automotive purchase decisions; and an automotive search engine that enables manufactures and dealers to optimize advertising campaigns. 

The reason for the harsh Zacks Rank is the recent string of bearish estimate revisions following the last earnings reports. For the current year, two analysts have cut their earnings estimates. The bearish moves have dropped our Zacks Consensus Estimate from 95 cents down to 25 cents. The current quarter number has come down from 17 cents to zero. That sort of contraction is not what you want to see when you’re investing for the long run.

Investors looking for other stocks within the auto industry should check out Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks General Motors (GM - Free Report) or PACCAR (PCAR - Free Report) .

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