Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Vivo Participacoes, Werner Enterprises, AstraZeneca, Raytheon and Primedia

Business Wire,  June 24, 2008  

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CHICAGO -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Vivo Participa[?][?]es (NYSE: VIV) as the Bull of the Day and Werner Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: WERN) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and Primedia, Inc. (NYSE: PRM).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day: Vivo Participa[?][?]es (NYSE: VIV)

The company has a dominant position and a strong brand in the fast-growing Brazilian wireless business. First quarter operating results were very positive, including continued debt reduction. The short-term outlook remains encouraging due to positive industry trends, coupled with the improvement in the Brazilian economic environment. Finally, the acquisition of Telemig and the new bands in all the regions where the company was not authorized to operate, both rendered positive news.

Bear of the Day: Werner Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: WERN)

We are reducing our recommendation on Werner Enterprises to Sell from Hold, and lowering our target price to $17. At the same time, we are cutting our 2008 diluted EPS estimate to $0.80 from $0.87, reflecting higher estimated fuel costs now that oil is trading around $140 per barrel.

Our 2009 EPS estimate remains $1.07. We expect WERN's trucking operations to continue to be hurt by the weak U.S. economy, demonstrated by falling volumes and weak pricing due to increased truck supply and a softer freight market, as well as higher fuel costs and lower gains on truck sales. WERN reported first quarter EPS of $0.12, down 43% year over year.

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AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN)

AstraZeneca Plc's key drugs such as Crestor (cholesterol), Seroquel (schizophrenia) and Symbicort (asthma) will continue to be the driving force of growth until the company can monetize its pipeline. Generic competition will eat into revenue growth, but productivity initiatives should pay off in the form of healthier margins and mid-single digit earnings growth for the next few years.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN)

Raytheon Company offers investors strong order bookings and order backlog, an improving balance sheet, growing cash flow, above industry average return on equity (ROE), and one of the highest dividend yields in the industry. Solid performance in 2007 is expected to continue through 2008-09.

Going forward, however, concerns about the long-term growth of defense spending in the face of continuing budget deficits and risks related to the company's program execution remain significant risks. Accordingly, we note a bias to outperformance and maintain our Buy recommendation on RTN common stock with a six-month target price of $64.25.

Primedia, Inc. (NYSE: PRM)

Primedia's advertising revenue for its core Apartment Guide business appears to be stabilizing, as the softening housing market slows condo conversions, and shrinks the business customer base. Meanwhile, we expect cost cutting efforts, including the consolidation of six PRM offices in New York City into one, to bolster declining earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

The management is taking a number of steps to improve revenue growth and profitability of the company. It is upgrading editorial talent, reducing draw (number of copies printed for sale) and reinvesting the savings into higher quality copies. Early indications are mixed however, and it is a wait-and-watch story.

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