Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Boeing, Textron, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Western Digital

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 26, 2010 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Boeing (BA - Analyst Report), Textron (TXT - Analyst Report), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - Analyst Report), Intel (INTC - Analyst Report) and Western Digital (WDC - Analyst Report).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Aircraft Nosedive Durable Goods

Orders for non-defense aircraft are quite volatile. As Johnny Carson might have asked, "How volatile ARE they?" In March they were down 67.1%, which sort of makes it sound like Boeing (BA - Analyst Report) is going out of business, until you consider that in February non-defense aircraft orders rose by 32.7% and in January they shot up by 134.9%. These are month to month changes that can give any analyst airsickness.

Year-to-date, non-defense aircraft orders are running 71.6% above the levels of a year ago, so no, Boeing, and makers of smaller aircraft like Textron (TXT - Analyst Report) are not hurting overly much -- it is just that the orders tend to be very lumpy from month to month. Aircraft are also very expensive, so a few more or fewer 787’s ordered this month can have a very big impact on overall orders.

Aerospace firms also tend to get a fair amount of work from the Pentagon, and orders from Defense aircraft rose 2.0% after a 20.6% plunge in February, which reversed a 17.3% rise in January. Year-to-date, orders are up 21.4%.

In other words, if you want to filter out the noise, focus on the numbers excluding Transportation orders, or at least look at a longer time-frame than just a month in looking at Transportation orders.

Orders for Machinery were up 8.6% in March on top of a 6.9% increase in February but a 9.9% decline in January and are up 11.7% on a year-to-date basis. This is extremely encouraging, especially considering that the nation’s factories are only running at 70% of capacity. A more normal level of factory utilization is 80%, and while manufacturing capacity utilization is up from 65.2%, it is still at a level only seen at the very worst points in previous recessions.

To be investing heavily in new machines when apparently so many are sitting idle indicates a lot more confidence on the part of companies about capital spending. A similar pattern can be seen in orders for computers, which saw a 12.9% rise in March on top of a 4.6% increase in February, but those were making up for a tough January when orders dropped 10.6%. On a year-to-date basis, orders are up 10.5%.

Clearly the surge is good news for both the computer firms like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - Analyst Report) but also for the makers of chips that go into them like Intel (INTC - Analyst Report) and component manufacturers like Western Digital (WDC - Analyst Report).

While the headline on this report might have been ugly, the contents of it were looking pretty good. I would rate this report as a solid positive for the economy and more evidence that the recovery is starting to pick up some steam.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

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.

Contact:
Mark Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com

Read the full analyst report on BA

Read the full analyst report on TXT

Read the full analyst report on HPQ

Read the full analyst report on INTC

Read the full analyst report on WDC