Monday - November 26, 2007

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Zacks #1 Rank stocks average a 32% annual return. Every day on Zacks.com we highlight four new Zacks Rank Buy stocks based on the four main schools of investing: Aggressive Growth, Momentum, Growth & Income and Value.
 

Aggressive Growth - Blue Coat Systems (BCSI)

Blue Coat Systems (BCSI) is prospering in the Wide Area Network business. The company just reported a wonderful fiscal second-quarter and guided higher for next quarter as well. The stock is doing quite well despite a terrible overall market. Even before the report, next year's estimates have risen 11 cents to 93 cents per share over the past 90 days. Analysts are expecting over 46% growth in earnings next year. Read the full analysis on BCSI now!
 

Growth & Income - Praxair, Inc. (PX)

Praxair, Inc. (PX) reported record third-quarter sales and earnings in late October. Both sales and earnings increased on a year-over-year basis. Analysts upped earnings forecasts over the past month, bringing them in line with PX's outlook for both the fourth quarter and full year. The 3 - 5 year EPS growth projection for PX stands at 13%, above the industry's average of 10%. Praxair offers a current dividend yield of 1.5%, topping the industry average of 1.4%. Its return on equity (ROE) 24% also exceeds the industry average of 18%. Read the full analysis on PX now!
 

Momentum - Maine & Maritimes Corporation (MAM)

Maine & Maritimes Corporation (MAM) has had a wonderful year for share-holders, with its stock price steadily climbing higher and more than doubling in value. The company recently reported another strong quarter, coming in well ahead of analyst earnings estimates. Within the last seven days current- year earnings projections have increased by 35 cents, to $1.55 per share. Read the full analysis on MAM now!
 

Value - Honda Motor (HMC)

Honda Motor (HMC) is enjoying strong sales even as its American rivals are struggling. The company is succeeding in selling smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. The stock is trading at discounted valuations of about 10x earnings. Earnings estimates have been rising, especially over the past month. The most accurate estimate shows 1.3% upside for the current year. Read the full analysis on HMC now!
 

Zacks Rank Resources

• Zacks Rank Home Page: Go there now.
   
• NEW! Zacks Value Trader: Gain undervalued stocks with the timeliness of the Zacks Rank for 46.4% average annual returns. With much less volatility than the market. Learn more now.
   
• Zacks Momentum Trader: Discover the best Zacks #1 Ranked momentum stocks to buy now. Learn more...
   
• Zacks Options Trader: Combine the timeliness of Zacks #1 Rank stocks with the explosive profit potential of options. Learn more...
   
• Zacks Wealth Management: Own all the Zacks #1 Ranked stocks in a portfolio managed by Zacks. Learn more...

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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...
 

Recent Price Strength

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.

Here are four stocks that make the grade for the Recent Price Strength Profit Track:

A.D.A.M. Inc. (ADAM) is a leading developer of interactive health and medical information for consumers, students and healthcare professionals. The company's stock price enjoyed a very nice run over the last two months, logging a new 52-week high and hanging onto gains while the rest of the market was selling-off. Its stock price is certainly benefiting from the great quarter reported on Nov 6. Revenue increased 49% from the same quarter last year, and earnings per share topped the consensus by 75%. On Oct 23, this Zacks #2 Rank stock sold-off a bit but has since rebounded nicely and looks to be gaining strength while positioning for a move higher. Continue your research on ADAM now!

Astronics Corp. (ATRO) qualifies for the Recent Price Strength profit track with a current price near its 52-week high, signaling the potential for a breakout. Furthermore, its share price is also showing solid momentum, rising more than 18% over the past four weeks. On Nov 2, the company, which designs and manufactures lighting systems and power generation systems, fought through challenging market conditions and reported an excellent third quarter. Sales jumped 36% year over year while earnings per share of 48 cents trounced the consensus by almost 78%. Astronics expects full-year sales between $155 million and $160 million, or 40% over 2006. Continue your research on ATRO now!

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (MTD) reported earnings per share of $1.16 for its third quarter early this month, which beat the consensus by approximately 9.4%. Sales improved 7% in local currency sales to $442.6 million from $397.3 million. The supplier of precision instruments and services attributed the quarter's results to favorable global markets, effective business strategies and strong execution. Mettler-Toledo offered a solid outlook for 2008 as it looks to the new year with cautious optimism. Earnings estimates for this year are up approximately 3.7% from one month ago. The company fulfills this profit track with a current price that hovers around its 52-week high. Continue your research on MTD now!

Partner Communications Company Ltd. (PTNR) is a leading Israeli mobile communications operator. The company has the very unique distinction of having an accelerating stock price in an overall declining market, making it a great fit for the Recent Price Strength strategy. On Nov 23, the company took out it its previous 52-week high, and also logged a higher close. Partner Communications reported a great quarter at the end of October, with its total revenue increasing by 9.5% year over year, and its operating profit increasing 22.0%. For the year, the stock price is closing in on doubling its value. Continue your research on PTNR 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”.

 
SCREEN OF THE WEEK

New Analyst Coverage

Kevin Matras explains that stocks with new analyst coverage are stocks you want to own. Read more...
 

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Listen to the audio podcast for the Earnings Preview through Zacks' Audio Feature.

Investors returning from their Thanksgiving vacations will be greeted by retail numbers from the weekend shopping spree. Expectations for the holiday shopping season have been tempered, but that does not necessarily mean that total sales dollars will surprise to the upside. This said, a cold front moving across the Northern states should help move sweaters and other winter clothing.

The National Retail Federation predicted in September that sales would rise 4% this season. The Consumer Federation's recently released survey suggested a higher proportion of people would decrease their holiday spending.

According to ShopperTrak, Black Friday accounted for $8.96 billion in sales last year, while the entire Thanksgiving weekend accounted for $18.1 billion. The International Council of Shopping Centers estimates that Thanksgiving weekend usually accounts for 10% of holiday sales. Our senior retail analyst, Robert Plaza, predicts Black Friday sales this year should be in a range of $9.23 to $9.27 billion and total Thanksgiving weekend sales should total between $18.6 and $18.73 billion.

More. . .

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Zacks Equity Research continued...

Speaking of consumer spending, the Conference Board will release its November consumer confidence index this Tuesday. Weekly retail sales data will also be released.

Staying with the economic data, October durable goods orders and October existing home sales data will be published on Wednesday. Thursday will feature revised third-quarter GDP numbers. The November Chicago PMI, October personal spending, October personal income and October construction spending data will be released on Friday.

On the earnings front, 75 companies have been confirmed to report. Included in this small group are six members of the S&P 500: Analog Devices (ADI), Big Lots (BIG), Dell (DELL), Heinz (HNZ), Sears Holding (SHLD) and Staples (SPLS).

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises during the Week of Nov 26 - Nov 30

Internal changes at Dell (DELL) have allowed the company to top expectations for four consecutive quarters. One of the 22 covering brokerage analysts believe the computer maker can extend the streak to five and raised his forecast to 37 cents per share, three cents above the consensus forecast. Dell is scheduled to report on Thursday, Nov 29, after the close of trading.

To read the complete Earnings Preview, click here.

Charles Rotblut, CFA, is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com. He can be reached at crotblut@zacks.com.

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MORE FROM ZACKS EQUITY RESEARCH…

Analyst Blog

Real-time market insights from Zacks Equity Research Analysts. Stocks featured recently include Kongzhong (KONG), Public Service Enterprise (PEG), BJ's Wholesale (BJ) and British Sky Broadcasting (BSY). To see their latest posts, click here.

 
BULL OF THE DAY

Norfolk Southern (NSC) - Great Entry Price. Full Zacks research report, click here.

 
BEAR OF THE DAY

Atmel Corp. (ATML) - Questions Abound. For full Zacks research report, click here.

 
ZACKS ANALYST INTERVIEW

Play the Falling Dollar in `08

We would favor things that benefit from the falling dollar; we think it still has more to decline: More...

 
EARNINGS TRENDS

Median EPS Growth Strong

The median firm saw EPS growth of 11.3%, even as total net income advanced just 1.9%. More...

 
Rating Upgrades 

Find out which stocks have been recently upgraded by Zacks Equity Research: click here.

 
Zacks Equity Research Buys 

Read the reports on all of the stocks on the Zacks Equity Research Buy List: click here.

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Here we cast the spotlight on timely Featured Expert commentaries that recently appeared on Zacks.com.

Another Inconvenient Truth

Jim Oberweis discusses how declining home prices will impact consumer expenditures. More...

 
Market Myth Busters

Richard Moroney writes about busting market myths in the latest edition of his Dow Theory Forecasts newsletter. More...

 
Profiting From Latin America

Paul Tracy feels that Latin America can help the well-paced investor collect tremendous returns. More...

OTHER TOOLS FROM ZACKS

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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:

• +32.2% average annual return since 1988 versus +12.1% for S&P 500
• +43.8% total return from 2000 to 2002 - the worst bear market in over 60 years.
• +23.7% in 2006 and +17.8% in 2005

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.

Gain full access to all Zacks Rank resources.

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We hope you enjoyed this issue of "Profit from the Pros", And we look forward to visiting with you again next week.

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Regards and Happy Investing,

Charles Rotblut, CFA

Senior Market Analyst
Zacks.com

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 performance of the Zacks Rank portfolios shown above for annual and year-to-date periods are the linked monthly total returns (price changes + dividends) of equal weighted hypothetical portfolios, consisting of those stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank, assuming monthly rebalancing and zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios. The hypothetical portfolios were created at the beginning of each month from Jan 1988 forward based on the values of the Zacks Rank available to Zacks' clients before the beginning of each month. The portfolios created monthly from 1988 through September 2006 exclude ADRS and are comprised of stocks that have the indicated Zacks Rank and were covered by at least two analysts at the time of the stocks inclusion in the portfolio. Starting in October 2006 and going forward, the portfolios are comprised of all stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank and do not exclude ADRs, which is more reflective of the list of stocks that customers will find on the Zacks web sites. 2007 returns are for the period of Jan 1 - Jun 30, 2007. These performance numbers have been audited from 1995 through 2003 by Autschuler Melovan, a division of American Express Financial.

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.

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