Chicago, IL – November 19, 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: PG&E Corporation (PCG), Edison International (EIX), Autodesk Inc. (ADSK), Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

California May Ban High-Watt TVs

In California, an average residential customer’s 10% electrical consumption goes to television sets. However the regulatory apprehension is that with upgrade to larger television sets the consumption pattern for television sets will spike by as much as 8% annually. This is a worrisome trend for the power hungry state which has to import around 15% of its requirements from outside the state to meet its huge requirement.

The regulators are dreading a return to the gory days of the California electricity crisis at the beginning of the century. The crisis was aggravated as the then government kept the price of electricity artificially low, encouraging wastage.

An energy-efficient TV would save a household roughly $30 a year per set in lowered electricity costs. If all 35 million television sets in the state were replaced with more efficient sets, Californians would save $8.1 billion over 10 years, according to the Energy Commission report. The standard also could help California meet the goals of its 2006 global warming law, which calls for the state to cut greenhouse gases 25% by 2020.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, utilities operating in California are spending big money. California’s renewable portfolio standard requires utilities to generate 33% of power from renewable sources by fiscal 2020. PG&E Corporation (PCG) plans to invest around $13 billion in the period 2009 - 2011. Another utility, Edison International’s (EIX) subsidiary Southern California Edison, is projecting capital expenditures for the period 2009 - 2013 in the range of $16.8 billion - $19.8 billion.

Autodesk Beats, Guidance Mixed

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) revenues of $416.9 million were down 31.3% year over year, mainly due to a decrease of 43.9% year over year in Licenses revenues and partially due to a 2.8% decrease in Maintenance revenues. However, revenues were flat sequentially.

By geography, revenue from the Americas increased 2% sequentially but decreased 25% from the year-ago period. EMEA revenues declined 3% sequentially and 35% year over year on a constant currency basis. Revenue from the Asia Pacific decreased 7% sequentially and 33% year over year on a constant currency basis. Revenues from emerging economies represented 15% of total revenue and decreased 3% sequentially and 45% year over year on a constant currency basis.

Moreover, revenues from 3D design solutions were down 25% from the year-ago period but were flat sequentially. Revenues from 2D horizontal and vertical products declined 37% year over year and decreased marginally from the last quarter. We are positive on Autodesk’s migration from 2D products to 3D products, which have a higher margin.

Combined revenue from AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT declined 39% year over year. Although the company has a strong market position in the "mainstream" CAD market, it faces competition from Dassault Systemes. Moreover, the company competes against Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) and Apple Inc. (AAPL), among others.

Autodesk has a strong balance sheet with cash, investments and securities totaling $1.05 billion at the end of quarter and no long-term debt.

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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.

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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.

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Berge and Jorda evaluate rules of the form that would declare the economy to be in a recession when some indicator Y_t falls below a specified threshold c, for example, saying that the economy is in a recession whenever GDP growth comes in below -0.6%. For any choice of the threshold c, there is some observed fraction of observations for which the economy wasn't in a recession and yet Y_t was less than c (the false positive rate), and a fraction of the time when the economy was in a recession and Y_t was less than c (the true positive rate). By choosing a lower value for c, there will be fewer false positives and fewer true positives.

The receiver operating characteristics curve plots the false positive rate on the horizontal axis and the true positive rate on the vertical axis, moving along the curve by specifying alternative possible values for c. For example, here's Berge and Jorda's estimate of the ROC for Y_t corresponding to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index. The greater the area under the ROC, the more useful that indicator Y_t would be for identifying recessions.

ROC curve for Chicago Fed National Activity Index. Source: Berge and Jorda (2009).

Berge and Jorda evaluate a number of possible indicator series Y_t that one might use for this purpose, and find that the Chicago Fed index is one of the best. If you put equal weight on the two kinds of errors you can make with this measure (declaring a false positive versus missing a true positive), Berge and Jorda calculate you'd use an optimal threshold of c = -0.82, that is, declare the economy to be in a recession whenever the Chicago Fed index falls below -0.82. The figure below plots the values for the Chicago Fed index, with shaded regions corresponding to recessions as dated by the NBER. On the basis of this indicator, Berge and Jorda would say that the U.S. recovery began in September, for which the index came in at -0.69, its first reading above -0.82.

Three-month average value for Chicago Fed National Activity Index with -0.82 threshold. Shaded regions correspond to NBER recession dates.

Another indicator that comes out well on the basis of the area under the ROC is the ISM Manufacturing PMI Composite Index, for which Berge and Jorda propose a threshold of c = 44.7. Note that this is below the Y_t = 50 reading at which as many managers are reporting improvement as report deterioration-- things need to be getting significantly worse before it would be characterized as a recession. By this indicator, the recovery began in July.

ISM manufacturing PMI with 44.7 threshold. Shaded regions correspond to NBER recession dates.

Chicago, IL – November 17, 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: JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Bank Failures Rise to 123

The failed banks were -- Century Bank, FSB of Sarasota, Florida with $728 million in assets and $631 million in deposits, Orion Bank of Naples, Florida with about $2.7 billion in assets and $2.1 billion in deposits and Pacific Coast National Bank of San Clemente, California with $134.4 million in assets and $130.9 million in deposits.

These bank failures represent another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of Century Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund about $344 million, Orion Bank’s failure will cost about $615 million and the failure of Pacific Coast National Bank is expected to cost about $27.4 million.

The FDIC insures deposits at 8,195 institutions with roughly $13.5 trillion in assets. When a bank fails, it reimburses customers for deposits of up to $250,000 per account. The outbreak of bank failures has significantly stretched the regulator’s deposit insurance fund. At Jun 30, 2009, the fund corpus fell to $10.4 billion, the lowest since 1993, from $13.0 billion in the prior quarter.

IberiaBank, based in Lafayette, Louisiana will assume both Florida-based banks' $2.731 billion in deposits. Iberiabank also entered into a loss-share agreement with the FDIC on $656 million of Century Bank's assets and on $1.9 billion of Orion Bank's assets.

Tustin, California-based Sunwest Bank will assume all of Pacific Coast National Bank's deposits and essentially all of its assets.

In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994. 

Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently mandated the U.S. banks to pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%. The FDIC also has access to the Treasury Department credit line of up to $500 billion.

The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. banking history. It was acquired by JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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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.

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Contact:
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• Citigroup (NYSE:C) plans to sell Bellsystem 24, a Japanese telemarketing company, to Bain Capital for $1 billion, bringing to $10.8 billion the dollar amount Citi has raised from sales of Japanese assets

• Hedge fund Paulson & Co. reported in a September 30 filing Citigroup (NYSE:C) holdings of 300 million shares, valued at $1.45 billion

• Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) raised its bid for Tandberg ASA to $3.4 billion, or about an 11% increase, and extended its offer to December 1

• According to a Bloomberg report, Mitsubishi UFJ has hired JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to manage an $11 billion secondary offering, Japan's largest ever. The company plans to sell about 2.5 billion common shares

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) said it plans to spin off its 83% stake in Mead Johnson Nutrition Company

• JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) said it is offering to purchase the remaining 50% of stockbroker Cazenove, placing a valuation on the firm of $3.32 billion

• General Motors (NYSE:GM) plans to start repaying its Treasury loan early, beginning by yearend with $1 billion quarterly installments to the US and $200 million quarterly to Canada

• General Motors' (NYSE:GM) third quarter revenues bettered estimates at $28 billion versus $22.9 billion expected, rising $4.9 billion from the second quarter. Inventories dropped 158,000 to 424,000

• Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) reported inline third quarter earnings of 24 cents on revenues of $11.38 billion, versus Zacks estimates of $11.27 billion.  The company said, "We are beginning to see signs of improved performance in some of the hardest-hit housing markets including California, Florida and areas of the desert Southwest."

On Friday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average rose 73 points, or 0.72%, to 10,270.47. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 6.24 points, or 0.57%, at 1,093.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 18.86 points, or 0.88%, to 2,167.88.  For the week the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 2.3% to 1,093.48.  The Dow average rose 247.05 points, or 2.5%, to 10,270.47, following its 3.2% advance the prior week.

The spike in commodities came after the greenback fell Friday on news that the trade deficit widened more than expected in September.  Commodities, which are priced in US dollar, benefit from a decline in the currency.

Nevertheless, the greenback's weakened status remains a foreign policy issue of contention, and is likely to weigh on President Obama’s tone in China.  Meanwhile, brushing aside concerns of potential asset bubbles in China, the Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, instead, cautioned the weak dollar "is boosting speculative investment in stock and property markets and will pose new, real and insurmountable risks to the global recovery and particularly to the recovery in emerging markets."

Treasury Secretary Geithner last week repeated the Administration's commitment towards a strong dollar; nevertheless, the impact of a weak dollar on improving American products' competitive positioning overseas markets is widely expected to help the sustainability of a fragile recovery in the US.

On Friday, the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) said quarterly profit rose 18%, helped by higher revenue at its cable, broadcast and movie studio divisions.  Abercrombie (NYSE:ANF) reported better-than-estimated results, while J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) raised its earnings and revenue outlook, offsetting a lower-than-expected consumer sentiment post from the University of Michigan.

Among retailers reporting during the week are: Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) and Pacific Sunwear of California (NASDAQ:PSUN) today; Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Target (NYSE:TGT) and TJ Maxx (NYSE:TJX) on Tuesday; BJ's Wholesale (NYSE:BJ) and the Limited (NYSE:LTD) on Wednesday; Sears Holding (NYSE:SHLD), Gap (NYSE:GPS) on Thursday.

A busy Fed calendar includes today's comments from Bernanke; on Tuesday from Lacker, and Pianalto; on Thursday from Plosser, Fisher, Ghosn and Rattner; and on Friday from Plosser. Treasury Secretary Geithner speaks on Tuesday and Thursday.

Chicago, IL – November 16, 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: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp (MSFT), Quality Systems Inc. (QSII), Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX) and Cerner Corp. (CERN).

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Apple Opens New Store in New York

Apple Inc. (AAPL) will open its newest retail store with an 8,500 square feet retail space in New York tomorrow. The store will help Apple deliver more Macs, iPods and iPhones, taking advantage of the coming holiday season. The new store is the fourth in Manhattan and fifteenth in New York.

To ensure a high-quality buying experience for its products, in which service and education are emphasized, the company has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening its own retail stores in the U.S. and internationally.

The company operates a network of 280 retail stores in 10 countries across the world, including the U.S., U.K., Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, Switzerland, Germany and France to drive the demand for its other products. Further, Apple is soon to open two new stores in Shanghai as well as London and Paris.

The company further plans to open 40 to 50 new larger retail stores next year, about half of which are expected to be outside the U.S. Apple had earlier estimated that it would open 25 to 50 new stores.

Retail sales increased 4.0% to $6.57 billion (averaging $26.0 million per store annually). Store traffic grew to around 170 million in fiscal 2009. The company has extended its footprint in international retail markets. Growing its presence in the international retail market, Apple opened its first store in Sydney and Beijing and opened stores in Switzerland, France and Germany during the calendar year 2008.

Apple's business strategy leverages its ability, through the design and development of its own operating system, hardware and many software applications and technologies, to provide its customers around the world with compelling new products and solutions, superior ease-of-use, seamless integration and innovative industrial design.

To attract customers during the holiday season, the company plans to offer gift-wrapping of any iPod or portable Mac for just $5. It will also allow customers to set aside a gift and pick it up at their local Apple store for free from Dec. 15 to Christmas Eve.

Apple’s stores hosted 42.7 million visitors during the last quarter, an increase of 7% from the year-ago period. The stores posted revenue of $1.87 billion ($7.6 million per store) in the quarter, the highest level ever and up 15% from the year-ago period.

Last month, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) announced the opening of its own first retail store in Arizona. But we do not expect Microsoft to catch up anytime.

Quality Systems Barely Beats

Quality Systems Inc. (QSII) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of 41 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and the year-ago earnings by 4 cents.

Total revenues for the quarter increased 21.5% to $71.69 million from $58.98 million. The company’s NextGen Healthcare Information Systems division posted revenue of $67.4 million for the reported quarter, representing a 23% increase from the previous year.

Category-wise, System sales, including software, hardware and supplies, increased 5.9% to $26.24 million from $24.78 million. Revenues from maintenance, electronic data interchange (EDI), revenue cycle management (RCM) and other services grew 32.9% to $45.46 million from $34.19 million in the year-ago period.

The total cost of system sales, including software, hardware and supplies increased 16.8% to $7 million. Total cost of maintenance, EDI, RCM and other services for the quarter were $21.27 million as against $15.2 million in the year-ago quarter, up 39.9%. Consequently, total cost of revenues for the quarter increased 33.4% to $28.3 million. The company reported a gross profit of $43.4 million for the quarter opposed to $37.8 million in the year-ago period, up 14.8%.

Research & development spend for the quarter increased 30% to $4.34 million for the quarter. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the reported quarter increased 11.7% to $20.4 million.

Quality Systems exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $75.4 million opposed to cash and cash equivalents of $70.2 million at the end of fiscal 2009.

Quality Systems, headquartered in Irvine, California, develops and markets healthcare information systems that automate certain aspects of medical and dental practices, networks of practices such as physician hospital organizations and management service organizations, ambulatory care centers, community health centers, and medical and dental schools. The company competes with players like Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX) and Cerner Corp. (CERN).

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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.

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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:
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Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
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Chicago, IL – November 11, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Amdocs Ltd. (DOX) as the Bull of the Day and Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and Ford (F).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5506

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

We maintain our Outperform recommendation for Amdocs Ltd. (DOX), following its strong results for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2009. The company has industry-leading technology integration products for managed services and large transformational projects.

We believe long-term fundamentals for Amdocs remain firm due to the transition of telecom service providers to converged and consolidated solutions. Amdocs maintains a very strong financial position with healthy order backlog.

Recently, the company has won a series of large managed services contracts in various parts of the world. Except Europe, operations in other regions have started gaining momentum.

Bear of the Day:

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH) reported third-quarter earnings of $0.33 per share, which was well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.53. The company earned $0.60 in the year-ago quarter.

The decline in profit for the quarter was attributable to higher operating expenses coupled with losses from the company's California health plan. The increase in medical costs was attributable to the H1N1 flu virus and costs associated with recently enrolled members. The impact of the H1N1 epidemic is significant and has the potential to worsen in the coming quarters.

We are also concerned about the intense competition facing Molina. We have an Underperform rating on the stock with a price target of $19.

Latest Posts on the Zacks Analyst Blog:

Notes on Janet Yellen Speech

These policies are likely to stay in place for a while to come, and will only gradually be lifted, particularly the low fed funds rate. What happens to mortgage rates once the Fed stops buying every scrap of paper ever issued or backed by Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) is very much of an open question. Oh, the buying of longer-term treasuries was just to bring private rates down -- it had nothing to do with keeping the interest costs to the government down .

Big firms that can tap the credit markets on their own are in much better position than small firms that have to rely on bank loans. Remember that spreads on low-grade corporate debt last winter were higher than the spreads during the Great Depression. While the Fed intervention has not helped everyone, it clearly has helped many.

It is hard to tease out how much of the increased demand for housing and autos is due to the government subsidies, and how much is "real" pent-up demand. The October auto sales were somewhat encouraging in this regard, since Cash for Clunkers was not a factor. The rebound to profits at Ford (F) was real, even if it could be laid at the feet of the Clunkers program. The inventory bounce is real, but is probably temporary.

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.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

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 analyst 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 by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=5508.

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=5509.

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

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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

The decline in profit for the quarter was attributable to higher operating expenses coupled with losses from the company's California health plan. The increase in medical costs was attributable to the H1N1 flu virus and costs associated with recently enrolled members. The impact of the H1N1 epidemic is significant and has the potential to worsen in the coming quarters.

We are also concerned about the intense competition facing Molina. We have an Underperform rating on the stock with a price target of $19.Zacks Investment Research

Chicago, IL – November 10, 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: JP Morgan Chase (JPM), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI) and PNC Financial (PNC).

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 Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Bank Failure Tally Reaches 120

The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Ameris Bank, Moultrie, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of United Security Bank; Liberty Bank and Trust Company, New Orleans, Louisiana, to assume all of the deposits of Home Federal Savings Bank; Alerus Financial, National Association, Grand Forks, North Dakota, to assume all of the deposits of Prosperan Bank; Central Bank of Kansas City to assume all of the deposits of Gateway Bank of St. Louis; and East West Bank, Pasadena, California, to assume all of the deposits of United Commercial Bank.

In order to replenish the declining fund, the FDIC board recently proposed that approximately 8,100 insured U.S. banks and savings institutions should pay fees for three years in advance. Also, the regulators are considering requesting the healthy banks to bail out the government as soon as it is necessary to replenish the deposit insurance fund, which has slipped to 0.22% of insured deposits, below the mandated minimum of 1.15%.



In the second quarter of 2009, the number of banks on the FDIC's list of problem institutions grew to 416 from 305 in the first quarter. This is the highest since the savings and loan crisis in 1994. Increasing loan losses on commercial real estate are expected to cause hundreds more bank failures in the next few years. The FDIC anticipates the bank failures to cost about $100 billion over the next four years.



The failure of Washington Mutual last year was the largest in U.S. history. It was acquired by JP Morgan Chase (JPM). Other major acquirers of failed institutions since 2008 include U.S. Bancorp (USB), Zions Bancorp (ZION), SunTrust Banks (STI), PNC Financial (PNC), to name a few.

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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.

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About Zacks

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Management said both sales and margins were well ahead of expectations, adding that Shoes, Dresses and Home remained the top-performing categories, while the Southwest, Southeast and California were the strongest regions.

The company upped its third-quarter earnings guidance to a range of 83 to 84 cents per share from a previous range of 75 to 77 cents per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate currently stands at 77 cents. With Ross reporting strong sales and hiking its outlook just a couple days ago, analysts polled by Zacks are bound to raise their projections soon.

Results for the third quarter are scheduled for release on November 19.

Checkout the October 22 commentary on ROST.

Last Week's Growth and Income Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

Nu Skin Enterprises (NUS) recently posted record results for the third quarter. Earnings per share of 41 cents topped the previous year's 26 cents and matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenue was a record $334.2 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Read the full story on NUS.

Perrigo Company (PRGO) recently reported record fiscal first-quarter earnings of 65 cents per share, topping last year's 41 cents and exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents. Revenue jumped 16% year-over-year. The company hiked its fiscal year guidance to a range of $2.35 - $2.45 per share from a previous range of $2.00 - $2.12. Read the full story on PRGO.

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) saw a nice spike after announcing third-quarter results. Earnings per share of 50 cents were below last year's 56 cents but topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9%. The company also reported a 16% increase in assets under management, totaling $366.2 billion. Read the full story on TROW.

The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) recently upped its earnings guidance. For the fiscal year, the company sees earnings coming in between $2.46 - $2.54 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks are currently calling for earnings of $2.57 per share, an increase from last month's $2.41. Read the full story on TJX. Zacks Investment Research

Core businesses (Internet Infrastructure and Identity Services) generated revenues of $257 million, up 1% sequentially and up 6% year-over-year. Revenues from discontinued operations came in at $41 million.

Operating margin came in at 38.6%, marginally up from the previous quarter. Net income was $64 million. Earnings per share (EPS) of 33 cents easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents.

During the quarter, the company generated $105 million of cash from operations and used $25 million in capital expenditures. The company ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $1.4 billion, an increase of $124 million from the previous quarter. As of September 30, 2009, deferred revenue came in at $881 million.

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, VeriSign completed the sale of its Global Security Consulting business, and Messaging and Mobile Media Services. The company has so far sold thirteen of its non-core businesses (including Jamba joint venture) for $750 million.

Management earlier indicated that it would focus on core competencies to provide highly scalable, reliable and secure Internet infrastructure services to customers around the world. Hence, the company divested a number of non-core businesses in its portfolio, such as communications, billing and commerce, content delivery, messaging and enterprise security services.

VeriSign plans to invest proceeds from the divestitures into its core Internet Infrastructure and Identity Services. It is also using funds to buy back shares and has already repurchased stock worth $22.6 million in the first half of 2009. Through the sale of these non-core businesses as well as disciplined operating management, VeriSign has managed to reduce its headcount by nearly 1,000 employees.

Going forward, management expects revenues between $258 million and $262 million, flat or up 2% sequentially. Operating margin is estimated to come in at 38.6%.

The company has completely restructured its business in the past two years and expects that these efforts will unlock value for the company in the long-term. Cash flow is expected to be strong in 2010.

The company is sitting on a huge cash balance and we expect the management to prudently invest the funds in growth businesses.

In February 2009, VeriSign had lost an unsolicited bid to acquire Certicom Corp., which develops, manufactures and markets digital information security products, technologies and services, to Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM).

As the Internet spreads to mobile devices, we see VeriSign tapping this growth market with an array of value-added services.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, VeriSign provides essential Internet infrastructure services to companies, service providers and website owners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Recent Key Developments
 
Frontier is expanding its broadband network in rural/underprivileged markets in West Virginia. The company has applied for federal funding of $55 million to deploy and connect fiber-optic cable from its central office to key public facilities, which will allow broadband speeds of up to 100 Meg. 
 
Moreover, Frontier is set to lead the pure-play rural telecom market by acquiring the rural fixed-line business of Verizon Communications (VZ) in 14 states for approximately $8.6 billion. The company recently received shareholders approval as well as approvals from the states of California, Nevada and South Carolina for this transaction.
 
The acquisition, which is expected to complete in second-quarter 2010, will offer meaningful cost synergies and opportunities for revenue growth through expanded broadband penetration, attractive bundled service offerings and improved customer retention.

Chicago, IL – November 3, 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: CIT Group Inc. (CIT), Dean Foods (DF), Frontier Communications (FTR), Verizon Communications (VZ) and Time Warner Cable (TWC).

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 Monday’s AnalystBlog:

CIT Group Files Chapter 11

CIT Group Inc. (CIT) has filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sunday. The company struggled for months to avoid collapse since the recession elicited billions of dollars in loan losses, and the financial crisis made it incapable of funding itself from its main financing source.

This widely expected Chapter 11 filing is one of the largest in U.S. history, following Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual, WorldCom and General Motors. The U.S. government will probably lose most of its $2.3 billion aid given to CIT last December through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). We think the problems at CIT will further weigh on the U.S. economy.

CIT's bankruptcy filing shows $71 billion in finance and leasing assets against total debt of $64.9 billion. The company cited that its bondholders selected a prepackaged reorganization plan which will reduce total debt by $10 billion while allowing the company to run its business.

According to management, the decision to proceed with the company’s plan of reorganization will allow it to continue to provide funding to two sectors -- small business and middle market customers -- which remain vital to the U.S. economy.

Dean Foods Beats, Ups Guidance

Dean Foods (DF) reported relatively strong third-quarter results with earnings of 34 cents per share. Quarterly earnings were up 21% year-over-year.

Quarterly net sales declined 13.2% year over year to $2.7 billion due to the pass-through of lower overall dairy commodity costs, despite positive contributions from acquisitions and lower net sales volumes in the WhiteWave-Morningstar operations, which were partially offset by acquisition-related volume growth in Fresh Dairy Direct and WhiteWave-Morningstar.

Net sales in the Fresh Dairy Direct segment declined 18.3% as the company passed some of the lower dairy costs to customers but were partially offset by continued volume growth. Raw milk prices were 45% lower compared to the prior-year.

Frontier Deal Wins Key Approvals

Frontier Communications (FTR), a leading telecom operator in rural and suburban areas in the US, has reportedly received approvals from the Public Utilities Commissions of the states of California and Neveda and Public Service Commission of South Carolina for its impending acquisition of the rural fixed-line business of Verizon Communications (VZ).

Moreover, the acquisition was recently approved by the shareholders of Frontier. The transaction is now subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other closing conditions and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2010.

Verizon is divesting its rural fixed-line business (involving approximately 4.8 million access lines) in 14 states to Frontier under an agreement valued at approximately $8.6 billion. Under the deal terms, Verizon’s shareholders will receive approximately $5.25 billion in common stock of Frontier, equating to around 68% stake in the company.

Moreover, Verizon will also receive $3.3 billion in cash and debt securities from Frontier. The transaction, if successful, will provide Verizon’s shareholders a controlling interest in Frontier.

This deal represents a major opportunity for Frontier as the company remains significantly challenged by the beleaguered economic conditions in its service territories and contends with loss of legacy landline telephony business to wireless and other competitive offerings by cable TV operators such as Time Warner Cable (TWC). Frontier continues to experience decline in revenues which is, to a great extent, attributable to consistent sequential decline in fixed access lines.

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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

Semiconductor revenues came in at $371.6 million, up 8% sequentially but down 25.7% year over year. Storage Systems revenues came in at $206.6 million, up 16.8% sequentially but down 3.4% year over year.

Gross margins came in at 45.5%, an increase of 340 basis points from the previous quarter and exceeded management’s guidance range by 50 basis points.

Net income jumped to $119 million from a net income of $7 million in the previous quarter and a net income of $94 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at 18 cents. Operating cash flow came in at $69 million.

Going forward, management is encouraged by early signs of economy reviving as businesses resume spending in information technology. Demand for storage and servers have started to improve being driven by the need to upgrade infrastructure and also by new product cycles such as Intel’s Nehalem server platform. The company expects increased deployment in cloud computing environments by large companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT).

The company expects revenues of $605 million and $645 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Gross margin is expected around 45.5% – 47.5%. EPS is estimated between 7 cents and 13 cents.

Although the demand environment and near-term visibility remain challenging, LSI's core storage semiconductor and systems ramps and market positions remain relatively intact, leading to healthier growth in late-2009. It is expected that LSI's modest exposure to the PC/server market may lead to better flexibility compared to its competitors, Adaptec Inc. (ADPT) and Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (AMCC), which are experiencing some softness in end-market demand for PCs and servers and related storage products.

LSI’s continuing adoption of newer storage protocols such as SAS and ramp in new entry-level storage systems may steadily improve its position in the hard drive market. LSI's cost-control efforts have also been quite impressive. Given the gradual improvement in the demand environment following a soft spending phase in the first half of 2009, we maintain our Neutral rating on shares of LSI.

Headquartered in California, LSI designs, develops and markets complex high-performance semiconductors and storage systems.

Management added that its major customer has increased its LED TV sales estimates for 2009 and 2010 while other customers are also ramping up. Sales of LED driver products for general lighting applications have also increased. In anticipation of new cell phone launches, shipments of EL inverter products ramped up in the reported quarter.

Gross margin declined to 47% from 53% in the previous quarter due to the non-linear loading of its wafer facilities and backend operations. Net income declined to $1 million compared to $4.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at 15 cents easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents.
 
Based on booking, management expects revenues between $16.5 million and $17.5 million in its fiscal third quarter, driven by sequential growth in all end markets. However, customer demand in foundry service business is expected to be lower. During the December quarter, Supertex is planning a normal wafer fabrication facility shutdown for maintenance and hence expect gross margin to be flat in the third quarter.
 
The top-line has been shrinking from the past few quarters but the company expects demand to pick up in the back-end of 2009 as Supertex indicated that its LED driver business is expected to see substantial growth. Additionally, the Medical segment is anticipated to stabilize in the second half as new design wins ramp up. We await better visibility of these programs before turning positive on shares of Supertex.
 
Headquartered in California, Supertex designs and sells high-voltage analog and mixed signal integrated circuits. Competition remains intense in the analog sector where the gross margins are traditionally higher including products for the Medical Electronics, Imaging, Telecom, LED Lighting, and industrial/other markets. The company competes with several larger analog semiconductor companies with far greater resources, including Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM), Hitachi LTD (HIT) and Texas Instruments (TXN) for the Medical Electronic market.