CHICAGO, Dec. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights America's Car-Mart (Nasdaq:CRMT-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and STAAR Surgical (Nasdaq:STAA-Free Report)as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report), Mercadolibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI-Free Report) and Overstock.com Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:OSTK-Free Report).
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
America's Car-Mart (Nasdaq:CRMT-Free Report) recently delivered big beats on both the top- and bottom-lines. This prompted analysts to revise their earnings estimates significantly higher for both this year and next, sending it to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
America's Car-Mart operates 136 automotive dealerships in ten states and is focused exclusively on selling and financing used cars. It operates primarily in small cities throughout the south-central United States.
Car-Mart primarily sells older model used vehicles and provides financing for substantially all of its customers, many of whom have limited financial resources and would not qualify for conventional financing as a result of limited credit histories or past credit problems.
America's Car-Mart delivered better-than-expected results for its fiscal 2015 second quarter on November 19. Earnings per share came in at 83 cents, crushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 67 cents. It was a 36% increase over the same quarter last year.
Revenue rose 10% to $133.8 million, well ahead of the consensus of $125.0 million. This was driven in part by a 5.4% increase in same-store sales. Retail unit sales jumped 13.9% year-over-year with 29.6 retail units sold per dealership per month, up from 27.6 in the same quarter last year. This more than offset a 2.3% decline in the average retail sales price to $9,490.
STAAR Surgical (Nasdaq:STAA-Free Report) recently reported disappointing third quarter results, as the company missed expectations for both sales and earnings. Analysts have revised their estimates sharply lower for both this year and next, sending the stock to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
While the stock has sold off heavily so far this year, it doesn't look like much of a value at more than 100x forward earnings and 8x book value.
STAAR manufactures and sells implantable lenses for the eye. Its Implantable Collamer® Lens or "ICL" is used in refractive surgery as an alternative to LASIK. Its intraocular lens or "IOL" is used to replace the natural lens after cataract surgery.
Approximately 60% of its net sales year-to-date came from ICLs, with 32% coming from IOLs. The remainder comes from other surgical products. Over 85% of its sales come from outside the United States, including nearly 25% from Japan.
STAAR delivered disappointing third quarter results on October 30. Adjusted earnings per share (but including stock-based compensation expense) came in at a loss of 4 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of +$0.03.
Total sales rose 8% to $18.2 million, but this was well short of the consensus of $19.0 million.
Additional content:
Amazon's Robots Handling Holiday Sales
Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report), recently unveiled its latest-generation fulfillment center where robots, vision systems and other high-end technologies have been deployed to speed up order deliveries.
The robots have been built by Amazon's subsidiary Kiva Systems, which it acquired two years ago for $775 million to increase the level of automation in its warehouses. These robots comprise mobile shelving systems that automatically transport items to workers. The company already has 15,000 robots operating in the U.S.
These high-tech fulfillment centers also use Robo-Stow — a 6-ton robot that moves large quantities of inventory directly to Kiva robots — for quick order fulfillment. Moreover, the new vision systems have lowered the time taken for receipt and unloading of inventory to less than 30 minutes from an hour or more previously.
The world's largest online retailer has been striving to expand and automate its fulfillment centers around the world. These innovative technologies shorten the time taken to sort and pack products, thereby strengthening same-day or overnight delivery services. The robots help Amazon to easily cater to the surge in demand and traffic during peak holiday season.
The holiday season is crucial for Amazon as sales in November and December account for a major part of its annual revenues.
Amazon seeks to be the most customer-focused company and, therefore, is determined to improve its delivery system and offer better customer services. In this regard, Amazon plans to develop a drone-based delivery service to deploy airborne robotic drones for delivering packages to consumers in 30 minutes. In July, Amazon had requested the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") for permission to fly drones out of their test facility.
Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in this industry include Mercadolibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI-Free Report) and Overstock.com Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:OSTK-Free Report), which carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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