CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW), Deckers Outdoor Corporation (Nasdaq: DECK), VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) and Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL).
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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:
Monster Beats by a Penny
Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) reported revenues of $270 million, up 25% year over year and up 3.5% sequentially. Currency translation had an $11 million positive impact on revenue in the first quarter.
Bookings (represent the dollar value of contractual orders received, and are considered a key indicator of future revenues) increased 26% to $262 million year over year.
Careers revenue came in at $236 million, up 28% year over year. North America generated revenues of $123 million, up 26% year over year and flat year over year. Careers-International revenue increased 31% to $113 million. Internet Advertising & Fees revenue of $34 million was up 8% year over year.
Monster reported a net income of $10.9 million or $0.09 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $0.3 million or $0.02 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter and a net income of $0.1 million or break-even earnings in the previous quarter. The reported net income per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.
Monster generated $28.1 million of cash from operations and used $16.3 million in capital expenditures. Monster ended the cash and equivalents of $199.0 million, up from $191.0 million at the end of the previous quarter. As of June 30, 2011, deferred revenue was $382.8 million, down from $399.1 million at the end of the previous quarter.
Guidance: Going forward, Monster expects bookings to grow in the range of 20% and 25% to $1,162 - $ 1,212 million in 2011. Revenues are projected between $1,074 and $1,120 million in 2011, up 20% - 25% year over year. Earnings per share are forecasted in the range $0.40 to $0.48.
Deckers Posts Loss, but Ups Outlook
Deckers Outdoor Corporation (Nasdaq: DECK), the maker of sheepskin boots and slippers, recently delivered a loss per share in the second-quarter 2011 results owing to costs associated with the transition to a wholesale business model from a distributor business model, opening of new stores and other investments. Despite higher costs, Deckers projects an improved outlook for fiscal 2011 driven by the acquisition of the Sanuk brand.
The company has posted a quarterly loss per share of 19 cents, lower than the loss expectation of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents. However, Deckers reported positive earnings of 23 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Walking through Guidance
Based on strong growth in all the brands and an improved outlook, management is raising its full-year outlook, including the impact of the Sanuk brand which was acquired on July 1, 2011.
The company now forecasts a total revenue growth of 26% and earnings per share increase of 17% in fiscal 2011. Earlier, Deckers had projected total revenue to increase by 21% and earnings per share to rise by 13%. Besides, the company anticipates the newly acquired Sanuk brand to generate sales in the low $20 million range in the remaining year of 2011.
Further, the outlook for fiscal 2011 includes approximately $34.5 million, or 60 cents per share, pertaining to incremental investments and expenses in 2011.
For third-quarter 2011, Deckers projects revenue growth of 38% and earnings growth of 22%, whereas the company forecasts revenue growth of 22% and earnings growth of 36% for the fourth quarter of 2011.
The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2011 is $1.52 per share. Following the company's recent improved guidance, we believe that growth of UGG and Teva brands will lead to the increase in sales. Deckers anticipate its UGG brand sales to increase approximately 25% and Teva brand sales to increase in the low 20% range in 2011.
Moreover, the company's growth opportunities in key geographic regions, including retail store openings, and acquiring the innovative Sanuk brand will strengthen the focus on product innovation and terrain expansion facilitated the company to achieve robust growth.
VeriSign Beats, CEO Resigns
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) reported a net loss of $10.6 million or $0.06 per diluted share compared to a net income of $35.2 million or $0.19 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding one-time items but including stock-based compensation expense, net income came in at $0.32 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.30.
VeriSign reported revenue of $190 million in the second quarter of 2011, up 5% sequentially and up 13% from the year-ago quarter.
In 2010, VeriSign sold the Authentication Services business to Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) and closed down the operations of non-core Content Portal Services (CPS).
The continuing operations of the company consist primarily of the results of the Naming Services business, which comprises Registry Services and Network Intelligence and Availability (NIA) Services. NIA Services include the Managed Domain Name System (Managed DNS), iDefense and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation businesses.
The base of registered names for .com and .net totaled 110 million active domain names, up from 108 million names at the end of March and growing 8% year over year. The company added 8.1 million net new domain names in the quarter, up 2% year over year.
Operating margin came in at 51.7% for the second quarter of 2011, up from 45.9% in the previous quarter.
VeriSign generated $13 million of cash from operating activities and used $14 million in capital expenditures. The company also repurchased shares for $100 million in the quarter. VeriSign still has $1.1 billion remaining under its existing share-repurchase program.
VeriSign ended the quarter with $1.22 billion of cash and equivalents, up from $1.947 billion at the end of the prior quarter.
Guidance
VeriSign announced that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Verisign have renewed Verisign's contract to serve as the authoritative registry operator for the .net registry for another six years till 2017.
Management stated that as the demands on the Domain Name System increased dramatically, VeriSign will continue to build and invest in the infrastructure that supports .net to ensure its continued secure and stable operation.
The company recently resolved its five-year long litigation with Coalition for ICANN Transparency (CFIT). VeriSign recently announced an increase in registry domain name fees for .com and .net a sper the agreement with ICANN.
VeriSign also announced that CEO Mark McLaughlin resigned as president and chief executive officer effective August 1, 2011. Jim Bidzos, VeriSign's founder and previous CEO, will become the president and chief executive officer effective August 1, 2011.
Newell Rubbermaid Beats but Tempers
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL), the producer of Sharpie pens and Rubbermaid containers, logged a fall of 9.8% in the second quarter of 2011 to report 46 cents a share from 51 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.
Input cost inflation coupled with higher selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses offset the positive impact from increased sales volume, favorable pricing and lower interest expense, leading to the earnings fall. Earnings nevertheless outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents a share.
On a reported basis, including special items, earnings per share came in at 49 cents a share, up 19.5% year over year.
Top-Line and Margin Details
During the quarter, Newell recorded a growth of 5.1% year over year in net sales to $1,572.8 million, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,548.0 million. Core sales of the company inched up 1.9% for the quarter.
Newell's quarterly gross profit rose 0.4% year over year to $589.9 million, while gross margin contracted 175 bps to 37.5% due to the negative impact of input cost inflation and higher overhead expenses that more than offset the gains from higher pricing. Operating income decreased 8.1% year over year to $207.9 million, and operating margin contracted 190 basis points to 13.2%.
Guidance Reviewed
Newell expects core sales to augment in the 1%–3% range for fiscal 2011 and in a 3%–5% band for the second half of fiscal 2011. Earlier, the company had expected core sales to grow in the range of 3% to 4% for fiscal 2011.
Better productivity, mix and pricing are expected to fully offset the impact of higher input cost inflation. Accordingly, gross margin expansion of 40–60 basis points is on the cards for fiscal 2011.
In addition, the company expects earnings per share of $1.55 to $1.62 for fiscal 2011, down from the previous expectation of $1.60 to $1.67 per share.
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