Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Embarq, Sprint Nextel, CenturyTel, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and UAL Corporation.

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: Embarq (NYSE: EQ), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) and UAL Corporation (NASDAQ: UAUA).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Embarq a Sell Post-Merger News

We maintain our Sell rating for Embarq (NYSE: EQ), the fourth largest local U.S. telecommunications carrier that was spun off from Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) in 2006 and has agreed to consolidate with CenturyTel (NYSE: CTL) under an $11.6 billion merger deal (expected to close in 2Q 2009).

Lower revenue forecasts for 2008, acceleration of access line loss, recently revised guidance, and expectations of lower valuation levels for CenturyTel following the merger support our thesis.

Regenerate with Regeneron

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and marketing of therapeutic medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions. Its lead candidates are VEGF-Trap for the treatment of cancers, eye diseases, and IL-1 Trap for CAPS and gout.

The company recently received the FDA approval of Arcalyst for CAPS [CIAS1-Associated Periodic Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder]. It also has a number of pre-clinical drug candidates for other disorders.

United Estimate Bumped Up

We are maintaining our Hold on UAL Corporation (NASDAQ: UAUA, or United), but raising our target price to $11.50. In the fourth quarter, UAL reported a $4.22 loss per share before non-recurring items, down from a $0.47 loss per share in the year-ago quarter, and compares to a consensus loss of $4.42 per share and our estimate of a loss of $4.49 per share.

This result reflected lower fuel costs than expected, excluding hedging losses. UAL continues to burn cash, posting negative operating cash flow of $989 million in the quarter. While the company has taken a number of steps to improve liquidity, the company's cash balance was $2.0 billion compared to $4.3 billion a year ago.

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