For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – December 05, 2014– Zacks Equity Research highlights Motorcar Parts (MPAA-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Louisiana Pacific (LPX-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Unisys Corporation (UIS-Free Report), Target Corp. (TGT-Free Report) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM-Free Report).

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Motorcar Parts (MPAA-Free Report), reported their sixth consecutive positive earnings surprise in mid-November. The main driver behind the earnings growth was new business wins for their wheel hub and brake master cylinder business.

This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company is a leading manufacturer of replacement alternators and starters for imported and domestic cars and light trucks in the United States and Canada. The company’s full line of alternators and starters are remanufactured for vehicles imported from Japan, Germany, Sweden, France, and Korea.

Motorcar Parts also saw growth in several other key areas during the quarter. First, net sales increased 7.1% YoY, Adjusted net income almost doubled from last year, and Adjusted gross profit saw a 37.5% increase. According to CEO Selwyn Joffe, they have seen “strong interest in our new product introductions and solid growth in rotating electrical. An aging vehicle population, lower fuel costs, and positive operating synergies support our growth potential.” And we agree.

These strong numbers caused the Zacks Consensus Estimates to rise over the past 30 days for Q3 15, Q4 15, FY 15, and FY 16. For Q3 15 estimates have risen from $0.32 to $0.35, Q4 15 increased from $0.49 to $0.54, FY 15 rose from $1.46 to $1.80, and FY 16 from $1.83 to $2.16.

Bear of the Day:

Louisiana Pacific (LPX-Free Report) announced earnings in early November, and once again they missed the Zacks Consensus Earnings Estimate. This is the fourth out of the last five quarters that Louisiana Pacific has missed the earnings consensus, with the one standalone only meeting expectations in Q1 2014. The Revenue side has not been much better with the company missing the Zacks Consensus Revenue Estimate 2 out of the last five quarters with the beats coming in just above expectations.

Louisiana Pacific, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), manufacturers building materials and engineered wood products in the United States, Canada, Chile, and Brazil. The company’s products are used by homebuilders and light commercial builders. Their products include, oriented strand board sheathing, flooring, radiant barrier panels, siding and trim, I-joists, laminated veneer lumber, laminated strand lumber, and interior decorative molding.

For Q3 2014 Louisiana Pacific missed the Zacks Consensus Earnings Estimate by -$0.08, or -200%, while the company did barely beat the Zacks Consensus Revenue Estimate by 0.57%. The earnings miss was a continuation of their pattern of missing estimates with Q2 missing by -50%, and Q4 13 missing by -200%.

Additional content:

Unisys Says IoT, Mobile Apps to Further Risk Cybersecurity

Information technology company Unisys Corporation (UIS-Free Report) foresees progressively graver cybersecurity hazards with the continued proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in everyday devices and increasing usage of mobile devices and applications.
The primary reason is that technological advancements are outpacing developments in the cyber security space. The financial constraints and unwillingness of organizations to invest in safeguarding their critical data also act as a hindrance sometimes.

Risks of the IoT Phenomenon

The IoT concept projects billions of connected devices and systems by 2020, with applications ranging from sensors and mobile devices to home appliances and cars. The concept of everyday devices being connected to the internet will make people more vulnerable to data breaches and present opportunities for criminals to access private information.

Consequently, as people increasingly use mobile devices for IoT applications like health monitoring devices, remote control of household appliances and hotel room keys, the significance of verifying the identity of mobile device users will become critical.

Challenges of the Cloud

More and more companies are installing cloud infrastructure services and fabric-based computing, resulting in converged infrastructure and networks. Data that had been partitioned among physical infrastructure earlier will converge in the cloud.

Consequently, isolating and protecting critical data and systems will become tricky for security professionals as they will face difficulty in segregating network traffic with traditional firewall technology.

Recent Breaches

Last year, cyber criminals embezzled credit card and personal information from up to 110 million customers of retailer Target Corp. (TGT-Free Report) in a gigantic security breach during the holiday season. It is believed that the recent JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM-Free Report) breach, which endangered the data of 76 million households and 7 million small businesses, was originated with a hacker accessing the computer of an employee working from home.

Defensive Measures

Unisys experts opine that consumers will demand new ways to protect their online identities following these highly publicized data breaches. Identity verification will be conducted through ID codes, IP addresses and tools such as biometric readers built into smartphones. Newly introduced mobile payment solutions like Apple Pay provide stronger online security protection.

Also, security analytics and data forensics tools within businesses will assume greater importance, and will enable faster response and recovery from cyberattacks.

Nonetheless, with the cyber world evolving much faster than the security models used by most organizations, bugs such as Heartbleed, ShellShock and 'patch Tuesday' will keep propping up. In this ever connected, mobile and real-time world, it is vital to keep developing security measures to protect critical data from sophisticated cyber criminals.
Unisys presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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