DELTA AIR LINES (DAL) - 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 VLTR and DAL 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:

Volterra Semiconductor Corporation (VLTR< /a>) reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of 13 cents on January 24, which came in 2 cents shy of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast dipped 6 cents to 89 cents per share in the last 7 days as 10 out of the 12 covering analysts lowered expectations. Next year?s estimate dropped 11 cents to $1.44 per share in the same time span.

Delta Air Lines, Inc.?s (DAL) fourth -quarter earnings of 19 cents per share, announced on January 18, lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6 cents. The average forecast for 2011 decreased 17 cents to a profit of $2.08 per share in the last 30 days. During that time period, the following year?s estimate moved down 9 cents to $2.23 per share.

Here is a synopsis of why VRUS and FMS 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;

Pharmasset, Inc. (VRUS< /a>) posted a fourth-quarter loss of 59 cents per share on November 23 while analysts projected a loss of 45 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year is pegged at a loss of $2.02 per share, a decline of 6 cents in the last 30 days. The average forecast for 2012 slid down 6 cents to a loss of $2.25 per share.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. (FMS) announced a third-quarter profit of 82 cents per share on November 2, which missed the analysts? estimates by a penny. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the full year decreased by a penny to $3.23 per share over the past 60 days as the covering analysts reduced expectations. Estimates of 2011 also fell by a penny in a span of a week to $3.52 per share.
 
DELTA AIR LINES (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
FRESENIUS MED (FMS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
VOLTERRA SEMI (VLTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
PHARMASSET INC (VRUS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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