RadioShack Corp. (RSH) announced its third quarter results today. Net revenues came in at $990 million, down 3.1% year over year. However, this was better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $981 million. The year-over-year reduction in sales is primarily due to a 2.9% decline in comparable same-store sales for company-operated stores and kiosks in the reported quarter compared to the prior-year quarter.   Segment wise, revenues from company-operated store declined 3.5% year over year, Kiosks sales declined 17.8% year over year, whereas revenues from Other services increased 13.5% year over year. Acquisition of RadiosShack de Mexico in December 2008 has significantly contributed to the Other services segment. Product category wise, sales declines in digital-to-analog converter boxes, laptop computers, batteries, wireless accessories, and GPS products.  On the other hand, the company generated increased revenues from Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) postpaid wireless business, increased sales of prepaid wireless handsets ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 16, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Semtech Corp. (SMTC) as the Bull of the Day and Washington Federal (WFSL) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Bank of America (BAC), Hasbro (HAS) and Peabody Energy (BTU).

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:

Semtech Corp. (SMTC) is a fabless supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor devices. Management has been diversifying the product portfolio, introducing new high-margin products and broadening the customer base.

July quarter results exceeded the consensus on both the top and bottom lines. Forward guidance is for 6-10% revenue increase in the October quarter.

Both revenue growth and margin expansion are expected to return in the second half of fiscal

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One of Russia’s leading mining and metal companies, Mechel OAO (MTL) is starting a new production line for cold-deformed reinforcement wire at its Beloretsk Metallurgical plant (BMP) subsidiary. Total investment in the project exceeded 55 million rubles ($1.79 million).

Mechel intends to increase the share of high-margin products manufactured under its Steel division. The company will process the cold-deformed reinforcement wire at its production unit in Moscow into quality wire rod highly demanded in construction. Mechel foresees an increase in demand for this new class of steel products. The company has already received an order for reinforcing wire of BMP production.  Due to low carbon content and mechanical strengthening, the cold-deformed reinforcement wire has several advantages compared to hot-rolled reinforcement wire such as improved welding characteristics, increased toughness and durability, and lack of scale. Additionally, cold-deformed reinforcement wire has higher design resistance to expansion and compression allowing reduction of

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Yesterday, Arris Group Inc. (ARRS) said it acquired patents and video processing technology for digital network from EG Technology Inc. Arris will take over the privately held company’s four encoding products, Encore, Quartet, VIPr Transcoder and HEMi Edge. Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, industry sources estimate that Arris paid $6.5 million for this acquisition.

Integration of EG Technology’s video processing assets will further strengthen Arris’ existing portfolio of digital video offering that includes Video-on-Demand, Switched Digital Video and Ad Insertion.

EG Technology is primarily a supplier to Tier2 and Tier3 cable MSOs. However, Arris will now accommodate these state-of-the-art video processing technologies on its existing D5 edge QAM platform to provide superior digital video network solutions. The company has a solid clientele of Tier1 US cable MSOs. Acquisition of these valuable video processing assets will give Arris an edge in this highly competitive industry.

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Benchmark Electronics (BHE) recently reported second-quarter results that beat expectations. Excluding restructuring charges of $1.0 million in the quarter, pro forma EPS of $0.19 was $0.02 better than the consensus estimate of $0.16. Quarterly profit was down from the year-ago EPS of $0.33 mainly due to lower interest income which fell 75.4% as a result of lower interest rates.

Quarterly revenue of $481.8 million was down 29.4% from $682.4 million reported in the year-ago period. Revenue was slightly below Zacks Consensus Estimate of $484.0 million and the consensus estimate of $486.2 million. Revenue was in line with management’s guidance of $460.0 million to $520.0 million while non-GAAP EPS came in at the high end of its guided range of $0.13 to $0.21. Benchmark blamed lower demand for enterprise IT and economic slowdown for the revenue shortfall.

Bookings in the quarter continued to show that new outsourcing opportunities are

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 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: Liberty Property Trust (LRY), 3Com Corp (COMS), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc (KKD) and Semtech Corp. (SMTC).

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 Thursday's Analyst Blog:

Sell Liberty Property in Near Term

Liberty Property Trust (LRY) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses primarily on prime suburban properties in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions of the United States. The company's portfolio

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MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (WFR) produces the raw material wafers used by semiconductor manufacturers in the production of integrated circuits (ICs). The decision to supply wafers to the solar industry is paid huge rewards in 2007 and 2008 as demand for polysilicon raced ahead of supply.The Solar business and the 300mm business are both high margin products. The spot price of polysilicon has been slashed from a peak of $400 per/kg to the $60-$70 per/kg range.The stock is significantly undervalued. We are reiterating our Buy rating on the Shares of WFR. We value the company based on the average of our P/E multiple (15.0x 2009 estimated EPS) and our two stage intrinsic model. The semiconductor group average P/E is between 25x-26x. We feel WFR should trade at a premium to its peers, given the fact that the company has high growth/high margin products....

Semtech Corporation (SMTC) is a fabless supplier of analog and mixed signal semiconductor devices. Management has been diversifying the product portfolio, introducing new high-margin products and broadening the customer base.

October quarter revenue was in-line with consensus estimates, while the EPS exceeded. Forward guidance is for a -8% top -20% revenue decline in the January quarter.

Both revenue growth and margin expansion are expected to materialize when the new product platforms gain traction. We are reiterating our BUY rating on SMTC shares.

Sejuti Banerjea contributed to this report.

Read the full analyst report on SMTC

"SMTC" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Semtech Corporation (SMTC) is a fabless supplier of analog and mixed signal semiconductor devices. Management has been diversifying the product portfolio, introducing new high-margin products and broadening the customer base. July quarter revenue was in-line with consensus estimates, while the EPS exceeded.Forward guidance is for a 0-4% revenue increase in the October quarter. With backlog increasing again in Q2, we do not expect results to fall short of guidance. Both revenue growth and margin expansion are expected as new product platforms gain traction. We are reiterating our BUY rating on Semtech Corp. shares. Although the macro situation in the U.S. was expected to impact consumer spending, the consumer segment grew very strongly in the last quarter, and management expects continued growth in Q3. We expect the shares to trade higher within the next six months. Consequently, we are reiterating our $20 price target (21.1x ...