MWI Veterinary Supply's (MWIV) fourth-quarter earnings came in at 53 cents per share, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents and the year-ago earnings of 44 cents. The company reported revenues of $247.5 million, an increase of 10.1% compared to the corresponding quarter of last year. Approximately 60% of the growth in revenues was from new customers.

In addition to posting fourth quarter results, MWIV came out with full-year results for fiscal 2009. Revenues increased 13.2% to $941.3 million, while earnings per share were $2.02, up 24.7% compared to the previous year.

Gross margin during the quarter improved marginally to 14.1%, compared to 13.9% in the year-ago period. The primary reason for the improvement was a $250,000 decline in vendor rebates and an improvement in freight costs as a percentage of total revenues compared to the earlier quarter.

In the reported quarter, operating margin improved by 39 basis points

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The U.S. e-commerce market is heating up, with new competition from China-based Alibaba.com. Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma recently announced that its new business-to-business (BTB) e-commerce platform is currently in the beta stage and could be expected to launch in the U.S. by the end of the year.   This seems to be a good time to launch the site since traffic may be expected to increase as a result of the holiday season. However, the company’s entry will no doubt increase competition for existing players such as Amazon.com (AMZN), eBay Inc. (EBAY) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).   Still, online retail is one of the few markets that are expected to continue growing this year. According to Forrester Research, non-travel ecommerce sales in the U.S. are expected to grow 11% in 2009, a slight slowdown from the 13% growth seen in 2008. One of the major

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 27, 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: United Heathcare Group (UNH), Aetna (AET), Wet Seal Inc. (WTSLA), VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) and Syniverse Holdings Inc. (SVR).

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 Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

CBO Overstates Healthcare Costs

Some of the more outrageous types of misconduct by the likes of United Heathcare Group (UNH) and Aetna (AET) might be curbed, such as the cancelling of policies as soon as someone gets sick and puts in a substantial

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div style="text-align: justify;"Piper Jaffray is upgradingspan style="font-weight: bold;" Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) /spanto Overweight from Neutral with a $7.50 target price (prev $3)br /br /Piper expect share price appreciation to accompany consistent fundamental improvement amp; profitability potential in next 12 months. Q2 results outpaced estimates and guidance; clear signals that company is achieving early turnaround success.br /br /1) Strength in consumer demand (on lowered expectations) is encouraging; brand equity remains high; visibility limited but improving.br /br /2) Wholesale/retail, U.S./int'l, and product mix all contributing to better margin profile; mgmt reiterated its med-term mid-teens op margin target.br /br /3) International markets represent 60%-plus of revenues; Asia strength a key driver.br /br /4) Direct to consumer platform mitigates risk tied to domestic wholesale order volatility; DTC exceeds 50% of U.S. revenues; growth of 20%-plus is reasonable.br /br /5) Company is bank debt free; $60M in cash ($0.70/share); receivables collection much improved and inventory levels ...

We are presenting a list of companies which we believe are currently mispriced, based on our estimate of fair value, by the market. We develop our fair value ranges by projected free cash flow out one year and estimating an appropriate FCF multiple based on our assessment of risk and the strength of the balance sheet.

Cisco Systems [CSCO: 19.57, +0.84 (+4.48%)] Recent Price $17.04 Value Range 21.86 – $38.41 Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures and sells Internet protocol (IP)-based networking and other products related to the communications and information technology (IT) industry, and provides services associated with these products and their use. The Company provides a line of products for transporting data, voice, and video within buildings, across campuses, and around the world. Its products are designed to transform how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Cisco Systems, Inc.’s products, which include primarily routers, switches, and products that the

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MWI Veterinary Supply, Inc. (...

Dynamic Response Group, Inc. (OTCBB: DRGP) operates through their subsidiaries engaging in electronic and multi-media retailing through print, radio, television, and the Internet. As a leading innovator of strategic marketing solutions, the company strives to combine advanced technology with unique customer insight to build strong brands that impact people’s lives worldwide. The company is actively involved in the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of health and beauty products around the world.

The company leans on their well established in-house capability in order to reach the right customers across multiple channels, including the Internet, print, radio, direct mail, and direct response TV (DRTV) to reach the retail industry. By utilizing DRTV, Dynamic Response is able to reach consumers directly and is available in 370 million households in seventy countries worldwide.

The company has an agreement with Planet E Shop that allows them to distribute their products in a timely

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