Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers: iMergent, Oceaneering International, Avnet, Metal Management and Carolina Bank Holdings

Business Wire, Nov 7, 2006

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com announces the latest list of top performing Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks. The stocks on the prestigious list with the highest returns last week were iMergent, Inc. (AMEX: IIG), Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII), Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), Metal Management, Inc. (NYSE: MM) and Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLBH). Each of these stocks easily outperformed the S&P 500.

Stocks ranked #1 (Strong Buy) by Zacks have produced an average annual return of 32.4% since inception in 1988. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained 43.8% while the S&P 500 tumbled 37.6%. To learn more about the Zacks Rank, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=3172.

Here is a synopsis of the last week's best performing Zacks #1 Rank stocks.

iMergent, Inc. (AMEX: IIG) was the top performing Zacks #1 Rank stock last week with a gain of 13.1%. This was the second straight week that the eCommerce solutions provider was among the Top 5; the stock has advanced approximately 22.6% in those two weeks. iMergent also reached fresh 52-week highs each day from Oct 31 through Nov 2. The company will report its fiscal first-quarter results later today; analysts are expecting profits of 24 cents per share. For fiscal 2007, the company is targeting net dollar volume of contracts written to grow between 15% and 20% for the year.

Oceaneering International, Inc. (NYSE: OII) reported a strong third-quarter performance last week, including earnings per share of 70 cents on revenue of $337 million. EPS surged year over year from 33 cents and also beat the consensus by almost 21%. Revenue improved from $263 million. The company said demand for its subsea services and products remained at very high levels. Given this performance, it's easy to see why Oceaneering gained 12.3% last week to become one of the best performing Zacks #1 Rank stocks. Over the past seven days, the brokerage analyst covering this company raised expectations for this year and next by 6% and 10% respectively.

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) is a global technology distributor that gained 10.65% last week. On Oct 31, the company announced that one of its divisions, Avnet Memec, acquired the semiconductor and embedded systems specialist distribution company ESCO Italiana. The move was made to further strengthen its business model in Southern Europe. A week earlier, Avnet delivered a solid start to fiscal 2007. Fiscal first quarter earnings per share, excluding items, reached 56 cents, which improved significantly from the previous year and also topped the Wall Street consensus. Revenues advanced 11.6% to $3.65 billion.

Metal Management, Inc. (NYSE: MM) announced a strong fiscal second quarter performance last week, helping the metals recycler's share price to rise 10.45%. Net sales reached $585 million in the quarter, which marked an increase of 55% from $378 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings of $1.09 per share jumped from 66 cents and bettered the consensus by about 62.7%. Metal Management said it was able to capitalize on strong nonferrous metal fundamentals and manage through volatile ferrous market conditions.

Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLBH) was one of the best performing stocks during the month of October, and is getting started on another noteworthy performance for November. The company, which hit a fresh 52-week high on Oct 30, gained 9.2% last week. It experienced a 25% rise in its share price during October. For its third quarter, Carolina Bank Holdings reported that net income rose 77.7% to $974,000 from $548,000, while earnings per share jumped 75% to 35 cents from 20 cents. Third-quarter profits also topped analyst projections by two cents. Total revenues of $3.8 million improved 33.4% year over year from $2.9 million.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank stocks have generated an average annual return of 32.4%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained 43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 145.9% annually ( 4.7% vs. 11.6%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

To view the current Zacks #1 Rank List and to see additional Zacks Rank resources, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=3173.

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