Market Outperform - Price: $1.54 on July 15 by Rodman & Renshaw Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals today announced the commencement of a Phase II clinical trial with Triolex in patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). The advancement of Triolex (formerly HE3286) into clinical evaluation in T2D comes, as expected, on the heels of positive interim results from the ongoing Phase I/II study with Triolex in obese adult subjects, which the company reported last month during the American Diabetes Association 2008 Scientific Sessions. The interim Phase I/II data showed that obese patients treated with oral Triolex for 28 days demonstrated significantly improved insulin sensitivity, and lower fasting plasma glucose, insulin and triglyceride levels, compared to placebo-treated patients. We believe that Triolex has the potential to be a safe, novel, first-in-class insulin sensitizer. We therefore reiterate our Market Outperform rating and year-end price target of $6...and continue to recommend HEPH as our top small-cap idea for long-term investors.

Market Perform - Price: $12.52 on July 15 by Morgan Keegan Host Hotels and Resorts reported Q2 FFO [funds from operations] of 56 cents a share, unchanged from...the year-ago period. [This] was one cent below our estimate and one cent above the Street consensus.... Management decreased its full-year 2008 FFO guidance from a range of $1.88-$1.98 per share to a new range of $1.75-$1.85 per share. Our 2008 FFO estimate is reduced from $1.96 to $1.79 and our 2009 estimate is reduced from $2.06 to $1.80. While we view HST's current valuation to be attractive, we are less confident about near-term prospects for the lodging sector. Suitability: speculative. Outperform - Price: $12.52 on July 15 by Baird We are maintaining our Outperform rating and are reducing our price target to $15 from $17. Despite the company's lowered outlook and our estimate reductions, we continue to see value and would be buyers at current levels. We view Host as well-positioned [to weather] the downturn, given the company's well-covered dividend and strong balance sheet. Suitability: average risk.

Hold - Price: $5.94 on July 16 by Singular Research Orion Energy Systems [which makes energy-saving lighting and other systems] issued a negative earnings pre-announcement that was well below both our estimates and the Street consensus. Q1:09 revenues are expected to be in the $16.1 million-$16.3 million range, versus our $25 million estimate. FY:09 revenues are now expected to grow 25%-28%, to $101 million-$103 million. This is also well below our prior estimate of $121.5 million. The reduced guidance is attributed to both economic conditions and a focus on the build-out of OESX's sales organization. Risks: Despite the cost-savings proposition offered by OESX, many potential customers remain hesitant [to buy] due to economic conditions. OESX is exposed to rising raw-material costs... which may impact its margins. And efficient lighting management is a relatively new business, which may not gain full market acceptance.

Market Perform - Price: $16.57 on July 15 by Barrington Research [Quarterly] earnings per share of $1.02 ($1.01, adjusted to exclude nonrecurring pension and severance items) were essentially in line with our $1.01 estimate and the $1.02 consensus estimate. Revenue of $1.7 billion in the quarter also matched our expectation. We are reducing our estimates once again to reflect the worsening in the ad-revenue trends.... Classifieds were down 21.6% in June, even more than the 18.8% decline noted for May, bringing the six-month category collapse to 17.4%. During the second quarter, publishing ad revenues fell 13.5%. By category, retail declined by 8.3%, national by 14.0% and classifieds by 18.7%. Within the classifieds grouping, real estate dropped the most, at 29.5%, followed by employment at 23.2% and automotive at 13.4%. The unrelenting downward slope [in Gannett's share price] is stunning, particularly when one considers that the Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] we now forecast for 2008 and 2009 represents a decline of about 33% from peak to trough. In contrast, the stock price variance from peak to trough just this year is more than 70% and more than 80% from levels reached earlier this decade. While we recognize that meaningful near-term catalysts are clearly lacking, we feel Gannett is better-positioned than most publishers to generate meaningful cash flow from its print businesses as it continues to invest in ancillary projects, online and otherwise. While it is difficult to argue strongly about a significant and immediate upturn in the price of Gannett, we feel that further downward pressure...is unwarranted unless one is willing to take the position that the remainder of Gannett's earnings remain at serious risk and/or the potential for significant financial strains is great -- neither of which are among our assumptions.

Long-Term Buy - Price: $57.85 on July 15 by Hilliard Lyons Abbott Laboratories reported a solid quarter, with revenue growth and margin improvement. Revenue was $7.31 billion, up 15% from $6.37 billion in the second quarter of 2007. [Gains on] currency added 6% to overall revenue growth. Key operating segments grew in the mid- to upper teens, including pharmaceuticals (up 17%), diagnostics (up 17%), nutritionals (up 13%) and vascular (up 16%). International sales, aided by currency, rose 24%, while U.S. revenue increased 6%. Excluding non-recurring items, second-quarter earnings per share rose 21%. EPS of 84 cents compared to 69 cents last year and was five cents above expectations. In a key new product development, the FDA approved the Xience V drug-coated stent on July 2. Abbott Laboratories obtained the product as part of the acquisition of the vascular intervention business of Guidant from Boston Scientific. Xience is currently sold in Europe and is performing well. We look for market-share gains and a meaningful contribution to revenue in the second half of 2008. [Our] two- to three-year price target [is] $75 per share.

Buy - Price: $36 on July 15 by Sterne Agee We reiterate our Buy rating and $36 price target. Piper Jaffray reported a respectable quarter, considering the capital markets' environment. We are reducing our 2H08 estimates 59%, to a loss of 27 cents a share, based on management guidance. They do not expect activity to pick up in 2008. We believe that capital-market activity most likely will not pick up in 2009, either. Our new annual estimates are a 37-cent-a-share loss and a 17-cent-a-share profit for 2008 and 2009, respectively. We arrived at our $36 price target by applying a 0.9 times multiple to our 2008 estimated tangible book value of $38.10.

Hold - Price: $25.21 on July 15 by Jefferies & Co. Despite our belief that there is likely unlocked value in the Cypress semi business, owing to the large earnings leverage in 2008-09, given that its SunPower (SPWR, $94.42, Buy) holdings account for [about] 80% of Cypress Semiconductor's valuation, we are unable to reconcile the risk/reward profile, and remain neutral on the stock.

Buy - Price: $20.71 on July 15 by Wedbush Morgan Securities With Intel's solid product positioning across the board, management clearly executed well within the second quarter, and it appears that overall personal computer trends look robust entering the third quarter as well. Intel reported higher-than-expected 1Q revenue of $9.5 billion (down 2.1% q/q) and GAAP EPS of 28 cents a share, above both our and the Street's consensus estimates of $9.3 billion and 25 cents a share. Intel reported gross margins 60 basis points [hundredths of a percentage point] lower than our expectations of 56.0% (midpoint of previous guidance). We maintain our $26 price target and our Buy rating