For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 22, 2010 – 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: Palm Inc. (PALM), Sprint (S), Verizon (VZ), Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM).
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Palm Disappoints on Weak Outlook
We do not see a turnaround at Palm Inc. (PALM) in the near future. The shares fell 14.5% after the market closed yesterday, following the company’s third-quarter of fiscal 2010 earnings announcement. The shares have fallen by more than 50% this year.
Although its loss narrowed in the quarter, driven by higher year-over-year sales, Palm provided disappointing revenue guidance for the fourth quarter. Management said that the revenue in the fourth quarter would come in below expectations, as a result of lower sales and reduced demand for both the Pre and Pixi smartphones at its exclusive carriers, Sprint (S) and Verizon (VZ).
Palm expects to generate just $150 million in revenue in the fourth-quarter versus $113.2 million generated in the year-ago period. While this is up year over year, it is well below the consensus estimate of $306 million. The company also expects gross margin in the mid-teens percentage range.
To grow its shrinking smartphone market share, Palm recently signed a carrier deal with Verizon. Despite this, Palm has failed to generate higher sales and profitability. While Palm expects to add other carriers to boost its customer base, we believe achieving this and seeing customer preference for its smartphone over its competitors will be extremely challenging for the company.
The inability by Palm to sell its phones have also increased inventory. Moreover, the impact of high inventory levels of its Palm Pre and Palm Pixi smartphones will continue to affect top-line growth and increase losses.
Clearly, we believe that Palm has failed to attract customers. Palm will continue to struggle as it competes against much larger competitors in the smartphone market such as Apple Inc. (AAPL), Research In Motion (RIMM) and Samsung Electronic. With weak fundamentals and waning market share, our confidence in the company’s long term prospects is low.
Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5515.
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: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5517
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, 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 at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5518.
Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
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.
Contact:
Mark Vickery
Web Content Editor
312-265-9380
Visit: www.zacks.com
