For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 15, 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: Exxon (XOM), TransCanada Corp. (TRP), ConocoPhillips (COP), BP (BP) and National Semiconductor (NSM).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:

Exxon Throws Weight Behind Alaskan Pipeline

Exxon (XOM) has finally decided to throw its weight behind the TransCanada Corp. (TRP)-sponsored Alaska Pipeline project that will bring stranded Alaskan natural gas to consuming markets in the U.S. Lower 48. TransCanada's 1,700 mile, 48-inch diameter pipeline has

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Exxon Throws Weight Behind Alaska PipelineExxon (XOM) has finally decided to throw its weight behind the TransCanada Corp. (TRP)-sponsored Alaska Pipeline project that will bring stranded Alaskan natural gas to consuming markets in the U.S. Lower 48. TransCanada's 1,700 mile, 48-inch diameter pipeline has the support of the Alaskan and Canadian governments. The Alaska government passed legislation last year that would subsidize the initial project costs by up to $500 million.While details of the deal between the two companies were not released, it is expected that TRP will remain the project's operator. This pipeline, expected to cost approximately $26 billion to build, would be the largest civil engineering project in North America. The pipeline would stretch from the North Slope of Alaska through Yukon and British Columbia to the Alberta border, where it would be linked to existing infrastructure reaching the U.S. market....

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 1, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research picks Cree Inc. (CREE) as Bull of the Day and Post Properties (PPS) as Bear of the Day. In addition, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research discuss the latest on Marathon Oil (MRO), ConocoPhillips (COP) and BP (BP).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678

Bull of the Day

Cree Inc. (CREE) is one of the leading producers of SiC and GaN-based LEDs. March quarter revenue was in-line with the consensus, while the EPS exceeded. Forward guidance is for a 5-9% revenue increase in the June quarter.

The global movement to energy-efficient lighting is prompting lighting companies and consumers to look at other options. Therefore, lighting will be the strongest end-market for Cree, likely followed by video displays and notebooks. Yield improvements, higher capacity utilization, larger wafers and offshore production will increasingly

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Tuesday January 27, 2009 Navivest

Shares of Chesapeake Energy (CHK) closed at $15.80 after gaining $0.90 for 6.04%, partly on rumors that the company might be an acquisition target for oil giant, BP (BP).

While the price action does not signify anything, energy related stocks as a whole, were up today, the options activity on Chesapeake tell a different story.

The number of options contracts on CHK traded today, totaled roughly 56,000, while average daily volume is usually 35,000.

Volume on the February ’09 17.50 calls was 20,645 against an open interest of 12,936, the February ’09 20 calls had a volume of 21,123 against an open interest of 8,807 and the February ’09 22.50 calls had a volume of 6,856 against open interest of 2,661. Volume on the puts side was much lighter.

We recommend buying the February ’09 15 calls. They closed at $2.15 on the ask side. We recommend

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Our continued Buy recommendation on Acergy S.A. ADRs (ACGY) reflects the company's strong leverage to the still very favorable outlook for deepwater oilfield activities.Given the long-term positive fundamentals of crude oil and the long lead times of deepwater projects, we do not expect any meaningful impact on deepwater activity levels from the sharp pullback in commodity prices. Additionally, the sponsors of most of these projects are either the well-capitalized oil majors -- Exxon (XOM), Chevron (CVX), BP (BP), etc. -- or national oil companies, which are not as exposed to the credit-market turmoil.We view ACGY ADRs as an attractive vehicle to play this positive outlook for deepwater construction. Our new $10 price objective, reduced from $19 before, represents 2009 P/E and EV/EBITDA multiples of 6.6X and 4X, respectively, still at significant discount to the broad oilfield service market.Read ...

The calendar had caused me to anticipate volatility this week. Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), FedEx (FDX) and Oracle (ORCL) will release quarterly results. The Fed will meet on Tuesday. (No change in rates is expected, but given the Lehman situation, there is a small possibility that a quarter-point cut could be announced.) Friday is a quadruple-witching day, meaning the simultaneous expiration of options and futures contracts. Now, the markets will also have to contend with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike and the fallout from Lehman Brothers. As former Houstonians, my wife and I spent a lot of time this weekend on the phone with friends and family. At this point, we have no idea what condition my wife’s parent’s house is in. (They live in Houston’s southern suburbs.) We do know that there has been

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Bill Powell at Fortune magazine has a very interesting piece running about the methods and tactics used by Vladimir Putin's inner circle of former KGB officers to seize control of the economy. With the markets in free fall after the diplomatic blunders surrounding the war in Georgia, it finally seems to be becoming apparent that managing security and spies really doesn't translate well into managing an economy. Yet for all the talk of prosperity and stability under Putin & Co., foreign companies operating in today's Russia - especially those in Russia's valuable energy and natural-gas sectors - have suddenly started getting nervous. Stories of Russian power plays have grown too numerous to dismiss: of business leaders thrown in jail on bogus charges, assets taken by dubious lawsuits, partnerships with Russian companies suddenly turning into struggles over control. Aggravated by the invasion of ...

We are maintaining our Hold recommendation on Eni SpA (E) ADRs after the company's third-quarter results. We continue to believe that the company's positive production-growth profile, capital discipline and attractive dividend are adequately reflected in its premium valuation relative to its European peers.

However, we are increasingly concerned with Eni's high valuation which is approaching that of the European super majors, TOTAL (TOT) and BP (BP), relative to its historical norms and as production growth slows, the stock could come under significant pressure.

The key positives in the Eni story include the company s strong production-growth prospects, driven by a long inventory of development projects, a growing gas business and an attractive dividend. The company's positive upstream growth prospects stem from its robust and diversified portfolio of assets.

Other negative issues include the company's relatively lower leverage to crude oil prices, given its growing focus on the downstream gas

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We live in the society where, to our detriment, being politically correct is often more important than being correct. So I am going to come out and make a politically incorrect statement – social investing is an oxymoron.

There is nothing social about investing. Investing is not about making popular, socially approved choices. It is about allocating capital from a less efficient use to more efficient use. Touchy-feely types of choices make us feel good about ourselves… well, until we have to retire and have to start paying for things.