(Source: Business Wire)
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: Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX), Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SOMX), Federal Realty (NYSE: FRT), Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS).
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Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:
Amdocs Whiffs Badly, Still a Buy
Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX), a leading provider of CRM and billing software for communications service providers, reported mixed financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 (ended December 31).
Global economic weakness impacted the company's quarterly revenue, which was significantly below the company's own guidance. Long sales cycles resulted from delays in new projects to be implemented by carrier customers, and this is likely to continue for the remainder of the fiscal year. Adverse foreign-exchange rate movement also contributed to weaker-than-expected performance.
Somaxon a Sell Pre-Silenor News
Somaxon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: SOMX) is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and in-licensing of product candidates in the fields of psychiatry and neurology. The lead product candidate, Silenor (doxepin HCl), has completed phase III trials for the treatment of insomnia and is currently under FDA review.
Despite our positive stance on Silenor, we remain very cautious heading into the FDA action date for the drug at the end of the month. Our trepidation stems more from the FDA than from the clinical data on the drug.
Federal Realty Under Pressure
Federal Realty's (NYSE: FRT) portfolio continues to perform well operationally; 3Q08 rental growth on new/renewal leases was over 20% and overall portfolio occupancy is still above 95%. FRT is one of the best positioned strip mall REITs [real estate investment trusts] in a recessionary environment.
The company has top infill assets in high growth areas of the country. In addition, FRT has a solid balance sheet with low debt and adequate dividend coverage. We rate FRT a Hold due in part to valuation and economic uncertainty. Consumer spending is falling off a cliff and 2009 could be a terrible year for retailers. We would be careful of the entire strip and mall sector. We expect a volatile year for strip REITs and more bankruptcies among national retailers.
