Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: The Estée Lauder Companies, Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 18, 2009 – 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: The Estée Lauder Companies (EL - Analyst Report), Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Analyst Report), Boston Scientific (BSX - Analyst Report), Medtronic (MDT - Analyst Report) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Analyst Report).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Estee Lauder Earnings Plummet

The Estée Lauder Companies (EL - Analyst Report) recently reported dismal fourth quarter results. The company has been hit hard by recent economic turmoil as consumers with lower disposable income are limiting their purchases to just the essentials. Consequently, the company is facing sluggish demand for Skin Care, Makeup, Fragrance and Hair Care products, thereby negatively impacting both top and bottom-lines.

Earnings per share (excluding one-time items) for the quarter under review came in at 20 cents, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but fell 67.4% year over year compared to 61 cents reported in the prior-year quarter. On a reported basis, Estée Lauder reported net loss per share of 9 cents. Management expects EPS (excluding one-time items) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 to be in the range of 23 cents to 30 cents.

Consolidated revenue for the quarter plunged 16.4% to $1,682.8 million amid weak global retail demand on account of the economic recession. Top-line growth is typically constrained by low volume growth and limited pricing power. Excluding foreign currency translation, revenues fell 9.7%. Moreover, departmental stores and retailers are now reluctant to keep excess stocks of the products due to waning consumer discretionary spending.

Abbott Expands XIENCE V Study

Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Analyst Report) announced that it is expanding its post-approval study for XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System. XIENCE V is a drug eluting stent that is used to treat coronary artery disease by propping open a narrowed or blocked artery and releasing the drug, everolimus, in a controlled manner. This helps prevent the artery from getting blocked again following a stent procedure.

The five year post-approval study with XIENCE V is being conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the product in a real-world clinical setting. Following the expansion, more than 2,000 patients from the XIENCE V USA trial will be eligible to cross over into the Dual Anti-Platelet Therapy (DAPT) trial, which is a study that is being sponsored by eight companies including Abbott.

The DAPT trial is being conducted to determine the appropriate time-period for patients to take blood-thinning medicines following a stent procedure.

The XIENCE V USA trial was initially being conducted with 5,000 patients. However, following the expansion, an additional 3,000 patients can be enrolled in the study.

Following the launch of XIENCE V, Abbott has become a major player in the drug-eluting stent (DES) market. XIENCE V has been taking significant domestic and international share from Boston Scientific’s (BSX - Analyst Report) Taxus (paclitaxel-eluting system), Medtronic’s (MDT - Analyst Report) Endeavor, and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ - Analyst Report) Cypher (sirolimus-eluting system) drug-eluting stents.

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