Tuesday - October 5, 2004
 Want to view the archive of past issues? Go here. Get Profit from the Pros content in Real Time. Learn more about this free tool at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1452. Manage Profit from the Pros subscription: 1. FEATURED EXPERTS Here we cast the spotlight on a timely Featured Expert commentary that recently appeared on Zacks.com. Following the article you will find previews of other profitable commentaries with insights and recommendations from leading investment experts.
Everybody loves a winner, and nowhere is that truer than Wall Street — one of the few places where higher prices tend to boost demand. Since 1990, buying a diversified basket of stocks that have outperformed over the past six and 12 months has been a winning, though volatile, strategy. Even when share price momentum is working on average, many high-fliers see their stocks crushed. To keep the odds in your favor, don’t chase stocks based purely on share-price momentum. Instead, look for confirmation from fundamental factors. Check if earnings-estimate trends and operating results are corroborating the stock’s price action, and make sure the stock’s valuation leaves room for further advancement. Amerigroup ($56; NYSE: AGP), a provider of managed health-care services to Medicaid recipients, experienced strong membership growth of 10% in the June quarter, with total members above 900,000 for the first time. Profit margins are benefiting from improved efficiency in claims processing and at call centers. With price increases coming in at the high end of a projected 3% to 5% range, the company expects revenue growth of 10% to 12% in 2004. Per-share earnings have surprised on the upside the last two quarters, with the June period marking the 25th consecutive quarter of profitability. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Improving market conditions have benefited Investors Financial Services ($45; NASDAQ: IFIN ), a provider of custody, transfer agency, and administrative services for mutual funds, investment advisors, banks, and insurance companies. In the March and June quarters, the company added $19 billion in assets from new and existing clients and $128 billion from market movements and fund flows — bringing total assets under administration to $1.2 trillion. In July, higher revenues and tight expense management prompted the company to raise 2004 per-share earnings guidance to $2.00 to $2.05, up from $1.90 to $1.95. Consensus estimates project per-share earnings of $2.45 for 2005, up from $2.36 three months ago. Profit growth is expected at 38% this year and nearly 20% next year. The stock earns strong Quadrix scores — 94 Overall, with 99 in Quality, 81 in Performance, 89 in Momentum, and 84 in Earnings Estimates. At 21 times expected 2004 per- share earnings, the stock trades toward the low end of its five- year valuation range. The stock is a Best Buy. G Financial($38; NYSE: RGF ), the second-largest originator of mortgages on single-family residences in Puerto Rico, is benefiting from growing loan demand in its primary markets of Puerto Rico and Florida. Despite a changing interest-rate environment, Puerto Rico is experiencing a home construction boom, and the housing market in Florida remains solid. The company maintains a low credit-risk lending profile. Consensus earnings estimates for 2004 and 2005 have risen sharply over the last year, with projected growth rates at 28% for this year and 14% for next year. The stock has steadily outperformed the market for the last 12 months. The stock boasts outstanding Quadrix scores — 95 Overall, with 98 in Quality, 97 in Earnings Estimates, and 95 in Performance. At 13 times expected 2004 per- share earnings of $2.87, the stock trades at a slight discount to its peers. R&G remains a Best Buy. Hello, I`m Richard Moroney, Editor of Upside and creator of the Quadrix Stock Rating System. In February 1999, I began using Quadrix to serve as a first screen to identify stocks with winning potential. Over the past few years, this system has proven to work significantly well with smaller stocks and has proceeded to gain 240.1% while the Russell 2000 Index gained only 36.3%. Learn more about this newsletter and free trial offer at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=32. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - With the first presidential debates tonight, the markets could
see any number of possibilities. Tim Murray keeps his investors
informed throughout the day with invaluable market advice and
tops stock recommendations. More... c) Should I Wait Until After The Elections? Whether to wait until after the elections is question of the
day. Charles Carlson takes time to discuss why waiting may not
be the best idea is to focus on stocks and not politics. More... d) Oil`s Interesting Relationships with Transportation and Airline Stocks Price Headley reviews the impact of the oil markets on
transportation and airline stocks. Let him help you unlock this
puzzle in a profitable manner. More... e) Locking in ``Mini-Mania`` Gains In the post-bubble environment, investors need to be more agile
as opposed to buying and holding. Gregory Spear picks stocks to
take advantage of “mini-manias” in the security space and offers
some top picks. More... f) Shuffle Up and Deal yourself this Casino Stock Investing in gaming stocks may not be as much a gamble as in
years past. Ian Wyatt looks into the industry and points to one
clear winner. More... Featured Expert articles are courtesy of the 60+ leading investment newsletters that have partnered with us to create the Zacks Expert Advice service. Check out the Experts section of Zacks.com daily to find profitable stock picks and timely market commentary at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1340.
2. WEEKLY COMMENTARY: All Star Top Picks Zacks.com offers 3 unique weekly commentaries that all further
our mission to help you Profit from the Pros. Today we will
uncover the current top picks of 5 Star analysts in a hot sector
(aka All Star Top Picks). Why? First, it makes sense to tap into
industries that have potential to outperform the market. Second,
within that sector you want to be on board the stocks with the
best prospects. To help us uncover these top picks we employ the
keen insights of 5-Star analysts. Who are they? Check out the
"About Zacks All Star Analyst Survey" section below. This week we explore the Cable & Entertainment Industry It’s been a long time since my parents put this huge antenna on their roof and paid a monthly fee for a premium commercial-free movie channel. That channel seemed to repeat the same movies way too often and it wasn’t even on the air 24 hours a day. A few years later, not to be outdone, my neighbors put up this huge dish that took up half of the back yard. It also seemed to pick up every broadcast imaginable, most of which were in languages I couldn’t understand, but it was a glimpse of things to come. The strangest thing was to think that television would morph from a free service, paid for by advertisers, to a service that most households would pay for. But the desire for more programming choices has driven more and more Americans to either cable or satellite services. These companies are not only providing premium television programming and unbelievable HD reception, but also high speed Internet service, which is also growing in popularity. With continued advances in technology and demand, the cable and entertainment industry is flourishing. It has also opened the door to companies that provide premium programming, on-demand movies and digital recording services. What’s next, paying for commercial free music? Yep, that’s also already here and doing well. Currently, the cable and entertainment industry has a Zacks Industry Rank of 2.95, according to Nick Raich’s “Weekly Earnings and Sector Update” , which places it 85th out of more than 200 industries. There are several key factors affecting this industry including; retention marketing costs, price wars between high speed Internet providers, conversion to High Definition reception, advertising dollar levels and increasing station costs. The pace of clients moving from standard free TV reception to cable or satellite has begun to slow. However, cable and satellite operators worldwide are counting on the increasing demand for broadband Internet access to be a major growth driver. Currently, cable companies are running ahead of the digital subscriber line (DSL) services offered by both incumbent local phone companies and a host of telecom startups. Satellite broadband delivery, though promising for rural areas inaccessible by other means, has not yet provided serious competition for cable or DSL providers. When the cable company, the phone company, and satellite providers go head-to-head to provide broadband Internet access and pay TV programming, the consumer is likely to benefit. As stated above, demand for high speed Internet, HD television broadcasts and better programming choices are driving customers through the doors. The problem might be how to retain them going forward. A similar situation occurred in the cellular telecommunications industry. Special offers get people to start the service, but switching services can be just as easy. This causes higher retention costs and price wars which could hurt several players. For right now though, many of the companies being recommended by the All Stars have excellent growth rates and look to be solid investments. The answers to these questions are found in the remainder of this All Star Top Picks article at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1451. To see the full All Star Survey with access to all ratings, research and stock picks, then visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=12. These are the best stock picks from the best stock pickers in the business. This portfolio only includes stocks recommended by five or more of the 5-Star analysts based on stock picking performance. In 2003 it gained 46.6% nearly doubling the performance of the S&P 500. See the full portfolio at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=13. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stock-Picking vs. Trend-Picking The Experts weigh in on why trend-picking is difficult in any
market, let alone this one. Discover two stocks with multiple
recommendations. More... Kevin Matras shares 3 screening strategies that use Price and
Volume to generate profits and cut losses. Discover these
strategies and 9 stocks currently making the grade. More... 3. BEST OF ZACKS INDEPENDENT RESEARCH The analysts from Zacks Independent Research create a mountain of insightful equity research everyday of the week. Here you will find the best of that information recently published on Zacks.com. BULL OF THE DAY BASF (BF) - Better demand conditions Solectron Corp. (SLR) - Disappointing quarterly revenues Banks Must Find Ways to Generate Growth Medical Products - Positive A Stronger Dollar May Hurt Third Quarter Numbers 4. TRADING STRATEGIES: Zacks #1 and #5 Additions Zacks.com is proud to share with you some of the best trading
strategies that truly allow you to Profit from the Pros. Today
we highlight… Zacks Rank #1 and #5 Additions The Zacks Rank is a powerful stock indicator whose #1 Strong Buys stocks have risen +33.1% on average annual return since 1988 vs. +12.0% for S&P 500. And just as important it tells you which stocks to sell now (Zacks #5). Since 1988 the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Ranked Strong Sells by 141.8% annually (11.97% vs. 4.95% respectively). Learn more about the Zacks Rank following this section. Below you will find all the stocks added to the Zacks #1 and #5 Ranked lists this week.
More. . .
Zacks #1 Rank List continued...
To see the full list of Zacks #1 Ranked stocks (approx. 200 stocks), then click here. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Zacks #5 Ranked List: 63 New Additions (alpha by ticker)
More. . .
Zacks #5 Rank List continued...
To see the full list of Zacks #5 Ranked stocks (approx. 200 stocks), then click here. 5. OPTIONS CENTER Zacks has partnered with the leading options experts, Schaeffer’s Investment Research, to provide you the best options commentary, research and trading tools on the market today. Read below more on Schaeffer’s Tools to Profit with Options. How does your option measure up? How is the option crowd playing the market? Take a daily look at Schaeffer’s Investment Research’s Largest Price Increases Filter provided FREE, here on Zacks.com. Discover your option’s performance day to day in relation to the market. This list, updated daily, features options that saw an unusual increase in the price of either a call and/or put activity during the session. A session’s hefty changes in options volume pricing can illustrate the view of the speculative crowd on the options that have MOVED – helping you to identify potential opportunities. Combined with other option filters you can better plan your market strategy and identify hot option possibilities. These filters are provided by Schaeffer’s Investment Research in cooperation with Zacks.com. To learn more about the Largest Price Increase filter, click here. a) LEAP`s to Cope with Bearish Momentum LEAP into an investment with solid long-term potential in this
strong option play. More... Options provide the learned investor with the tools to make
money in any market. Today the professor, Dr. Edward Olmstead,
is in with two intermediate picks. More... Discover all the tools and commentary available from the Zacks.com Options Center at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1421. OTHER TOOLS FROM ZACKS At the heart of Zacks Investment Research is the Zacks Rank investment philosophy that continues to vastly outperform the market. Our Zacks #1 Ranked (Strong Buys) have produced the following results for investors:
And just as importantly, our #5 Ranked stocks (Strong Sells) have alerted investors as to which stocks to dump from their portfolios to avoid unnecessary losses. To truly take advantage of the Zacks Rank, you need to first understand how it works. That`s why we created the free special report; Zacks Rank Guide: Harnessing the Power of Earnings Estimate Revisions. Download a free copy now to prosper in the years to come at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1346. Or view the full list of Zacks #1 Ranked stocks at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1353. We hope you enjoyed this issue of "Profit from the Pros", And we look forward to visiting with you again next week. REFER-A-FRIEND If you enjoy this e-mail newsletter, then please pass it along to a friend. Simply forward them the link below to sign up for their own free subscription. If you're reading a forwarded copy, sign up for your own, so you get this wealth of information every week. Just click here. THANKS! Regards and Happy Investing, Stephen Reitmeister p.s. What is the mission for Zacks Profit from the Pros? Click here to find out how we will help you become a more successful investor. *The S&P 500 Index is a well-known, unmanaged index of the prices of 500 large-company common stocks, mainly blue-chip stocks, selected by Standard & Poor's. The S&P 500 Index assumes reinvestment of dividends but does not reflect advisory fees. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. To contact us by mail: Zacks Investment Research To unsubscribe from receiving "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zacks #1 Stocks on the Move 06/19/2013
| Company Name | Symbol | %Change |
|---|---|---|
| SONIC FOUNDR | SOFO | 4.40% |
| SUPPORTCOM I | SPRT | 3.75% |
| UNISYS CORP | UIS | 3.31% |
| SHORETEL INC | SHOR | 3.22% |
| GREEN MOUNTA | GMCR | 3.13% |
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