Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: ENSCO, King Pharmaceuticals, Bausch & Lomb and Varian Semiconductor

Business Wire, June 22, 2007

CHICAGO -- Zacks Equity Research highlights ENSCO International (NYSE: ESV) as the Bull of the Day and King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSEA). Full analysis of all four stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Our Bull of the Day recommendation is for ENSCO International (NYSE: ESV). We are maintaining our Buy recommendation on ENSCO shares, as we continue to see upside despite its strong recent run up. We believe that continued strong global demand for the company's fleet of premium jackups will help sustain its earnings momentum going forward. We think that the GoM jackup market may have already bottomed, as evident from recent contract rollovers at higher rates. Our positive earnings revision reflects this view. Our new 2007 and 2008 EPS estimates are $7.17 and $9.12, up from $7.06 and $8.60, respectively.

Bear of the Day:

Our Bear of the Day recommendation is for King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: KG), a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing and marketing branded prescription pharmaceutical products. Most of the company's key products are either facing increased competition or generic threat. Additionally, we are concerned about declining prescription trends for most of these products. We believe that generic threat and mounting competition will continue to hinder both top- and bottom-line growth going forward. As such, we are maintaining our Sell rating with a $16 target.

Analyst Blog:

Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) has entered into a merger agreement with affiliates of the private equity firm Warburg, Pincus for $65 per share. While there is a 50-day window during which BOL can solicit higher bids, we believe there is little likelihood of a stronger bid. The 431 product liability lawsuits (at last count) the company faces significantly increases the acquiror's potential financial risk. The company completed its third quarter 2005, second and third quarter 2006 10-Q filings. With these filings, the company is once again current with its financial reporting. Our $65 target represents a 29x P/E [price-to-earnings] multiple on our $2.28 2007 EPS [earnings per share] estimate.

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSEA) engages in the design and manufacture of semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. March top and bottom-line results exceeded consensus estimates. Forward guidance calls for top-line growth of 12-18% sequentially. VSEA has superior technology and remains several product generations ahead of competitors. As Nodes transition to 90 nanometers VSEA remains the strongest solution for ion implementation. Consequently, we reiterate our Buy rating of the shares of VSEA and set a price target of $50.00.

Get the full analysis of all four stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

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