BECKMAN COULTER (BEC) - Profit Tracks

Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% versus +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.

Here is a synopsis of why MEOH and BEC have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:

Methanex Corp. (MEOH) announced second-quarter earnings of 13 cents per share on July 28 that missed analysts' expectations by 23%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 slipped 15 cents to $1.20 per share in the last 7 days as 3 analysts out of 8 reduced forecasts. Estimate for next year declined 12 cents to $2.82 per share in the same period.

Beckman Coulter, Inc's (BEC) second-quarter earnings of 84 cents, reported on Aug 2, lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 23 cents. The full-year average forecast fell 43 cents over the past month, reflecting cuts by all of the 13 covering analysts. During that time period, forecast for 2011 slid 46 cents to $4.40 per share.

Here is a synopsis of why K and SWY have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;

Kellogg Co. (K) posted second-quarter earnings of 89 cents per share on July 29, falling 5% short of the average forecast. Quarterly revenues dipped 5% to $3.06 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year decreased to $3.43 per share from $3.58 in the last month as 7 analysts out of 8 slashed projections.

Safeway Inc. (SWY) reported second-quarter earnings of 37 cents per share on July 22, which came in a penny shy of analysts' projections. The last month has seen downward revisions by 15 out of 18 analysts, bringing the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year down by 16 cents to $1.56 per share. The following year's estimate fell 14 cents to $1.82 per share in that time span.
 
BECKMAN COULTER (BEC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
KELLOGG CO (K): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
METHANEX CORP (MEOH): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
SAFEWAY INC (SWY): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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