Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Xoma, Ltd., Bausch & Lomb, United Dominion Realty Trust and General Mills.

CHICAGO -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Xoma, Ltd. (Nasdaq:XOMA) as the Bull of the Day and Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on United Dominion Realty Trust (NYSE:UDR) and General Mills (NYSE:GIS). Full analysis of all four stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Our Bull of the Day recommendation is for Xoma, Ltd. (Nasdaq: XOMA), a biopharmaceutical company that develops products to treat infectious diseases, immunological and inflammatory disorders, and cancer. The company's receives royalties on worldwide sales of psoriasis drug Raptiva, as well as provides contract manufacturnig and licensing services related to its bacterial cell expression and human engineering technology. Xoma also possesses an interesting early-stage pipeline and collaborative research efforts. We look forward to several positive catalysts the remainder of 2006 to help drive the shares higher. We see fair value at $4.00.

Bear of the Day:

Our Bear of the Day recommendation is for Bausch & Lomb (NYSE:BOL). We are reducing our rating to Sell from Hold on valuation based on our current estimates. The company faces possible NYSE delisting if unable to complete its filings by September 30, 2006. While the company is making progress to restore its financial house, continued possibility of further guidance reduction exists. At 17x our 2007 EPS of $2.49, roughly equivalent to a 1.1x P/E/G that is approximately a 10% group discount, our target is $43.00.

Analyst Blog:

Despite hovering near its 52-week high, we still rate United Dominion Realty Trust (NYSE:UDR) a Buy. The company again had another strong quarter, with significant increases in revenue, net operating income, and income per occupied home. The company exceeded consensus estimates, and UDR could realize 10% earnings growth in 2006. With the for-sale housing market cooling, UDR should be able to push rents while maintaining high occupancy throughout 2006. The company is one of the lowest-valued apartment REITs, and UDR represents good value in an environment with improving multi-family fundamentals.

Productivity initiatives, debt reduction, and new product introductions should help General Mills (NYSE: GIS) achieve high single-digit earnings growth in the long term. The company is in the early stages of implementing a strategy for shareholder value enhancement in which cash flow is being utilized to reduce debt and increase dividends. However, in the near term, lost sales from divestitures and continued margin pressure from promotional spending and energy costs are impeding earnings progress. The stock is rated a Hold.

Get the full analysis of all four stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About the Analyst Blog

Updated throughout every trading day, the Analyst Blog provides analysis from Zacks Equity Research about the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets.

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