Zacks Issues Buy Recommendations on the Following 4 Stocks: Ask Jeeves, Corning, Electronic Arts, and Pulte Homes

Business Wire, July 25, 2003

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 2003

Zacks.com releases another list of stocks that are currently members of the coveted Zacks #1 Ranked list which has produced an average annual return of 33.6% since 1988 and has gained 13.3% annually since 2000 as the markets have been tumbling down. Among the #1 ranked stocks today we highlight the following companies: Ask Jeeves, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASKJ) and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). Further they announced #2 Rankings (Buy) on three other widely held stocks: Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Pulte Homes, Inc. (NYSE:PHM). To see the full Zacks #1 Ranked list or the rank for any other stock then visit: http://www.zacksrank1bw.zacks.com

Here is a synopsis of why these stocks have a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). Note that a #1 Strong Buy rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks we rank:

Ask Jeeves, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASKJ) is a provider of natural-language question answering services on the Internet for consumers and companies, establishing a new way to interact with the World Wide Web. For its second quarter, Ask Jeeves eclipsed both top and bottom line expectations, reporting pro forma net income from continuing operations of 10 cents per share, which reversed a year-ago loss and beat the consensus by three cents. Furthermore, revenues in the quarter jumped by 66% to $25.6 million. The company said its performance was driven by growth in users and frequency of visits, and by monetizing a higher percentage of traffic. Analysts have seen this and have raised recent revisions to the upside, adding about 4 cents to this year's earnings estimates over the past seven trading days. The company, which competes with big boys like Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and AOL (NYSE:AOL), believes it is in the very early days of a secular shift in advertising to Internet search, which should put Ask Jeeves in a good position moving forward. The company decided to raise its earnings guidance for 2003 and now expects pro forma net income of about 33 cents per share, compared to 26 cents. Investors looking to generate profits in this difficult time need only to Ask Jeeves.

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Excluding charges, Corning recently reported second quarter earnings of 2 cents per share, which easily exceeded the consensus expectation of a penny loss. Furthermore, sales came in at $752 million, which eclipsed the company's guidance range of $715 million to $745 million. The company said that these results instill confidence that it will achieve its goals for this year, as it continues to manage costs, pay down debts, and invest in future technologies. Corning issued a third quarter sales outlook between $740 million and $765 million, which was ahead of analysts' expectations at the time, with earnings per share of 1-cent to 3 cents. Corning has enjoyed several recent revisions to the upside, and analysts currently expect next year's earnings results to improve to 14 cents from breakeven this year. Corning still operates in a very challenging environment, but the company appears to be moving in the right direction.

Here is a synopsis of why these stocks have a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). Note that a #2 Buy rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks we rank:

Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) is an interactive entertainment software company whose products are used via a variety of platforms. The leading video game manufacturer put together another solid quarter thanks to its stable of popular products, which include NBA STREET Vol. 2, Def Jam VENDETTA(TM) and The Sims(TM) Superstar Expansion Pack. For its first quarter, Electronic Arts reported non-GAAP diluted earnings of 13 cents per share, which was more than 100% better than the year-ago result and more than 300% better than the consensus. The growth in earnings were driven by increased revenue and a higher gross margin. Net revenue advanced by 6% to $353 million. Over the past three months, Electronic Arts has watched its earnings estimates for this year and next improve by approximately 8% and 9% respectively, with analysts expecting next year's result to be about 10% better than this year. The company said that this performance positions itself well for the rest of the year, and that its Fall development is on schedule and looks great. With a strong performance in the past and more blockbuster games in the future, investors may want to try for a new high score in their portfolio with Electronic Arts.

Pulte Homes, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) is a publicly held holding company whose subsidiaries engage in the homebuilding and financial services businesses. The environment for homebuilders remains favorable, which helped Pulte Homes to report second quarter diluted earnings per share that jumped by 34% and consolidated revenues that increased by 16%. Backlog exceeded $4.2 billion in the quarter, which the company said puts it in an excellent position to deliver record full-year results. Pulte Homes once again raised its earnings guidance for 2003, and now expects between $9 and $9.25, which would mark a 25% improvement over last year. The company's earnings estimates for this year and next have improved by approximately 20 cents and 52 cents over the past three months respectively, marking increases of 2% and 6%. Furthermore, Pulte Homes enjoys an excellent record of meeting or exceeding Wall Street's expectations over the past several quarter. Pulte Homes operates in a thriving industry and has displayed an ability to take advantage. Investors looking to lay a solid foundation for profit should consider zoning a place for Pulte Homes.