For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 18, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights NeurogesX (NGSX) as the Bull of the Day and Sears Holdings (SHLD) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Target Corporation (TGT), Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN).

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:

NeurogesX (NGSX) received some very good news this week when the U.S. FDA approved Qutenza for the management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Management will now move forward with preparing for the commercial launch during the first half of 2010.

Securing reimbursement and hiring the sales force remain the next biggest hurdles for the company. However, with approval now complete and the financial position solid ($57 million in cash on hand),

Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CVM, CHIP, ENZ, HYTM, IWEB, ONEZ, PHC, SIHI, SRCO

Markets continued their strong performance this week in the absence of any major market driving earnings or economic reports, as the broad based buying that characterized the previous week continued and led to gains in all of the major indices. All told, the Dow added 2.5% on the week, gaining 247 points to close at 10,270, up 17.0% on the year. The Nasdaq posted a 2.6% gain on the week, closing at 2,167 to extend its yearly gains to 37.5%, while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 gained 2.3% and 1.0% respectively, bringing their yearly gains to 21.1% and 17.4%.

Equity markets carried the momentum from the previous week’s session, as the thin economic calendar and lack of significant earnings reports provided little incentive for investors to slow their buying activities.

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 9, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISPH) as the Bull of the Day and Sears Holdings (SHLD) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Moody's Corp.(MCO), CBS Corporation (CBS) and Forest Oil Corporation (FST).

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:

Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISPH) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for respiratory and ophthalmologic disorders.

Currently, the company has three products on the market and a robust pipeline. We see strong top line growth from 2009 and beyond. Inspire just reported positive phase III data of Denufosol for CF. The company has a strong collaborative alliance with Allergan Pharmaceuticals for key products

Better-than-expected reports on housing and consumer confidence helped U.S. stocks record gains albeit in a tepid manner.  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s reappointment also added to the positive sentiments but the muted gains signaled investors were progressing with caution.  Treasury prices rose after a successful auction of $42 billion two-year notes.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 30 points, or 0.3% and closed at its highest point since November 4.  The S&P 500 index gained 2 points, or 0.2% to close at its highest level since November 6.  The NASDAQ composite rose 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2024, its highest close since October 1.  NYSE volume remained a modest 1.14 billion shares, with advancing issues ahead of decliners by a three-to-two margin.

After touching their 10-month high, crude prices retreated 3.1% to $72.05, reflecting yesterday's reported rise in stockpiles from the American Petroleum Institute, generating a 1.4% fall in the

• Mining firm Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) reported lower commodity prices and Chinalco expenses resulted in disappointing first half results of $2.57 billion, down 65% YoY. The company said it may declare a final dividend, subject to "satisfactory trading results, progress on divestments and prevailing market conditions"

• Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD), the largest US department store firm, reported a surprise second quarter loss of 17 cents a share ex-items, compared with last year's 50 cent a share profit, and well off Zacks estimates for a 35 cent profit 

• Heinz (NYSE:HNZ) reported first quarter earnings of 67 cents a share, 5 cents ahead of Zacks estimates, on better-than-expected revenues of $2.47 billion, versus Zacks estimates of $2.44 billion.  The firm backed its yearly outlook

• Hormel (NYSE:HRL) reported third quarter earnings of 57 cents a share, beating Zacks projections of 52 cents a share; revenues fell 6.2% to $1.57 billion, off Zacks estimates of

A sharp rebound in Chinese shares helped erase yesterday’s slump and sent Asian stocks sharply higher Thursday, a day after Shanghai’s big fall ignited fears of a Chinese stock collapse and triggered a selling spree around the world.  Asian markets also drew comfort from an overnight recovery on Wall Street after a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles lifted hopes for an economic recovery and sent investors back on the buying table.

Shanghai's main index jumped 126 points, or 4.5%, to 2,911.58, while Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average climbed 179.41 points, or 1.8%, to 10,383.41.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 374.63, or 2%, to 20,336.36.  South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2% to 1,576.39.

Stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street Thursday.  Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 24, or 0.3%, to 9,300. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures edged up 3.70, or 0.4%, to 1,000.80, while Nasdaq

Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CVM, CUR, DKAM, FMTI, ICLK, IMUC, IWEB, OMCM, ONEZ, SIHI, TAGS

Markets took pause from their four week run this week, as some less than encouraging economic reports coupled with profit taking led to slight declines in all of the major indices. All told, the Dow ended the week down 0.5%, surrendering 48 points to close at 9321, bringing its YTD gains to 6.2%. The Nasdaq was off 0.7%, closing at 1985, up a healthy 25.9% on the year, while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 were down 0.6% and 1.5% respectively, paring their yearly gains to 11.2% and 12.9%.

Disappointing economic data relating to inventories and consumer sentiment soured the mood for much of the week, as worse than expected declines in retail sales, consumer sentiment, and business and wholesale inventories gave investors cause for concern. Retail sales

Apologies for the lag between posts. I decided to take a little summer vacation. Moreover, I’ve been at a bit of a loss for interesting stock picks of late and the market itself seems to have entered a bit of a (relative) lull. We all seem to be holding our breaths waiting for an inevitable correction or, for the more optimistic, someone to declare alls clear.

Though I wrote a post disparaging Sears Holdings from the point of view of a retail investor, further research and thinking has actually put it firmly on my radar from a value perspective. Readers of this blog may know that its syndicated on two very interesting websites – GuruFocus and Seeking Alpha. While I appreciate the

My most recent post on mall REITs (SPG in particular) got me thinking about Sears Holdings, a company that I disparaged a few weeks ago in a post called, “Unsuccessful Profits.” More particularly, my chart on REIT valuation based on square footage owned made me wonder.

Aas you can tell, price per square foot data can vary quite significantly. Not all square footage is created equal and, ultimately, it’s how you monetize your square footage which really matters. In the case of Sears, though they own a significant amount of retail square footage, the majority is leased to its own businesses which have performed in lackluster fashion to say the least. Despite this, there has to be some assumption of inherent value in the

< ?DART(15);?> The more than 7% advance in its share price today hasn't been near as dramatic, but is enough to make this retailing staple a Zacks #1 Rank Top Performer for Tuesday.

Volume today is approximately 1.476 million, which is slightly above the average of 1.452 million.

Earnings Estimates Soaring

The current profit consensus for the fiscal year ending January 2010 is $2.06 per share. A month ago, the outlook was only 34 cents, marking a more than 500% improvement as 4 of 6 covering analysts revised higher.

That gain includes an advance of more than 36% in just the past 7 days.

Meanwhile, expectations for next fiscal year, ending January 2011, are also on the rise. Estimates are higher