Perceptron (PRCP) and CAI Int'l (CAP)

Perceptron, Inc. (PRCP - Snapshot Report) had a pretty eventful day. Not only was the company featured as the Aggressive Growth Stock of the Day, but it also finished off Wednesday as the Top Performing Zacks #1 Rank stock.

Shares gained 7.13% today, which was a full percentage point better than the next top performer.

Perceptron develops, produces and sells non-contract measurement and inspection solutions for industrial and commercial applications. It is 1 of only 2 companies from the Electronic Measuring Instruments industry on today's Zacks #1 Rank List. The other name from the group is Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. (NVMI - Snapshot Report).

Last week, the company announced fiscal third-quarter earnings per share of 7 cents, which was 600% better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate at only a penny profit. The result reversed a year-ago loss and marked the fourth straight quarter with a positive surprise. Sales for the period came in at $14.1 million, up from $13.5 million.

The past 7 days have seen some sharp advances to earnings estimates for PRCP, though it should be noted that there is only 1 estimate for the company at the moment. Still, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for this fiscal year, ending June 2011, is 18 cents per share, which is up 50% in a week.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next fiscal year, ending June 2012, is currently up 33.3% year over year to 24 cents per share. That guidance has advanced by 20% over the past 7 days.

There are a lot of cool things that can happen when a brokerage firm upgrades a stock. For CAI International, Inc. (CAP - Snapshot Report) on Wednesday, an enhancement to "Outperform" meant that this intermodal freight container company finished toward the front of the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List.

Shares moved higher by approximately nearly 6% during the session. In addition to its Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), Zacks already had CAP at "Outperform" before today's upgrade.

While today's news is nice, what we really like to see is that CAI Int'l's earnings estimates made a sharp move higher following its first-quarter report in late April. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year is currently $2.34 per share, which is up 12.5% in the past 30 days.

There have been 5 upward revisions for 2011 in the past month out of 7 total estimates, which is pretty solid agreement among analysts.

As for 2012, the trajectory of expectations is the same as this year, but the extent is a bit muted. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year is $2.71 right now, which is up 2.7% in 30 days on only 1 upward revision out of 7 total estimates.

Nonetheless, analysts do currently expect next year's profit to advance by nearly 16% from this year.

In its first quarter, earnings per share of 47 cents matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Total revenue surged by more than 80% to $27.7 million from $15.2 million a year earlier.

The company said it is optimistic about overall container demand in 2011, and expects equipment on lease to increase during the second quarter.

CAI International is one of the world's leading managers and lessors of intermodal freight containers. It is 1 of 3 companies from the Transportation – Equipment & Leasing industry on today's Zacks #1 Rank List. The other 2 names are Aircastle Ltd. (AYR - Snapshot Report) and Trinity Industries, Inc. (TRN - Snapshot Report).

Read the full analyst report on NVMI

Read the full analyst report on PRCP

Read the full analyst report on TRN

Read the full analyst report on AYR

Read the full analyst report on CAP