Stocks Profile

AIM quoted mining company Highland Gold Mining (LON:HGM) has announced positive results from its ongoing exploration programme at Unkurtash in Kyrgyzstan. Highland – whose largest shareholders include industry giant Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and an investment vehicle controlled by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich – said the latest results underlined its vision for developing a large open-pit mineable gold resource at Unkurtash. Highland has earmarked US$20 million of an overall US$30 million 2011 exploration budget to “substantially increase” the initial 42.9 tonnes (1.38 million oz) of gold reserves (C1+C2 category) at Unkurtash, which were recently approved by regulatory authorities. The project includes three distinct prospects: the Unkurtash, Sarytube and Karatube, which lie on Highland’s exploration licenses. At the Unkurtash prospect the new drilling results corroborate the recently established reserve estimate, which was based on results from the 2009 drilling campaign. The current results are expected to significantly improve key parameters of the resource model and respective resource categories. Deep drilling from the surface...

We have upgraded our recommendation on Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN) to Outperform following a detailed analysis of the company fundamentals in light of the current economic environment. The company is exhibiting growth in its loan portfolio, which surpasses its peers. The company reported better-than-expected first quarter 2011 results on the back of credit quality improvement and a modest growth in loans and deposits. Strategic initiatives are right on track, and the company is poised to benefit from an economic rebound. By making active efforts to reduce its problem assets, the company has lowered the level of its criticized commercial loans. Though issues related to a sluggish economic recovery along its footprints and regulatory concerns remain, its solid capital position and tactical efforts are expected to reduce those impacts. Our six-month target price of $7.50 equates to 12.5x our earnings estimate for 2011.

We are upgrading our recommendation on United Continental Holdings (UAL) to Outperform. Though we remain concerned about escalating fuel prices, United Continental is able to pass on higher costs to its customers in the form of fare hikes. The company's first quarter earnings soared on higher fares despite steeper fuel prices. We believe United Continental will continue to benefit from merger synergies, global network, strong competitive positioning, low costs, fleet optimization and a strong liquidity position. The trend of combating rises fuel prices with higher fares is also likely to continue. In addition, United Continental hedges its fuel position that restricts its losses and provides increased profitability. The stock is trading at a discount to the peer group as well as the S&P 500 benchmark. We are recommending an Outperform rating with the target price of $27, based on 7.2x our earnings estimate for 2011.

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) has posted huge gains in the last year, recently hitting a new all-time high on a 21% earnings surprise. That and bullish estimates have this Zacks #1 Rank stock running with momentum. Company Description Under Armour, Inc. develops and sells a line of performance athletic apparel and footwear for men, woman and children primarily in the United States and Canada. The company was founded in 1996 and has a market cap of $4.03 billion. Under Armour has been a strong performer in 2011, recently hitting a new high after reporting solid Q1 results in late April that included a 21% earnings surprise. First-Quarter Results Revenue for the period was up 36% from last year to $313 million. Earnings also looked good, coming in at 23 cents, 21% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the company has an average earnings surprise of 47% over the last four quarters. The company saw big gains from its direct-to-consumer channel, where sales were up 53%...

We are downgrading our recommendation on Federated Investors, Inc. (FII) to Underperform from Neutral based on expected downward pressure on assets under management (AUM), flows and margins. Regulatory backdrop, waning equity markets and sluggish global economic growth are expected to keep earnings under pressure. Federated's lowered AUM has resulted in a negative organic growth in the core business as investors are transferring cash from money market funds to higher yielding bank deposits or investments across the fixed income universe and equities. A significant reduction in money market managed assets due to changes in financial markets, including increases in interest rates over a short period of time, considerable deterioration in investor confidence, prolonged periods of historically low short-term interest rates and resulting fee waivers, could have a material adverse effect on Federated's results of operations. Federated shares currently trade at 14.7x our 2011 earnings estimate, a 7.5% discount to the industry average. Our six-month target price of $22.00 equates to about 13.5x our...

When Martin Warner brought Michelmersh Brick (LON:MBH) to the Alternative Investment Market in 2004, he had already built the business into the largest producer of handmade bricks in the UK. Since starting the business in the late 1990s, Warner and Chairman Eric Gadsden have built a portfolio of niche players supplying local markets and now oversee a group that owns most of the top-end brick makers in the country. Indeed, it was one of Michelmersh’s divisions, Charnwood Forest Brick that supplied the facing bricks for the regeneration of the prestigious Grade 1 listed London St Pancras Station. He believes the company is now well placed to grow in a market that is expected to see significant shifts in power among the industry’s main players in the near future. Last year there were 1.35 billion bricks produced in the UK – a near halving of the 2006 figure of 2.5 billion. The country’s house building sector, which collapsed during the economic...

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels. The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Monday's trading session (listed from highest total volume to lowest): 1) BioSante Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BPAX): Shares of BioSante hit a 52-week high of $3.84 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $3.62. The year-to-date performance of BioSante has been a gain of 198%. 2) Arch Chemicals (NYSE: ARJ): Shares of Arch Chemicals hit a 52-week high of $47.75 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $47.37. The year-to-date performance of Arch Chemicals has been a gain of 25.6%. 3) Coffee Holding (NASDAQ: JVA): Shares of Coffee Holding hit a 52-week high of $30.98 in Monday's trading session. The stock closed at $29.35. The year-to-date performance of Coffee Holding has been a gain of 693%. 4) Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN): Shares of Hansen Medical hit a 52-week high of $4.84 in Monday's trading session. The...

Altra Holdings, Inc. (AIMC) recently rebounded from a key long-term trend line to move back within striking distance of the all-time high at $27.48. With an average earnings surprise of 19% over the last four quarters and a bullish growth projection, this Zacks #1 rank stock has plenty of momentum. Company Description Altra Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiary Altra Holding Motion, Inc, is an industrial good company that designs and produces a line of mechanical power transmission and motion control products worldwide. The company was founded in 2004 and has a market cap of $662 million. Industrial goods companies have been posting big gains over the last year, jumping higher with the market on a stronger global economy. That trend was on display when Altra reported strong Q1 results from last April that came in well ahead of expectations. First-Quarter Results Revenue for the period was up 25% from last year to $160 million. Earnings also looked great, coming in at 40 cents, 21% ahead...

The department store is very much alive. Macy's, Inc. (M) just raised second quarter and full year sales guidance following a much stronger than expected June. This Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) is still a value stock even as shares trade at new 52-week highs. Macy's operates 850 department stores under the brands Macy's and Bloomingdale's in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. It also is an online retailer using the websites macys.com and bloomingdales.com. Sales Jumped 7.5% in June On July 7, Macy's released its June sales figures and saw same-store sales jump 6.7% which was much higher than the consensus of retail analysts of 5.1%. Total sales rose 7.5% to $2.2 billion. The growth was spread across the company in both stores and in both online sites. Online sales were especially hot, climbing 45% in June. They're up 39.6% for the year. However, the online sales are included in the overall sales numbers and not otherwise broken out so it's hard...

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels. The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Friday's trading session (listed from highest total volume to lowest): 1) Melco Crown Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL): Shares of Melco Crown hit a 52-week high of $14.19 in Friday's trading session. The stock closed at $13.98. The year-to-date performance of Melco Crown has been a gain of 119.8%. 2) Western Refining (NYSE: WNR): Shares of Western Refining hit a 52-week high of $20.67 in Friday's trading session. The stock closed at $20.61. The year-to-date performance of Western Refining has been a gain of 94.8%. 3) BioSante Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: BPAX): Shares of BioSante Pharmaceuticals hit a 52-week high of $3.62 in Friday's trading session. The stock closed at $3.60. The year-to-date performance of BioSante has been a gain of 199.5%. 4) Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN): Shares of Hansen Medical hit a 52-week high of $4.70 in Friday's trading...