(Source: Business Wire)
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 LaBranche & Co. Inc. (NYSE: LAB), Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX), Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MFLX), Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) and Novo Nordisk A S (NYSE: NVO). Each of these stocks easily outperformed the S&P 500.
Stocks ranked #1 (Strong Buy) by Zacks have produced an average annual return of +28% 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.
LaBranche & Co. Inc. (NYSE: LAB) has experienced a 50% rise in earnings estimates for this year over the past month. The company was featured as an Aggressive Growth Stock of the Day at Zacks.com on Jan 28. LAB was a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank company for the week ended Jan 30 as shares advanced 13.2%.
The company recently announced fourth-quarter net income per share of 41 cents on a pro forma basis, compared to 4 cents in the year-ago period. Furthermore, the result beat the consensus estimate by more than 140%.
Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX) is a Focus List stock that reported a solid fiscal second-quarter performance last week, which included a year-over-year gain in total revenue of 14% to $207.7 million. Earnings per share advanced from the previous year, while also eclipsing the consensus by approximately 10.7%. The company has an excellent record of surpassing Wall Street's quarterly profit expectations, amassing an average surprise of more than 9.7% over the past 4 quarters.
OTEX made the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List for last week as shares gained almost 10%. In reaction to the quarterly performance, analysts have boosted earnings estimates for the fiscal year ending June 2009 by 7% over the past 7 days. Expectations have increased by 15% over the past 3 months. OTEX is the world's largest independent provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software.
Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (NASDAQ: MFLX) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter results on Feb 5, and earnings estimates have moved higher in anticipation. In January, the circuit board maker raised its guidance for the soon-to-be-announced quarter, sending earnings estimates for the year ending September 2009 up by approximately 31% over the past 30 days. Expectations for the year ending September 2010 advanced in the past month as well.
