CHICAGO, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com
announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every
day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and
events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently
featured in the blog include: Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA),
Codexis Inc. (Nasdaq: CDXS), Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:
DELL), Hewlett Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) and International
Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM).
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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:
Alcoa Announces Carbon Emissions Project
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) in collaboration with Codexis
Inc. (Nasdaq: CDXS) and CO2 Solution Inc. announced a new pilot
program for carbon capture technology. The pilot program focuses on
capturing carbon emissions, neutralizing them and turning them into
a commercially viable product.
Alcoa will fund the project with $13.5
million from the U.S. Department of Energy. The
companies will use scrubber technology to capture the emissions and
then collaborate to treat a byproduct of aluminum manufacturing
called alkaline clay.
The project will try to combine treated flue gas, enzymes and
alkaline clay to make a mineral-rich product for use in
environmental reclamation projects.
The company secured government grant to find ways of converting
captured carbon dioxide emissions into useful products such as
fuel, plastics, cement and fertilizers.
The pilot program is a part of Alcoa's ongoing commitment to
enhance its operational sustainability. Moreover, it will use an
innovative and proprietary in-duct scrubber technology to capture
emissions.
Codexis and CO2 Solution have been collaborating since late 2009
on the development of custom carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzymes and
processes that could significantly decrease the cost of carbon
dioxide capture from industrial sources.
In January, Alcoa posted better-than-expected year-over-year
results for the fourth quarter of 2010 with net earnings and
revenues exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company
continues to benefit from its cost saving efforts. We believe the
cost cuts will make Alcoa more competitive when markets fully
recover.
The annual global consumption of aluminum products, both
upstream and downstream, is expected to double over the next 15
years. This consumption boom will be driven primarily by growth in
China, India, Russia
and Brazil, whose demographics are
accelerating development. However, Alcoa is facing declining
aluminum prices, higher input costs and significant restructuring
charges, which could pressure margins in the near to
medium-term.
We currently maintain our Neutral recommendation on Alcoa.
Currently, we have a Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) on the stock.
DELL to Enrich Cloud Services
Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) has long been working to go
beyond its traditional PC and server business into the higher-end
data storage market. Dell is now planning to spend a handsome
$1.0 billion to build its cloud
computing business.
Dell expects to open 12 data centers by the end of this year and
10 more within the next fiscal year. Equipped with the latest
technology solutions and services, the new data centers will help
customers better manage their technology budgets through less
emphasis on infrastructure management and more on technology
innovation. They can run programs and store information in
Dell-operated centers, accessing them over the Internet, thereby
reducing ownership cost.
Notable storage vendor acquisitions by Dell in the past four
years include EqualLogic, Compellent Technology and Ocarina
Networks. Last year, Dell also showed a keen interest in storage
vendor 3Par, but was ultimately edged out by rival Hewlett
Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) in a bidding war. Barring this loss,
Dell has seen successful on the acquisition front, bringing the
other companies under its umbrella and strengthening its
storage/cloud-based offerings.
As per the findings of U.S. research firm Gartner, the market
for cloud services could grow to $102.1
billion in 2012 from $68.3
billion in 2010. This opportunity has also inspired another
tech major, International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:
IBM), to announce a cloud-based software for its customers.
However, we find Dell in a relatively better position to
capitalize on storage opportunities, given its rich
cloud-portfolio. We are encouraged by Dell's shift in focus from PC
and server roots to becoming a data-center vendor.
Apart from this, Dell is also investing in high growth countries
such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and recently announced its plan to
expand in India. We remain
confident about Dell's expansion strategy.
However, concerns for the company include soft demand from the
consumer vertical, a high debt level and stiff competition in the
cloud and computing space.
Currently, Dell has a Zacks #1 Rank, which equates to a
short-term Strong Buy recommendation.
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