Disappointing earnings news weighed down the markets during the midday with the Dow falling 43 points to 10,289. Nasdaq lost 16 points to 2140.

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Dryships (NasdaqNM: DRYS) opened at $6.22. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $6.16 and a high of $6.37. DRYS is now trading at $6.30, down $.24 (-3.67%). Over the last 52 wee...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

eFuture Information Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: EFUT) moved down 28% to $7.20 in the morning trading hours after EFUT announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. The 52 week trading range for EFUT is $2.51 - $13.84.

HF Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: HFFC) is currently trading at $8.20, declined by $1.55 or 15.90% on 35K shares in the morning trading hours after HF Financial announced the pricing of its public offering Of 2.5 million common shares at $8.00 per share.

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ: DRYS) declined 3.37% to $6.31 on 7.28 million shares. So far this year, DRYS is down over 40%. The 52 week trading range for DRYS is $2.72 - $17.35. Yesterday, DryShips Inc. announced the pricing of its $400 million convertible senior notes offering.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) plummeted 8.19% to $14.55 on 2.28 million shares. Yesterday, Dell reported net income of $337 million or $0.17 a share as compared to $727 million or $0.37 a share, a year ago quarter. In the last six months, DELL gained over 26%.

Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ: VOD) tumbled 1.77% to $22.15 on 834K shares after The 52 week trading range for VOD is $15.46 - $23.85. Vodafone Spain has appointed Cristina Rivas Saiz as its marketing director for the enterprise business unit in Spain. In the last six months, VOD gained over 18%.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCRX) plunged 6.54% to $9.72 on 1.09 million shares. Yesterday, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced pricing of a public offering of 5,000,000 shares of its common stock at $9.75 per share. So far in 2009, BCRX gained over 609%.

ADC Telecommunications (NASDAQ: ADCT) declined 14% to $5.69 on 1.38 million shares. Yesterday, ADC Telecommunications reported that it lost $19.2 million in the fourth quarter. So far this year, ADCT is up only 4%.

Golden Green Enterprises Ltd (NASDAQ: CHOP) is another stock down 5.51% and now trades at $5.15, on 136K shares. In the last six months, CHOP gained only around 2%.

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DryShips Inc. (DRYS) is now a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock as estimates rise after a tough year where earnings per share dropped by 90%. The stock is now cheap, trading at just 6.6x forward earnings. Company Description DryShips operates drybulk carriers and offshore oil deep water drilling worldwide. The dry bulk fleet has a capacity [...]

($DRYS) DryShips Inc. – Earnings Surprised by 28.57% in the Third Quarter

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 18, 2009 – Four free stock picks are being made available today on Zacks.com. The industry’s leading independent research firm highlights one Zacks #1 Rank Strong Buy or a Zacks #2 Rank Buy stock for each of the four main styles of investing: Aggressive Growth, Growth & Income, Momentum, and Value.

The four highlighted picks are: Cantel Medical Corp (CMN), Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST), China Green Agriculture, Inc. (CGA) and DryShips Inc. (DRYS).
    
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Four daily picks are offered free at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607

Zacks #1 Rank Stocks have nearly tripled the S&P 500 since 1988, producing an average annual return of +26%. Performance has been notable even during volatile and down times. For example, during the last bear market, 2000-2002, the market tumbled -37.6% – but Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%.

Here is a summary of today's selected stocks that are now highly rated by Zacks:          
       
Aggressive Growth – Cantel Medical Corp (CMN)
Cantel Medical Corp posted yet another earnings surprise with a 65% increase in net income.

Zacks Guide to Aggressive Growth Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4309

Growth & Income – Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)
Costco Wholesale Corporation recently posted October net sales of $5.68 billion, a 7% increase over last year’s $5.30 billion. Comparable sales spiked 5% year-over-year.

Zacks Guide to Growth & Income Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4310
  
Momentum – China Green Agriculture, Inc. (CGA)
China Green Agriculture, Inc. is once again pressuring its 52-week high after jumping higher on a recent third-quarter earnings surprise.

Zacks Guide to Momentum Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4311

Value – DryShips Inc. (DRYS)
DryShips Inc. is now a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock as estimates rise after a tough year where earnings per share dropped by 90%. The stock is now cheap, trading at just 6.6x forward earnings.

Zacks Guide to Value Investing (free!): http://at.zacks.com/?id=4312

How to Regularly Access Picks from the Zacks Rank Discovery for Free:  http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607
 
Underlying the four free stock picks is a simple truth that first appeared in a Financial Analysts Journal article published in 1979. Leonard Zacks, a Ph.D. in Mathematics from M.I.T. found that "earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices."  Zacks #1 Rank is awarded to a stock when analysts sharply upgrade their estimates of what the company will earn.

Today, Zacks is promoting its stock recommendations by offering four daily picks free to those who register at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5607 

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Len Zacks. The company continually processes stock reports issued by 3,000 analysts from 150 brokerage firms.  It monitors more than 200,000 earnings estimates, looking for changes.

Then, when changes are discovered, they’re applied to help assign more than 4,400 stocks into five Zacks Rank categories: #1 Strong Buy, #2 Buy, #3 Hold, #4 Sell, and #5 Strong Sell. This proprietary stock-picking system continues to outperform the market by a nearly 3-to-1 margin. 
  
More Free Stock Picks

Each weekday, new Zacks #1 Rank or Zacks #2 Rank stock picks are released on the free email newsletter, Profit from the Pros. Investors are invited to register for their free subscription at http://at.zacks.com/?id=5642

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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.

Zacks.com

Aggressive Growth Stocks:
Contact: Bill Wilton
Phone: 312-265-9277

or

Growth & Income Stocks:
Contact: Alex Kolb
Phone: 312-265-9149

or

Momentum Stocks:
Contact: Michael Vodicka
Phone: 312-265-9226

or

Value Stocks:
Contact: Tracey Ryniec
Phone: 312-265-9232

Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.zacks.com

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
 

 

Zacks Investment Research

BloggingStocks: The markets were higher before the economic data came to ruin the party. CPI came in higher than PPI on the inflation front, but there was a real disappointment in housing starts considering that many were expecting gains there. Oil inventory ... Read more

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DryShips Inc. (DRYS) is now a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock as estimates rise after a tough year where earnings per share dropped by 90%. The stock is now cheap, trading at just 6.6x forward earnings.

Company Description

DryShips operates drybulk carriers and offshore oil deep water drilling worldwide. The dry bulk fleet has a capacity of over 3.4 million deadweight tons and operates 39 drybulk carriers, including 7 Capesize, 30 Panamax and 2 Supramax carriers.

The company's offshore oil deep water drilling division operates 2 ultra deep water semisubmersible drilling rigs and 4 ultra deep water newbuilding drillships.

DryShips Surprised by 28.57% in the Third Quarter

On Oct 26, DryShips reported its third quarter results and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6 cents. Earnings per share were 27 cents compared to the Zacks Consensus of 21 cents.

The drybulk carrier segment continues to be challenged by the global economy. Net voyage revenues (voyage revenues minus voyage expenses) fell to $114.8 million from $228.2 million in the year ago period.

The company said the decrease was due to substantially lower freight market compared to the third quarter of 2008.

The offshore drilling segment, however, saw revenues rise 22.1% to $107.6 million from $88.1 million in the year ago period.

Outlook

Going forward, the company is seeing signs of economic recovery from countries other than China and India. Its drybulk fleet is also virtually fixed for the rest of 2009 and for 2010. It is also already 77% fixed for 2011.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Rise

Analysts have been raising estimates since the earnings beat. The fourth quarter Zacks Consensus Estimate has risen 4 cents to 25 cents in the last month.

The 2009 Zacks Consensus has climbed 12.8% to $1.06 from 94 cents per share in the prior 30 days with 7 out of 8 analysts raising during that time.

Fundamentals

DryShips has surprised on estimates 2 out of the last 4 quarters. The company's price-to-book ratio is just 0.67. Analysts expect 5-year sales growth of 77.18%.

Zacks Investment Research

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look at the major news of the day on Wall Street.

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look at the major news of the day on Wall Street.

Schaeffer's analyst Colleen S. King takes a look at the major news of the day on Wall Street.

Schaeffer?s analyst Colleen S. King takes a look at news on the Street before the market open.

Strategy Lab Panel: Robert Walberg, Kelly Wright, Vad Yazvinski, Ken Kam, John Resse and Ron Prichard. We review each of the strategies and the specific ways in which the strategies work as well as stock picks and pans. From Screening on a quantitative basis to contrarian investing strategies and back, this episode has a great deal of ideas that will help you profit. We yammer about Marijuana legalization and the Democrats looking strong. Then, we explore how that is going to effect your portfolio. Good clean fun...