Phase Forward Inc. (PFWD) earlier announced that it would repurchase shares worth $40 million over the next twelve months in the open market.

The company expects to use cash on hand and cash generated from operating activities to fund repurchases of its common stock. Management believes that share repurchase is an attractive use of capital given its strong balance sheet along with increasing shareholder value. At the end of third quarter, the company had total cash, cash equivalents and investments of $147.2 million. The company also announced a multi-year agreement with Quotient Clinical, which specializes in development services for a broad range of pharmaceutical and biotech customers.

Quotient Clinical is a business unit of Quotient Bioresearch and the company is currently implementing Phase Forward’s InForm Global Trial Management (GTM) electronic data capture (EDC) solution to support data collection, management and analysis for its clinical trials. By supporting faster accessibility and

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - April 30, 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: Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Halliburton Co. (HAL), Dendreon Corp. (DNDN) and Phase Forward Inc. (PFWD).

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 Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

Buffalo Wild Wings' Hot Results

Cash-strapped consumers are cutting visits to most casual dining restaurants, but Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) has the formula to keep them coming back.

The restaurant best known for its chicken wings and sports bar reported that

...

Phase Forward: Solid Q1 Results Boosts SharesShares of Phase Forward Inc. (PFWD, Buy) are up an impressive 17% in trading today following the company's release of its fiscal Q1 results yesterday.Both revenue and non-GAAP EPS beat our and consensus estimates with in-line guidance for Q2. Revenues of $49.4 million came ahead of our $48 million estimate, while non-GAAP EPS of $0.15 easily beat our $0.12 estimate.Management expressed high expectations with its new product launch and, based on its forward P/E, we think there is more room for the shares to advance. Phase Forward provides the software and services to assist clients in improving the efficiency of their clinical trials. The company offers a suite of applications including  InForm, Clintrial and Clintrace.The company's in-line Q2 guidance included the company's recent acquisition of Waban, a provider of platform solutions for the automation ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM) Alliant Techsystems Inc (ATK) AmeriCredit Corp (ACF) Cadbury Plc (CBY) Carter's Inc (CRI) Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (CHKP) Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (CCE) Dolby Laboratories Inc (DLB) Enzon Pharmaceuticals Inc (ENZN) Farmers Capital Bank Corp (FFKT) FBR Capital Markets Corp (FBCM) Intevac Inc (IVAC) Lance Inc (LNCE) MediciNova Inc (MNOV) Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) Monarch Casino & Resort Inc (MCRI) NetLogic Microsystems Inc (NETL) Nicor Inc (GAS) Oriental Financial Group Inc (OFG) Phase Forward Inc (PFWD) Power-One Inc (PWER) Ship Finance International Ltd (SFL) Stoneridge Inc (SRI) Tellabs Inc (TLAB) Total System Services Inc (TSS) Travelzoo Inc (TZOO) Universal Health Services Inc (UHS) ...

Phase Forward Inc's (PFWD) share price has entered into oversold territory with a stochastic value of 9.09. The Zacks #2 Rank ("Buy") stock has either met or topped the consensus estimate in each of the last 4 quarters with an average surprise of 12.50%, or a penny per share.

Zacks Investment Research

Phase Forward, Inc.: Keeping it a BuyWe had earlier upgraded our recommendation of Phase Forward, Inc. (PFWD) to a Buy on Nov. 26, 2008, anticipating strong Q4 results and contract extensions with top pharma companies. Q4 EPS came in a penny better than our $0.12 estimate on a proforma basis, and the company indicated that 4 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies signed multi-year, multi-million dollar extensions and expansions during the quarter. (Phase Forward mainly services the pharmaceutical industry and provides software and services to assist clients in improving the efficiency of their clinical trials.)Further, we continue to expect certain large ASP customers to make a transition to enterprise license from ASP this year, similar to what Novo Nordisk (NVO) did in the last quarter. Based on the historical pattern of revenue recognized from the ending backlog and from new bookings, at the ...