Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: PETCO, Genworth Financial and Agere Systems.CHICAGO -- 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: PETCO (Nasdaq: PETC PETC Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (Department of Energy) PETC Pennsylvania Educational Technology Corporation PETC Animal in cabin (IATA codes) PETC Public Employers' Training Consortium ), Genworth Financial (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : GNW GNW Genworth Financial (stock symbol) GNW Good News Week (TV show) GNW Great Northwest GNW Great Northern War (1700-1721) GNW Guns 'n' Wankers (band) ) and Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR AGR advanced gas-cooled reactor ). See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2673 Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog: Private Firms Boost PETC On July 14, PETCO (Nasdaq: PETC) agreed to be acquired by two private equity firms for $29 per share, which was 49% over PETC's stock price the day before the offer was made public. The total value of the deal, including debt, is $1.8 billion. PETC shares jumped over 43% on the news of the acquisition offer. In light of the takeover plans, we maintain our Hold rating and increase our target price to $29. GNW Good News Priced-In We are maintaining our Hold rating on shares of Genworth Financial (NYSE: GNW). The company has stated its intention to boost its ROE to 12% in 2008 from an estimated 10% in 2004, a goal that we think is achievable. We see many opportunities in the near term for improvement in profitability. Of particular interest is its fixed annuity Fixed Annuity An insurance contract in which the insurance company makes fixed dollar payments to the annuitant for the term of the contract, usually until the annuitant dies. The insurance company guarantees both earnings and principal. and long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. insurance businesses. However, we believe near-term ROE expansion is already incorporated in the company s valuation, which is now in line with its peer group. Our current six-month target price of $35 assumes the price-to-book multiple remains flat. This equates to an annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. return of 9.5% (8.6% price appreciation + 0.89 dividend yield). Upgrade for Agere Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR) is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and of semiconductor devices used within the storage, mobility, networking and telecommunications end markets. Second quarter revenue was in line with the consensus estimate, while the bottom line beat the consensus. Although revenue growth remains the main issue, the new management team has begun to show it can do more with less, cutting the operating expenses from $175 million to $155 million by the fourth quarter. We believe the shares are undervalued Undervalued A stock or other security that is trading below its true value. Notes: The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating. . Consequently, we are upgrading AGR shares to a Buy. See the latest posts to the Analyst Blog by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2645 About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=2674. About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research Zacks Investment Research A firm that compiles earnings estimates and brokerage firm investment recommendations for thousands of publicly traded firms. , Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. |
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