Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Pozen, Inc., Hain Celestial, Equity Residential, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 12, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Pozen, Inc. (POZN - Analyst Report) as the Bull of the Day and Hain Celestial (HAIN - Analyst Report) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Equity Residential (EQR - Analyst Report), Fannie Mae (FNM - Snapshot Report) and Freddie Mac (FRE - Analyst Report).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Pozen, Inc. (POZN - Analyst Report) is one of our top-picks for small-cap biotech. We see the fundamentals as strong and the valuation as low. We are pleased to see the NDA for Vimovo (PN-400) filed and now accepted by the U.S. FDA. FDA acceptance earned Pozen a $10 million milestone from AstraZeneca in August.

We expect sales of Treximet to ramp in the coming quarters now that the groundwork has been laid. And finally, phase III trials on the very exciting PA program should start in the fall.

The company is financially well positioned and fundamentally strong with respect to the pipeline. We recommend being buyers at this level.

Bear of the Day:

The natural and organic food industry, including Hain Celestial (HAIN - Analyst Report), is facing the brunt of the economic slowdown and escalating costs. The ongoing turmoil and the battered financial market are exerting pressure on consumer disposable incomes triggering a shift in focus from higher priced organic products to cheaper private label brands.

Consequently, retailers and distributors are being compelled to reduce inventories, thus exerting pressure on the company's sales growth. Furthermore, a strong U.S. dollar continues to moderate results, adversely impacting the top-line.

In the most recent quarter, earnings were well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate, and were down 17.6% year over year.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Is the FHA Going Broke?

The ratio of home prices to rents was one of the biggest red flags out there that we were in a housing bubble. Since the top, that ratio has come back towards more normal historical levels, but it is still near the high end of normal. If rents start to fall significantly, it will be shooting at a moving (falling target).

In other words, we are shifting the problem, not curing it. While the big apartment REITs like Equity Residential (EQR - Analyst Report) might not go broke, it sure will not help them. Smaller landlords could start defaulting on their holdings. Thus, banks are able to find buyers for the homes they have foreclosed on, but will be hit with higher defaults in their commercial real estate portfolios.

The FHA is heading down the same path that eventually killed Fannie Mae (FNM - Snapshot Report) and Freddie Mac (FRE - Analyst Report) as well such dearly departed as Downey S&L and Washington Mutual. While the head of the agency claims that there will be no need for a bailout, those other institutions also insisted on their solvency -- almost right up until the day they went under.

The FHA has done some social good in slowing the decline of housing prices, but it has come at a cost -- one that taxpayers may end up paying. The massive federal propping up of the housing market makes one question if the recent increases in the Case Schiller home price indexes are for real, or are just a temporary blip.

Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5507.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

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