Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Toyota Motor Corp., Whole Foods Market, Inc., Penn Virginia Resource Partners, Trident Microsystems Inc. and Lloyds TSB Group plc.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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: Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: WFMI), Penn Virginia Resource Partners (NYSE: PVR), Incyte Corp. (Nasdaq: INCY) and Lloyds TSB Group plc. (NYSE: LYG).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Toyota Down to Reasonable Value

Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: TM) continues to expand its production capacity in a manner that increases efficiency and meets local demand, powering it to emerge as the world's financially strongest automaker. A strong presence in North America has been further consolidated by gaining market share from the leading U.S. automakers.

Moreover, the company also has a strong cash flow and a strong balance sheet. However, Toyota is unable to offset sales losses in America even as it continues an aggressive expansion in China, the Middle East, and other emerging markets.

Whole Foods a Buy Up to $15

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: WFMI) fiscal fourth quarter results were weak, as expected. Excluding store closure costs, the company earned $0.13 per share, matching our estimate. Including those costs, Whole Foods had EPS of $0.01.

More importantly, at least for the near term, Whole Foods Market secured an equity investment of $425 million, which should alleviate any credit-related concerns for the company. Looking ahead to 2009, the company expects sales of $8.3 billion and EPS $0.68-$0.75 including FTC [Federal Trade Commission]-related legal costs and preferred stock dividends.

Penn Virginia Target Unchanged

Penn Virginia Resource Partners (NYSE: PVR) reported earnings today of $0.20 per adjusted limited partner unit, a decrease of 54% from Q3'08 due to increased cash payments to settle derivative contracts and higher interest expense. Operating income was higher year-over-year due to increases in royalties per ton and throughput volumes.

We are maintaining our recommendation and leaving our target price unchanged. We are currently assessing PVR's market position as it relates to the tough economic and financial markets. We will issue a full report in the near future.

Incyte Risk/Reward Balanced

We maintain a Hold rating on the shares of Incyte Corp. (Nasdaq: INCY), a Wilmington, DE-based drug discovery and development company, primarily in the focus on oral compounds to treat HIV, inflammation, and cancer.

DFC had been the company’s key growth driver. The discontinuation of DFC was a big setback for the company. However, we are pleased to see the progress in the company’s other product candidates, especially the JAK inhibitor program for RA.

Lloyds TSB Properly Valued

We are maintaining our Hold on Lloyds TSB Group plc (NYSE: LYG). In its third quarter trading update, Lloyds noted that market dislocation, higher impairments, particularly in corporate loans, and insurance-related volatility led to a substantial reduction in statutory pretax profit for the first nine months.

In other news, Lloyds revised the terms of its HBOS purchase, a UK bank with £681 billion in total assets, to 0.605 Lloyds share for every HBOS share from 0.833, expected to be completed in early 2009. At the same time, Lloyds announced that it will participate in the UK government’s bank capital and funding package. Lloyds will sell £4.5 billion ordinary shares and £1 billion in preference shares to the UK government.

Want more from Zacks Equity Research? Subscribe to the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2677

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros at http://at.zacks.com/?id=4580.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.