Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers: Pilgrim's Pride, DryShips, Jacobs Engineering Group, AmTrust Financial Services and ANADIGICS.

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com announces the latest list of top performing Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") stocks. The stocks on the prestigious list with the highest returns last week were Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC), DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS), Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC), AmTrust Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ: AFSI) and ANADIGICS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD). Each of these stocks easily outperformed the S&P 500.

Stocks ranked #1 (Strong Buy) by Zacks have produced an average annual return of +32.2% since inception in 1988. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained 43.8% while the S&P 500 tumbled 37.6%. To learn more about the Zacks Rank, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=3172.

Here is a synopsis of the last week's best performing Zacks #1 Rank stocks.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC) is the largest chicken company in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and the second-largest in Mexico. Shares of the company rose 11.8% for the week ended Aug 10, making it one of the top performers. Earnings estimates for this fiscal year are up more than 33% in the past month.

Pilgrim's Pride announced a solid fiscal third quarter on Jul 31, including earnings per share of 94 cents on sales of $2.12 billion. Earnings trounced the year-ago loss of 31 cents and bettered the consensus by as much as 44%. Revenue advanced 65% from $1.29 billion. The company attributed its return to profitability to improved pricing driven by industry-wide production cuts implemented earlier this year, along with strong demand for its products.

DryShips, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) returned to a prominent position on the top performers list last week with a gain of approximately 11.3%. On Aug 6, the international provider of drybulk carriers announced the purchase of eight drybulk vessels at a purchase price of approximately $620 million. Chairman and CEO George Economou said the company is pleased to expand its fleet at a time when there is robust demand for dry bulk shipping, and at a time when freight rates are at such attractive levels.

That "robust demand" is one of the main reasons why DryShips has been a frequent Zacks #1 Rank top performer. Several other drybulk companies have also made the list repeatedly thanks to favorable conditions. Analysts have boosted DryShips' earnings estimates for this year by approximately 10% over the past month, including a rise of 3.2% in the last seven trading days. Earnings expectations for next year are also moving higher.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) announced last week a contract from NASA to provide facility operations services at Stennis Space Center with a maximum potential value of $561 million. The company will provide facility engineering, maintenance and operations, and institutional services to support NASA's missions at SSC. It will also support programs for more than 30 other Federal and state agencies located at SSC. On the same day, Jacobs Engineering announced two contracts from Hofung Technology to provide Jacobs' patented sulfur recovery technologies for two separate projects in China.

Jacobs Engineering Group provides technical, professional, and construction services globally. The company was a top performer last week as shares gained 10.3%. Earnings estimates for the fiscal years ending September 2007 and September 2008 are up 4.5% and 7.8%, respectively, over the past 30 days. For its fiscal third quarter, announced late last month, the company reported an earnings surprise of more than 7% on revenue growth of 8% to more than $2 billion. Jacobs also raised its guidance for fiscal 2007.

AmTrust Financial Services Inc. (NASDAQ: AFSI) recently reported second-quarter net revenue of $152.9 million, up by more than 75% from $87.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share also advanced year over year while beating the consensus. AmTrust Financial Services said the results confirm the validity of its strategic growth objectives, and underscores its unique niche in specialized areas of insurance. Furthermore, the company said it has no exposure to sub-prime mortgages.

AmTrust Financial Services is a multinational specialty property and casualty holding company, which, through its insurance carriers, offers specialty property and casualty insurance products. Those products include workers' compensation, commercial automobile and general liability; extended service and warranty coverage. Shares of the company advanced 9.7% last week. Earnings estimates for this year and next are up over the past seven trading days.

ANADIGICS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD) is a leading provider of semiconductor solutions in the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. These are some of the most rapidly-growing markets, and ANADIGICS finds itself in the right spot as the positive momentum of its share price attests. Last week, the company was a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank company with a gain of 9.2%. Analysts have taken notice and boosted its earnings estimates for this year by approximately 29%.

ANADIGICS' 3G portfolio grew 83% in its second quarter year-over-year, helping the company put together a solid quarterly report. Record revenue of $53.9 million advanced 37% from the previous year and 8.7% sequentially. Earnings per share of two cents reversed a year-ago loss of six cents and also topped the consensus by as much as 50%. ANADIGICS said its well positioned strategically in the three mega trend growth markets of 3G, WLAN and CATV, which it will use to fuel its revenue growth and financial performance. The company's products include power amplifiers, tuner integrated circuits, active splitters, line amplifiers and other components.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank stocks have generated an average annual return of +32.2%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 131.8% annually (+5.2% vs. +11.9%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

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(a)The Zacks Performance Rank performance is the total return of equal weighted simulated portfolios consisting of those stocks with the indicated Zacks Rank net of fees. Results reflect the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings. Simulated results do not represent actual trading and may not reflect the impact that economic and market factors might have had on decision-making if an adviser were actually managing a client's money.

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.