Tuesday - March 20, 2007
 Want to view the archive of past issues? Click here. Manage Profit from the Pros subscription: 1. ZACKS RANK BUY STOCKS Zacks #1 Ranked stocks average a 31.8% annual return. Every day on Zacks.com we highlight four new Zacks Rank Buy stocks.
Each individual stock is chosen based on how well they match the criteria for the four main schools of investing:
Aggressive Growth, Momentum, Growth & Income and Value. Aggressive Growth - GOL Intelligent Airlines (GOL) Precision Castparts Corporation (PCP) was upgraded by Matrix Research from a Hold to a Buy on Mar 5. Since we last covered MAT on Feb 28, the stock has returned 4.0% and is up 21% for the year. In fact, on Mar 8 MAT broke through technical resistance and closed at a record high. Three consecutive positive earnings surprises are reinforcing the upward trend. Read the full analysis on PCP now! Avnet, Inc. (AVT), first presented as a Value pick on Dec 15, has returned over 48%. The company recently surprised to the upside by 42.4% when it reported first-quarter fiscal 2007 earnings per share of 84 cents. HURC earned 48 cents per share in the same quarter last year. Consensus earnings estimates continue to trend higher for HURC. Read the full analysis on AVT now!
2. PROFIT TRACKS 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... Profit Track: Upgrades and Revisions This screen looks for stocks trading in the upper range of their 52-week highs along with attractive Zacks Rank and Broker Ratings. This strategy proves that the "trend is your friend" with a +35.5% return versus +4.9% for the S&P 500 in 2005. Amerigon Inc. (ARGN) is within reach of its 52-week high and experienced 13% growth over the past four weeks. In mid-February, the company posted fourth-quarter earnings of five cents per share. The result jumped ahead of the consensus estimate by 25%. ARGN stated that it continues to find new opportunities for its heated and cooled seat system and has been very fortunate to have been featured in some high volume vehicles that have remained strong. Read the full analysis on ARGN now! Anixter International Inc. (AXE) is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company. AXE announced fourth-quarter results in late January, noting that strong fourth quarter results completed a series of record-setting quarters leading to a record year in terms of sales and earnings. Earnings per share topped the previous year's fourth quarter and exceeded the consensus estimate by 2%. Anixter recently reached a new 52-week high and experienced 4% growth over the past four weeks. Read the full analysis on AXE now! Middleby Corp. (MIDD) recently delivered fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.34, exceeding the consensus estimate by 13% and outperforming the year-ago total. The company mentioned that it realized sales and earnings growth at each of its brands for the quarter and the year. MIDD introduced numerous new and innovative products, which contributed to this growth. Read the full analysis on MIDD now! Orchid Cellmark Inc. (ORCH) reported fourth-quarter earnings of three cents per share, reversing last year’s loss and surpassing the consensus estimate by 143%. The company said it believes that relative to just a year ago, it has made good progress in Orchid Cellmark's turnaround and it is now well positioned to build business and capitalize on market opportunities. ORCH is trading close to its 52-week high and its share price increased by 30% over the past four weeks. Read the full analysis on ORCH now! To see the full list of stocks that currently pass this winning screen, click here. All the Profit Track strategies were created and backtested using the Research Wizard software from Zacks Investment Research. If you like this screening strategy, but want to narrow down the list of stocks and even improve the performance, then you should start a free trial to this powerful stock picking tool. Learn more about the Research Wizard free trial offer and our new special report “Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies”. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Three Days Up: Price and Volume Kevin Matras goes over a Relative Price Strength strategy for finding winning stocks in all markets. More... 3. ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH After the turbulence of the past three weeks or so have left many good companies in growing industries trading flat or worse, we thought we’d inquire how the telecom industry has handled recent developments. We spoke with senior telecom analyst David Weissman, CFA for his perspective. Have the recent pullbacks in the general market affected telecom stocks in a negative way? Yes they have, both on a U.S. equity market basis and an international basis. This started about three weeks ago with the fallout in China following [former Treasury Secretary Alan] Greenspan’s talk about a possible recession and key economic data in the U.S. This has impacted not only U.S. equity markets in general, but also directly affected telecom equipment and service companies in both the international markets and in North America. More. . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Is this presenting some buying opportunities in your estimation, or are you becoming more bearish? I often believe that when you have some sort of correction and you identify true intrinsic value in companies, it is an opportunity to buy shares, especially for longer time-horizon investors. As the world becomes more integrated, economic impacts affecting markets in one area also affect markets in the U.S. The recent pullbacks in markets around the world demonstrate the correlation effect between regionalized developments. This was no exception over the past three or four weeks. So while the general market conditions always have to be considered as you have a general pullback and you see intrinsic value on particular shares, this often represents an opportunity to buy. Which companies would you look towards right now as buying opportunities? The companies that I continue to look at are large capitalization entities which pay shareholders increasing dividends. Typically telecom service entities, not equipment providers, are offering these payouts – anywhere from about 3-5% the share price. European markets, in particular, have come down in synergy with recent events and, therefore, companies such as Deutsche Telekom (DT) and Telecom Italia (TI) represent higher dividend yields. Both of these companies are currently under restructuring, but still maintain high levels of dividend returns. Other companies include Vodafone (VOD), which is in the higher-growth wireless market space. How are the new, emerging technologies progressing, both with the telecom carriers and equipment vendors? While I like dividend-paying telecom carriers, I have become more positive on the telecom equipment space lately in comparison with the services space, for a couple reasons. One is, on the telecom services side there is intense competition with multiple sources – not only from competitive local exchange carriers or direct competitors, but also from television/cable media companies that are impacting carrier voice revenues by offering their own cable voice telephony services. It appears most of the carriers often have similar features and capabilities, but are ‘pricing sensitive’ – that is, the price factor is the most important element which customers and prospects compare. With respect to equipment, differentiation is often embedded in the product design (capacity, port density, processing power, speed, etc…) and this allows for other considerations beyond pricing elements. In response to that, the carriers have been spending significant cap-ex to roll out more advanced infrastructure as they ramp up IP video, so that they contend vis-ŕ-vis with similar services provided by cable companies: Triple Play or Quad Play, where you offer video, voice and high-speed data, plus the ability to converge wireless networking. With respect to telecom equipment, the platform and design has to go into these networks before new service is offered, so whether you’re seeing a profit or a bottom-line gain from the carrier side, it will definitely be the equipment companies that will benefit first with the sale of the infrastructure. Also, the improved carrier cap-ex environment, with material spending in the wireless services space provides further indications of larger equipment opportunities for infrastructure. Click here to read the complete Analyst Interview. David Weissman, CFA is a senior analyst covering the telecommunications industry for Zacks Equity Research. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include Hallmark Financial (HALL), National Semiconductor (NSM), Avnet (AVT) and Pfizer (PFE). Get their latest posts: click here. Host Hotels (HST) - Growth to Continue. For full Zacks research report, click here. Sanmina-SCI (SANM) - No Near-Term Catalysts. For full Zacks research report, click here. The Week of Mar 19 – Mar 23 Growth Expected to Slow in the First Quarter Find out which stocks have been recently upgraded by Zacks Equity Research: click here. Read the reports on all of the stocks on the Zacks Equity Research Buy List: click here.
4. 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. Zacks/Schaeffer’s Options Trading service. Last week, we took a look at the Zacks Unusually High Volume - Calls filter. I thought I would switch gears this week and flip over to the other end of the spectrum, looking at the Unusually High Volume – Puts filter. What is the Unusually High Volume - Puts filter? Well, let’s first define a put and a call. Puts are simply a bet that the underlying stock is going to move lower, while calls are a bet that the underlying stock is going to move higher. According to our Expectational Analysis® methodology, a heavy attention to calls by investors indicates an increase in optimism toward an equity, and can present the opportunity for a solid bearish addition to your portfolio. This week’s filter on Zacks lists stocks that have received an unusually high degree of put activity recently, providing us with a pool of securities that could fit the bill for a nice short position. You can sort the results either alphabetically by underlying issue, or from highest call activity to lowest put activity. Before looking at a particular stock, let’s address our Schaeffer’s methodology. We are contrarian-based investors, indicating that we want to see skepticism toward an outperforming stock. On the other hand, we typically like to see optimism toward an underperformer. In our eyes, too much optimism is a sign that nearly everyone who wants to invest in a particular stock already has. Just because a stock sees substantial optimism doesn’t mean that we will blindly short that particular security; we need to see some negative price action or a major catalyst for a downside move in order to pull the trigger in most cases. Other indicators we use to measure overall sentiment include short interest, magazine cover stories, media comments, and analyst ratings. Looking over the list of stocks with unusually active put contracts, I noticed CVS (CVS). On Thursday, shareholders of the retail pharmacy operator voted to approve the proposed acquisition of Caremark Rx (CMX). The news came a day before CMX shareholders are scheduled to vote on the so-called “merger of equals” with CVS. CMX shareholders will weigh CVS’s offer against a hostile offer from Express Scripts (ESRX). The CVS/CMX agreement has already received approval from the Federal Trade Commission, which recently received a second request for information related to the ESRX bid. Back to CVS, this news sent the shares more than 3% higher on the day, helping them reclaim the 33 level. This advance is nice, especially since it is dragging the equity’s 10-week moving average along for the ride. Since the beginning of December, CVS has finished below this trendline merely once. Just in case the 10-week trendline gives way, CVS’s 20-week trendline awaits below, waiting to lend a hand. It also stands to note that CVS enjoys the support of its 10-month and 20-month moving averages. This tandem has pushed the stock higher since April 2003, failing only once. As this duo continues its ascent, watch for the equity to advance as well. The 33.50 level is the next line of resistance for CVS. When staring down potential resistance, it is always nice to turn to a company’s sentiment backdrop to see if there are any catalysts for a move higher. The recent heavy put activity has pushed CVS’s Schaeffer’s put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) to 0.59, which is higher than 90% of those taken during the past 52 weeks. This is encouraging, as any good news could cause this bearish bunch to run for the hills, resulting in buying pressure. Any potential upside pressure is good when dealing with resistance. Short sellers attempted to call a top to CVS’s performance in a major way during February, increasing their bearish bets by an astounding 67.4%. As a result, more than 6% of CVS’s float is sold short. This accumulation could provide the means for a short-covering rally should any good news come CVS’s way. Pessimism toward a solid performer is the backdrop to a bullish contrarian play. This is the setup we have with CVS. Add this one to your bullish watch list, should the 33.50 level fall, the next potential layer of resistance is the 35 level Make sure to continue utilizing all of the valuable filters on these pages for more money-making ideas. Moreover, don't be afraid to make a few paper trades in order to see what strategy works best for you. Please remember that, when it comes to options, the majority of your trades are going to be losers. Don't get discouraged, because that's the beauty of the leverage that options provide. It takes only a few winners out of every 10 trades to make you a very happy investor. Thanks for reading, best of luck in your trading! To learn more about the Unusually High Call Volume filter, click here. Discover all the tools and commentary available from the Zacks.com Options Center. Leverage the timeliness of Zacks #1 Rank stocks with options trades that maximize profits and minimize risks. Learn more about our new Options Trading service. 5. Best of the Zacks $100,000 Challenge Zacks is conducting a nationwide talent search to find the very best stock pickers. The winner gets a $100,000 dream job with Zacks! . Sign up for free to join the competition, or just read what stocks the leading players are trading on the Zacks Challenge Player Blogs. Best of the Zacks Challenge Player Blogs Here's what the leading players are saying lately: Java J (Rank #1 with $1,371,020) >>JAVA’s MARKET MUSINGS #11<< Read More or Comment on this post. Mightymo MO (Rank #6 with $192,873) SHORT TERM TRADING: PULLING THE TRIGGER Read More or Comment on this post. Lilnev2000 (Rank #33 with $122,814) PLATINUM STOCK HITS NEW 52-WEEK HIGH Read More or Comment on this post. Read all the Player Blog posts. 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, the Zacks #5 Rank stocks (Strong Sell) List has 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. Or view the full list of Zacks #1 Rank FREE PORTFOLIO TRACKER Do you believe that these events affect stock prices?
If you answered yes, then how are you staying on top of these changes for your stocks? If you are one of the 45,000 investors who wake up every morning to the Daily Portfolio Updates emails from Zacks.com, then you are all set. If not, then sign up now to get this vital information sent to you daily and improve your portfolio's performance. Did we mention it's free? Get started now! 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, Charles Rotblut, CFA 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. | |||||||||
- Latest News
- Most Popular
- What is the Stock Market's Achilles Heel?
- 3 Dividend Stocks at Reasonable Prices
- RTI: Are You Doing the Elon Musk Trade?
- Buy These ETFs to Profit from "Sector Rotation"
- Oil & Gas Industry Stock Outlook - May 2013
- Uncharted Territory
- 4 Ways to Short Oil with ETFs
- Options Strategies & the Zacks Rank
- This Week's Growth & Income Stocks
- AWS 5/17: The Fed: The Only Game in Town
- PFP 5/17: The ONLY Investment Story
Recent Quotes
| No Recent Quote currently available |
My Portfolio
|
My Portfolio Tracker One of the most important steps you can take today is to set up your portfolio tracker on Zacks.com. Once you do, you'll be notified of major events affecting your stocks and/or funds with daily email alerts. Set yours up today. |
Zacks #1 Stocks on the Move 05/17/2013
| Company Name | Symbol | %Change |
|---|---|---|
| VIASAT INC | VSAT | 19.35% |
| OLD SECOND B | OSBC | 5.76% |
| GAMCO INVEST | GBL | 4.61% |
| CORNING INC | GLW | 4.47% |
| SYNCHRONOSS | SNCR | 4.23% |
Quick Links
Resources
Client Support
Zacks Research is Reported On:
Zacks Investment Research
is an A+ Rated BBB
Accredited Business.
Copyright 2013 Zacks Investment Research
At the center of everything we do is a strong commitment to independent research and sharing its profitable discoveries with investors. This dedication to giving investors a trading advantage led to the creation of our proven Zacks Rank stock-rating system. Since 1986 it has nearly tripled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +26% per year. These returns cover a period from 1986-2011 and were examined and attested by Baker Tilly, an independent accounting firm.
Visit performance for information about the performance numbers displayed above.
NYSE and AMEX data is at least 20 minutes delayed. NASDAQ data is at least 15 minutes delayed.