Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: General Growth, CONMED, TOTAL and Mack-Cali Realty

Business Wire, Sept 13, 2007

CHICAGO -- Zacks Equity Research highlights General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) as the Bull of the Day and CONMED Corp. (Nasdaq: CNMD) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on TOTAL (NYSE: TOT) and Mack-Cali Realty (NYSE: CLI). 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 General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP). GGP has a strong development and redevelopment pipeline, which should incrementally add to earnings as projects come on line. Retail spending is holding up and there is no evidence that retailers are curtailing their demand for space. We have upgraded GGP to buy due to what we feel is a compelling valuation. Shares are now trading at a discount to NAV and peer group averages due to a 20% decline in price over the past six months.

Bear of the Day:

Our Bear of the Day recommendation is for CONMED Corp. (Nasdaq: CNMD). The company is guiding for 5% revenue growth in 2007 but expects to generate EPS growth through cost controls and expense rationalization. However, given the soft top-line outlook (up 6% in 2008), we aren't sure the company can continue to generate solid EPS growth through just margin improvement. We believe the stock, at best, should trade in-line with competitors. Our target remains at $24.00.

Analyst Blog:

We maintain our Buy rating on TOTAL (NYSE: TOT) ADRs after the company reported second quarter results. We continue to like the company for its positive production-growth profile, attractive returns and an improving outlook for the refining and chemical businesses. We also like the company's active share buyback program and the recent increases in the dividend. Growth in production now is higher than its peers and we expect momentum to accelerate in the coming quarters. We increase the price target to $82.

Mack-Cali Realty (NYSE: CLI) pays an above average dividend and on a P/FFO [price-to-funds from operations] basis the company trades at a significant discount to peers. We rate the shares a Hold due to the company's asset base, which is located in mostly suburban submarkets which still suffer from high vacancies. We think consistent rent growth will be difficult in the coming year. In addition, recent national employment numbers are not encouraging, as the fortunes of office landlords are highly correlated with job growth and corporate expansion.

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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