Sierra Bancorp, Mitcham Industries, Apple, GT Advanced Technologies and Corning highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
CHICAGO, Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Sierra Bancorp (Nasdaq:BSRR-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Mitcham Industries (Nasdaq:MIND-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report), GT Advanced Technologies (Nasdaq:GTAT-Free Report) and Corning (NYSE:GLW-Free Report).
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
This California-based bank reported strong results with solid growth in loans and improvement in credit quality. Rising earnings estimates sent the stock back to Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Sierra Bancorp (Nasdaq:BSRR-Free Report) is the parent of Bank of the Sierra, which it acquired in August 2001. Bank of the Sierra offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services, primarily in the central and southern sections of the San Joaquin Valley, California.
Sierra Bancorp reported its Q2 2014 results on July 21.Net income for the quarter was $4.2 million, up 12% from the same quarter of 2013, thanks mainly to higher net interest income, lower loan loss provision and investment gains.
The bank's ROA was 1.16%, up from 1.09% in Q2 2013. ROE also increased to 9.13% in the quarter from 8.62% in the same period last year. Earnings for the quarter increased to $0.30 per share, significantly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.23 per share and also up from $0.27 per share a year ago.
Total non-performing assets declined by 36.5% to $33.7 million, or 3.27% of gross loans, from $53.1 million, or 5.22% of gross loans, at June 30, 2013. Both loans and deposits saw nice growth during the quarter.
Estimates have come down substantially after weak results, sending Mitcham to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Mitcham Industries (Nasdaq:MIND-Free Report) specializes in leasing and sale of advanced seismic equipment that help oil companies explore for pockets of oil.
The company operates in two main business segments: equipment leasing and equipment manufacturing. During fiscal year ended January 1, 2013, leasing accounted for 52% of revenues; manufacturing 30% and 18% of revenues came from other equipment sales.
Founded in 1987, the company now has nine locations around the world, providing support and service to geophysical contractors.
MIND reported its fiscal 2015 second quarter results on September 3, 2014. Total revenues for the quarter were $19.5 million compared to $20.9 million in the same quarter last year. The loss for quarter was $3.3 million, or $(0.26) per share, compared to net loss of $0.7 million, or$(0.05) per share in the same priod last year.
Zacks Consensus Estimate called for a loss of ($0.05) per share. The results were thus substantially worse than the estimates. The company has missed estimates in all of last four quarters.
According to the management "second quarter is typically the weakest of the year due to seasonal factors, yet this one proved to be weaker than we had anticipated, largely due to the current slowdown of the seismic industry and delays in a couple of projects."
Additional content:
iPhone 6 Sans Sapphire: Time to Dump GTAT?
A number of stocks took a plunge after Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report) Sep 9 event. But the worst hit was GT Advanced Technologies (Nasdaq:GTAT-Free Report), which was supposedly supplying sapphire top glass for the iPhone 6.
These rumors were spiked by a $578 million agreement between the two for the purchase of sapphire goods back in Nov 2013. GTAT shares soared nearly 70% since then and remain around 48% above the pre-agreement level despite the sell-off yesterday. So there is plenty more room for downside and investors could be better off dumping the shares right now.
Shares of GTAT competitor Corning (NYSE:GLW-Free Report) barely moved, however, with Corning CEO making the cryptic comment "We keep our secrets." The secret remains as such mainly because Apple chose not to mention Corning as a supplier, although it did say that the display screen was "ion-strengthened" (meaning that the sodium ions in the glass were replaced by potassium ions). This is the process Corning uses in its Gorilla Glass, which Apple has been using in its devices since their inception.
But why did Apple decide against sapphire, at least for now? The reason is likely related to the nature of the material, which while being extremely hard and scratch-resistant is also less elastic. The lower elasticity (or flexibility) makes it more susceptible to cracks that ultimately lead to breaks. This is particularly true when screen sizes are larger, as in the latest iPhones.
The theory also holds water when you consider that the Apple Watch, also unveiled at the event, will use sapphire glass. The smaller screen makes sapphire a better-suited material. In fact, many high-end watches already use sapphire glass.
The high cost and low yields of producing suitable sapphire sheets could also have been a deterrent.
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