For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 29, 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: AstraZeneca (AZN), Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI), Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), Stein Mart (SMRT) and Shire (SHPGY).

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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:

AstraZeneca's Pipeline Must Deliver

We currently rate shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) a Hold with a $47 price target. The company is facing a number of challenges as it enters 2009, most notably generic competition to Toprol-XL, Nexium, Casodex and Pulmicort.

The just-announced increase

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On June 25, 2009, Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), the largest independent investment advisor in the U.S., disclosed a series of new initiatives that will help the company grow significantly by managing costs and improving their efficiency.SCHW's client-advisor relationship has been facing significant dilemmas due to the ongoing troubled market condition. And, as there is a need for greater efficiency in their businesses, the current clients require more involvement from their advisors.To make the best of this situation, SCHW announced a series of steps to support advisors in the current environment. This will translate into significant benefits since SCHW is the leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for more than 6,000 independent fee-based investment advisory firms.The steps announced by SCHW are as follows:1) Beginning in July 2009, SCHW will waive commissions on electronic equity trades and reimburse ...