het

Larry Schutts
- http://www.stockwinners.com

Larry Schutts, a former university professor, is vice president of Stockwinners.com and a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com. Larry looks for stocks with technical and fundamental characteristics indicating gains in the next 30 days. However, price movements may be volatile. He includes a stop-loss price in each post. Consider selling a position should the stop-loss be violated.

IKON Office Solutions (NYSE: IKN) provides document management systems and services to business and government clients. The firm leases/sells name-brand office equipment and provides associated office supplies, equipment maintenance programs, technical support and lease financing. It also offers document management outsourcing, electronic file conversions, facilities management and training. IKON operates from over 400 locations in North America and Western Europe. Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is a major competitor.

The firm pleased investors earlier in the week, when it guided fiscal Q3 EPS to the range 35-37 cents and Q3 revenues to $1.05 billion. Analysts had been expecting 30 cents and $1.05 billion. The solid outlook was driven by better than anticipated revenue and gross margin in Customer Service and Supplies and by a higher gross margin in Managed and Professional Services. Management also issued FY08 EPS guidance of $1.00-$1.05 (97 cent consensus).

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) makes high-density programmable logic devices and associated development tools. PLDs are integrated circuits that clients can program themselves, using software that Altera also provides. This allows clients to provide their customers with special-purpose chips that cost less than equivalent custom-designed devices. Altera's circuits are used by thousands of customers in computing, telecommunications, industrial, and automotive applications. Clients include Honeywell (NYSE: HON), Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT).

Investors were pleased earlier in the week, when Altera reported Q2 EPS of 32 cents, revenues of $359.9 million and a gross margin rate of 67.1%. Analysts had been expecting 27 cents, $346.7 million and 65.01%. The company also guided Q3 revenues to about $349.1-$359.9 million ($350.51M consensus). Management noted a current book-to-bill ratio significantly above one and remarked that the firm had repurchased 526,000 shares so far in Q3. The board declared a five cent quarterly dividend.

Allegheny Technologies (NYSE: ATI) produces specialty metals. Products include titanium and titanium alloys, nickel-based alloys and superalloys, stainless and specialty steels, tungsten materials, zirconium, hafnium and niobium. The steels, the nickel alloys and the titanium alloys are offered as plate, sheet, engineered strip, precision rolled strip, and grain-oriented electrical products. The company also offers forgings and castings. Its biggest customers are in the aerospace, chemical process, and oil and gas industries.

Investors were pleased earlier in the week, when Allegheny issued upside EPS guidance for Q2. Management said it expected $1.65-$1.67, up from its earlier view that earnings would be somewhat higher than the $1.40 per share of Q1. The Street had been looking for $1.53. The CEO noted that the firm's risk management programs were reducing the impact of volatile input costs.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ: MMSI) develops and manufactures proprietary disposable medical devices used in interventional and diagnostic procedures, particularly in cardiology and radiology. Offerings include the catheters, guide wires, inflation devices, needles, and tubing used in heart stent procedures, pacemaker placements, and angioplasties. As well, Merit makes products for endoscopy, dialysis, and other therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) are major competitors.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it guided Q2 EPS to 19-21 cents and Q2 revenues to about $57.4 million. Analysts had been expecting 16 cents and $55.77 million. Gross margins for the quarter were estimated at 42.7%, which would be a 500 basis point improvement from Q2'07. CL King subsequently upgraded the shares to "accumulate".

The Finish Line (NASDAQ: FINL) is a mall-based specialty retailer, offering athletic and casual footwear and sportswear through 699 Finish Line stores in 47 states. Featured brands include Nike, Puma, Jordan, Lacoste and Adidas. The firm also sells urban street wear through 94 Man Alive outlets in 19 states. Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) and The Sports Authority are major competitors.

The firm pleased investors late last month, when it reported fiscal Q1 EPS of two cents and revenues of $287.9 million. Analysts had been looking for a loss of five cents and $281.3 million. In discussing the positive quarter, the CEO cited successful application of strategic merchandising and inventory management programs. B. Riley subsequently upgraded the shares to "buy" and Sterne Agee reiterated its "buy" call.

G-III Apparel Group (NASDAQ: GIII) manufactures and distributes outerwear and sportswear, under licensed and company-owned brands. The firm creates fashions for such names as Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, Guess?, Jones New York, Nine West, IZOD and Tommy Hilfiger. It also focuses on apparel for NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB teams. Further, G-III cooperates with leading retailers in developing product lines that are sold under its own private labels. Department store customers include Macy's (NYSE: M) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).

Investors were pleased last week, when the company moved to establish a more significant retail presence by purchasing 116 outlet stores from Wilsons The Leather Experts. The acquisition led management to boost FY09 EPS guidance to $1.35-$1.40 ($1.29 consensus) and FY09 revenue guidance to $720-$730 million ($661.86M consensus). Brean Murray subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the shares, noting that the deal offered a "natural outlet" for G-III's products and reduced its dependence on the department store channel.

Cato Corporation (NYSE: CTR) retails women's fashions. It offers an assortment of apparel and accessories, including sportswear, dresses, coats, shoes, lingerie, costume jewelry and handbags. The company operates over 1,300 retail stores under the names Cato, Cato Fashions, Cato Plus, It's Fashion! and It's Fashion Metro, in 31 states. The stores are located primarily in strip shopping centers anchored by national discounters, or market-dominant grocery stores.

The firm surprised the Street last week, when it boosted its Q2 EPS guidance from 28-33 cents to 42-44 cents. Analysts had been expecting 30 cents. Management also announced that June same store sales were up 4.0% (yr/yr). That also topped the analyst view (+2.3%).

Herman Miller (NASDAQ: MLHR) designs and manufactures interior furnishings for office, healthcare, educational and residential settings. Offerings include modular systems, filing and storage systems, wooden casegoods, executive task chairs and desk lamps. Products are manufactured in the U.S. and the U.K. for customers in North America, Europe, Asian and Australia.

The firm pleased investors late last month, when it reported fiscal Q4 EPS of 71 cents and revenues of $519.1 million. Analysts had been looking for 57 cents and $488.4 million. Management also guided Q1 EPS and revenues to ranges in-line with consensus Street views. In discussing the solid results, the company credited the effects of its international expansion program.

Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) sells personal care and household consumer products. The personal care goods include such items as hair dryers, curling irons, hair setters, women's shavers and skin care products. The firm offers its own lines (e.g: Helen of Troy, Hot Tools and Hot Spa), as well as licensed merchandise (e.g: Vidal Sassoon, Revlon and Dr. Scholl's). On the household side, offerings include kitchen tools, household cleaning items, gardening tools and rechargeable lighting devices. Products are sold through beauty supply distributors and such mass merchandisers as Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT). Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a major competitor.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q1 EPS of 42 cents and revenues of $145 million. Analysts had been looking for 30 cents and $142.8 million. The sales figure was a company first quarter record.

CIRCOR International (NYSE: CIR) makes valves, pipe fittings and controls for instrumentation, aerospace, cryogenic and steam applications. It also provides values, regulators, and pipeline closures for use in the oil, gas and chemical processing industries. The company sells its products through a direct sales force and commissioned representatives, in about 130 countries.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it boosted its Q2 EPS guidance from 74-83 cents to $1.04-$1.10. Analysts had been looking for 80 cents. In discussing the positive view, the CEO emphasized strong revenue growth and margins in the firm's Energy segment.

QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QLGC) provides the controller chips, host adapters, fabric switches and management software used by storage area networks. Products include fiber channel and iSCSI host bus adapters, InfiniBand host channel adapters, fiber channel switches, InfiniBand switches, and storage routers for bridging fiber channel and iSCSI networks. Customers include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and IBM (NYSE: IBM).

The firm pleased investors earlier in the week, when it boosted its fiscal Q1 EPS guidance from 26-28 cents to 30-31 cents and its Q1 revenue view from $154-$158 million to $166-$168 million. The new ranges topped consensus Street estimates of 27 cents and $156.40 million. Caris & Company subsequently improved its rating on the issue to "above average" and raised its price target to $18.

EZCORP (NASDAQ: EZPW) is one of the largest pawnshop operators in the United States. The firm offers non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, commonly known as pawn loans, through 294 EZPAWN locations in the U.S. and 30 outlets in Mexico. It also sells merchandise at these locations, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending operations. The company offers short-term non-collateralized loans, often referred to as payday loans, at 461 EZMONEY shops and 71 of its EZPAWN locations.

The stock popped earlier in the week, on word of upside guidance from competitor Cash America International (NYSE: CSH). Shares then kept rising, when EZCORP upped its own numbers the next day. Management said it expected fiscal Q3 EPS of 25 cents, a figure above previous guidance (21 cents) and the consensus Street view (21 cents). The CEO cited stronger than expected sales in the company's EZPAWN stores and lower than expected signature loan bad debt in its EZMONEY shops. The firm also boosted Q4 EPS guidance to 35 cents (35 cent consensus) and FY08 EPS guidance to $1.19 ($1.15 consensus). Roth Capital subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the shares and raised its price target to $19.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM) is the largest producer of fresh shell eggs in the United States, distributing its products to grocery store chains, club stores, foodservice distributors and egg product manufacturers throughout the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western and mid-Atlantic regions. The company also offers reduced cholesterol, cage free, and organic eggs under the Egg-Land's Best and Farmhouse labels. Cal-Maine operates breeding facilities, hatcheries, feed mills, egg production sites and processing facilities in 16 states across its distribution regions. It provides for nearly 16% of total U.S. egg consumption.

Investors were pleased Monday, when Barron's reported that CALM shares could double over the next year. Analysis was offered suggesting the potential for $7 per share in earnings next year, a three-fold increase from early 2008 levels.

Avocent Corporation (NASDAQ: AVCT) makes connectivity and management products for information technology (IT) infrastructure. Offerings include analog and digital keyboard, video, and mouse switching systems; serial connectivity devices; various extensions; and remote access devices. These allow IT administrators to manage servers, serially controlled devices, wireless devices, desktop computers, and mobile devices from a single console, providing network management and administration. Clients include Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and IBM (NYSE: IBM).

Investors were pleased late last month, when the firm announced that it would cut about 5% of its global workforce, in order to focus on areas of growth. The restructuring will involve the reduction of certain R&D efforts and the transfer of some support operations to a recently established regional hub in Singapore. As a result of the changes, management boosted Q2 revenue guidance from $150-$154 million to $155-$158 million ($152.17M consensus).

Cash America International (NYSE: CSH) offers secured non-recourse loans, known as pawn loans, through 501 locations in 22 states under the brand names Cash America Pawn and SuperPawn. Customers collateralize high-interest loans with such possessions as jewelry and electronics. If the loans aren't repaid, the firm sells the collateral in its stores. The company also offers short-term cash advances in many of its stores, including 292 locations that offer this service under the brand names Cash America Payday Advance and Cashland. Short-term advances are also offered over the Internet, to customers in the U.S. and the U.K. The firm provides check cashing services through 135 franchised and company-owned "Mr. Payroll" outlets.

Cash America pleased the Street earlier in the week, when it said that revenues from pawn loans, merchandise sales and on-line cash advances were expected to boost Q2 earnings above previous guidance. Management projected EPS of 62-64 cents, a range well above the 51-54 cents anticipated in April. The Street was looking for 53 cents.