3D Systems Corp provides 3D content-to-print solutions including personal, professional and production 3D printers, integrated print materials and on-demand custom parts services. Check out a video of them in action here. Pretty cool stuff.

Shares of DDD have soared more than 200% year-to-date, including 35% over the last 30 days. And this strong momentum carried over into Thursday.

Earnings estimates have risen significantly higher following strong third quarter results on October 25. Based on current consensus estimates, EPS is expected to grow 53% this year and 24% next year.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc. (FBC) was another hot Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock, jumping +3.6% on Thursday. Flagstar Bancorp is a bank with 111 branches across Michigan.

FBC became a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) after it delivered a huge 24% positive earnings surprise on October 24. Shares are up 24% since October 25 but still trade at a very reasonable 8x forwared earnings and 0.9x book value.

Other notable top performing Zacks #1 Rank stocks from Thursday include: Novo Nordisk (NVO), which was up +7.3%, Sparton Corp. (SPA), which rose +7.1%, and Stratasys Inc. (SSYS), which gained +3.3%.

To see the full list of Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks click here.

Todd Bunton is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research and Editor of the Income Plus Investor service.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:15:01 GMT And Joe's Jeans Inc. (JOEZ) was one of the loudest, with shares surging +8.6% on heavy volume.

As its name implies, Joe's Jeans is a premium denim manufacturer. It sells its products through department stores and boutiques.

Joe's delivered better than expected second quarter results on July 16. Earnings per share came in at 2 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 cent. Revenue rose 16% to $28.6 million, ahead of the consensus of $27.0 million. This was driven by a stellar 10% jump in same-store sales.

The solid Q2 beat led analysts to revise their estimates higher for both 2012 and 2013. It became a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock on July 18.

magicJack VocalTec Ltd. (CALL) was another hot Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock, jumping +4.8% on Tuesday. magicJack VocalTec provides voice-over-IP (VoIP) technology, including the softphone and magicJack.

CALL delivered solid second quarter results on July 30. Earnings per share came in at 51 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Revenue surged 34% year-over-year to $38.6 million, beating the consensus of $36.0 million. This was driven by a 68% increase in the sale of magicJack and magicJack PLUS.

Analysts revised their estimates higher for 2013 following better-than-expected Q2 2012 results. CALL has been either a Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) Rank since June 15. It has soared more than +36% since then.

Other notable top performing Zacks #1 Rank stocks from Tuesday include: AAC Technologies Holdings Inc. (AACAY), which was up +8.6%, General Communication Inc. (GNCMA), which rose +4.6%, and Ikanos Communications, Inc. (IKAN), which gained +4.3%.

To see the full list of Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks click here.

Todd Bunton is the Growth & Income Stock Strategist for Zacks Investment Research and Editor of the Income Plus Investor service.

 
MAGICJACK VOCTC (CALL): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:19:01 GMT Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. (HPY) was one of the top-performing Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks on Wednesday with a gain of nearly 7.5%.

This provider of payment processing services has put together five straight quarters of better-than-expected profit, and now we are less than a month away from its second-quarter report. At the moment, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is 40 cents per share. There hasn’t been any movement in earnings estimates over the past 30 days, but that guidance is up 2.6% from two months ago.

In its first-quarter announcement from early May, HPY reported earnings per share of 34 cents, which was nearly 42% better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. That continued its string of quarterly earnings beats, which have averaged almost 25% in the past five quarters.

Revenue moved higher by 1% to $470.5 million.

However, the best news of the quarter, as far as its Zacks Rank is concerned, was its outlook for the full year. HPY raised its adjusted earnings guidance to between $1.59 and $1.63, compared to its earlier expectation of $1.52 to $1.56. The revenue outlook stayed put at $530 million to $540 million.

You can see the impact of that raised guidance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year is now $1.46 per share, or 7.4% better than two months ago. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year has gained 8.8% to $1.74, suggesting year-over-year growth of more than 19%.

Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. provides bank card-based payment processing services to small- and medium- sized merchants in the United States. Heartland facilitates the exchange of information and funds between merchants and cardholders' financial institutions, providing end-to- end electronic payment processing services to merchants, including merchant setup and training, transaction authorization and electronic draft capture, clearing and settlement, merchant accounting, merchant assistance and support and risk management.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 09:48:01 GMT Radware Ltd. (RDWR) became one of the top-performing Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks on Wednesday with a gain of 6.8%. Volume was over 930,000 today, compared to the daily average of around 183,000.

According to Oppenheimer & Co., the company, which is a global leader of application delivery and application security solutions for virtual and cloud data centers, is in “advanced negotiations” with Juniper Networks (JNPR) for a possibly “substantial” deal.

While this speculation was apparently the reason for the share price bump today, it has nothing to do with the company’s Zacks #1 Rank, which is based on earnings estimate revisions and was established well before the announcement.

There’s only one estimate on RDWR for 2012 and 2013, but it has moved higher in the past 30 days. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 is up nearly 9.3% in that time to $1.53 per share. For 2013, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 9.1% to $1.79, which suggests year-over-year profit growth of practically 17%.

The reason behind the higher consensus was a solid first-quarter report announced on May 1, in which earnings per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by almost 14%. Meanwhile, revenue jumped 17% year over year to $45 million from $38.6 million. The company attributed this performance to increased demand in the Americas.

RDWR has either beaten or matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate for eight consecutive quarters now. As the graph below shows, it has beaten six times and matched twice in this run, and has now put together three straight quarters of positive surprises.

Radware Ltd. Develops, manufactures and markets products that manage and direct Internet traffic among network resources to enable continuous access to Web sites and other services, applications and content based on Internet protocol. It offers a broad range of Internet traffic management solutions to service providers, e-commerce businesses and corporate enterprises that require uninterrupted availability and optimal performance of IP-based applications that are critical to their business.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:32:01 GMT ZAGG Inc. (ZAGG), which advanced a little more than 6%. Volume was nearly 2.6 million shares, compared to the daily average of about 926,000.

The company is a mobile accessories maker. One of the biggest positives for ZAGG is the increasing demand for smartphones and tablets, most recently exemplified by the quarterly report from Apple (AAPL). Specifically, ZAGG makes protective coverings for electronic devices, including ones that complement the iPad.

The company is preparing to announce its first quarter results later this week. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is for 14 cents per share, or a penny better than two months ago. Investors remember ZAGG’s strong fourth quarter report from late February, and are expecting more of the same.

In that quarter, ZAGG reported earnings per share of 27 cents, which was 35% better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. It was the company’s first beat since the first quarter, while the second and third quarters each matched. Stretching all the way back to mid 2010, it has had a very good record of surpassing or matching quarterly earnings expectations.

Net sales in the quarter soared 131% to $67.5 million from $29.3 million. ZAGG attributed its performance to strong holiday sales, record online sales and an expanded SKU presence .

The company expects revenue in 2012 of more than $250 million, compared to $179.1 million for 2011.

Earnings estimates for 2012 moved higher after this report. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year is now 81 cents per share, or 8% better than two months ago. There’s also been a penny improvement in the past 30 days. As for 2013, the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02 suggests year-over-year profit growth of about 26%.

ZAGG Inc. designs, manufactures and distributes protective clear coverings and accessories for consumer electronic and hand-held devices, worldwide. ZAGG's flagship brand, the invisibleSHIELD, is a protective, high-tech patented film covering, designed for iPods, laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, PDAs, watch faces, GPS systems, gaming devices and other items.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:30:01 GMT Manitex International, Inc. (MNTX). The company is a leading provider of engineered lifting solutions; things like boom truck cranes, rough terrain forklifts, container handling equipment and special mission-oriented vehicles.

When the economy is under pressure, products like these are in less demand. But just today, MNTX announced that its consolidated order backlog as of March 31, 2012 was $133 million, which is up 59% from December 31, 2011 and 179% from last year. In addition, this was the company’s eighth successive quarterly increase.

Bolstered by this announcement, MNTX was the best-performing Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) on Wednesday by a wide margin. Shares of the company soared 18.20%, which was nearly three times better than the runner-up. Volume moved past 207,000, compared to the daily average of around 55,000.

Leading the backlog higher is “robust” demand for Manitex boom truck cranes, along with other specialized products, especially for the energy sector. The company has been moving to increase output at its key facilities to support the growing customer demand.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Manitex announced a solid fourth quarter report, which included earnings per share of 9 cents that matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improved by a penny from last year. The past seven quarters have seen the company beat five times and match twice.

Revenue in the quarter jumped 24% year-over-year to $36.6 million. Revenue for the full year was up 48% to $142.3 million.

The solid quarter had a positive impact on earnings estimates, underscoring its Zacks #1 Rank. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year is 57 cents per share, which is up 7.5% in the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year is up 10.4% in that time to 85 cents, which also suggests the potential for year-over-year growth of nearly 50%.

There are only three analysts covering the company for each period, and the upward movement only accounts for one of them. So there is potential for further upside, especially after the backlog announcement.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 04 Apr 2012 05:30:01 GMT Charming Shoppes, Inc. (CHRS) was able to put together a respectable gain. As a result, it was the top-performing Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) on Wednesday.

Shares were up 2.69% today, while the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P each declined by about a percentage point or more. Volume was north of 2.7 million shares, compared to the daily average of around 1.8 million.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal year ending January 2013 has improved by more than 13.6% in the past seven trading days. There has so far been no movement for the fiscal year ending January 2014, but the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents suggests the possibility for year-over-year profit growth of more than 50%.

Last month, the company reported a fiscal fourth quarter loss per share of 6 cents, which was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, the loss did narrow on a year-over-year basis.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:30:01 GMT On Assignment, Inc. (ASGN) to make some kind of move. So yesterday, the temporary employment services company announced that it would be buying Apex Systems Inc., the sixth largest IT staffing firms in the country.

The $600 million transaction is expected to close in May. It will create one of the biggest staffing companies in the U.S. The deal should be significantly accretive to ASGN’s EPS in 2012 and beyond.

The transaction seems to be getting the ‘thumbs up’ from the market, as shares of On Assignment soared more than 26% Wednesday. That easily put the company at the very apex of the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List. In fact, it was more than three times better than the runner up.

ASGN was doing quite well for itself before this acquisition, as its Zacks #1 Rank attests. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 is 80 cents per share, which is up 12.7% in two months. In that same period of time, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 advanced 12.3% to 91 cents.

At the moment, analysts are expecting profit growth of nearly 14% for 2013 over 2012.

Last month, ASGN reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 20 cents, which was 25% better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 16 cents. Revenues soared 34% to $161.8 million.

The company has an excellent record of outperforming quarterly profit expectations. As the graph below shows, it has now beaten for seven consecutive quarters. Put another way, it has beaten in nine of the past ten quarters.

ASGN is a leading global provider of highly skilled, hard-to-find professionals in the growing life sciences, healthcare, and technology sectors, where quality people are the key to success.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:30:01 GMT Apple (AAPL) as a Zacks #1 Rank Top Performer. But a nearly 3.8% advance on a quiet day in the market has finally given us that opportunity.

Volume today came close to 50 million shares, which is more than double the daily average of around 22.7 million.

This company has been on an unbelievable run so far in 2012. Shares are up nearly 50% in approximately two and half months. Its share price at the close today was pushing $590. And analysts think there’s still more room for improvement!

Today’s advance can be traced back, largely, to a pair of brokerage firms raising their price targets on Apple to more than $700.

At the same time though, there’s also lots of anticipation for “the new iPad”, which is scheduled for release later this week. That undoubtedly had something to do with its gain today as well.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this fiscal year, ending September 2012, is currently $43.07, which is up more than 23% in the past three months. In just the past 30 days, there have been 10 upward revisions out of 39 analysts.

As for the fiscal year ending September 2013, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has also moved about 23% in three months to $48.09, which suggests a year-over-year profit improvement of more than 11%.

Impressively, out of almost 40 analysts for each period, there isn’t a downward revision in sight for annual targets.

We believe that Apple remains the biggest growth story in the technology sector, and are optimistic about its growth prospects on the long term. We also believe the company will succeed in developing markets due to the growing affluence of the middle class in key markets. As a result of these factors, Zacks analysts recently raised Apple’s long-term recommendation to “Outperform”.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 05:30:01 GMT LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) reported some strong results for its fourth-quarter yesterday, which led this manufacturing and marketing company to the apex of the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List today.

Shares of this chemical products and heat pumps company jumped by practically 11% on Wednesday. That result was the only double digit gainer for the day, and also more than doubled the runner up’s performance. Volume soared past 1.1 million shares, compared to the daily average of only about 155,000.

The quarter saw earnings per share reach $1.19, which was nearly 40% better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate at 86 cents. Revenue jumped 25% to $215.4 million from $172.2 million in the previous year.

The big catalyst for the quarter was LXU’s chemical business, where sales advanced 46% to $142 million from $97.3 million in 2010. Operating income was up to $37.6 million, versus $19.6 million last year.

LSB Industries expects a positive outlook for 2012, even though it continues to grapple with uncertain economic conditions and some downward pressure on fertilizer prices during winter months.

There are only three analysts covering the company for 2012, but the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year has improved in the past 30 days. The guidance is up nearly 4% in that time to $3.75 per share. Only one analyst is accounted for in that gain, so there is a possibility for further upside as the quarterly results are studied.

There’s only one analyst covering for 2013, but the Zacks Consensus Estimate is at $4.93 per share, suggesting year-over-year profit potential of more than 30%. The guidance is up 12% in 30 days.

The principal business activities of LSB Industries consist of the manufacture and sale of commercial and residential climate control products, such as geothermal and water source heat pumps, hydronic fan coils and modular geothermal chillers, and large custom air handlers; and the manufacture and sale of chemical products for the agricultural, mining, and industrial markets.

 
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Zacks Investment Research ]]>