Zacks Sell List Highlights: J.C. Penney, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, The New York Times and Jazz Pharmaceuticals

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 23, 2012 – Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List – Stocks to Sell Now. These stocks are currently rated as a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell): J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) and Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR). Further, Zacks announced #4 Rankings (Sell) on two other widely held stocks: The New York Times Company (NYT) and Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (JAZZ).

To see the full Zacks #5 Rank List - Stocks to Sell Now visit: http://at.zacks.com/?id=92

Since inception in 1988, the S&P 500 has outperformed the Zacks #5 Rank List of Stocks to Sell Now by 80% annually (+2% vs. +10%). While the rest of Wall Street continued to tout stocks during the market declines of the last few years, Zacks told investors which stocks to sell or avoid.

Here is a synopsis of why JCP and SPR have a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and should most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #5 Strong Sell rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks in the Zacks Rank universe:

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) announced third -quarter loss of 93 cents per share on November 12 which came behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 85 cents. The diluted earnings per share also fell by 1062.50% on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year slipped $1.40 per share to a loss of 97 cents in the last 30 days. Next year’s estimate also dipped $1.0 per share to 65 cents per share in that time span.

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR) posted a third -quarter loss of $1.51 per share on November 08, which came in 84 cents wider than the average forecast. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 fell to a profit of 22 cents per share from $1.89 over the past month with 12 out of 13 covering analysts slashed forecasts. Next year’s forecasts slipped 50 cents to $2.11 per share in the same time span.

Here is a synopsis of why NYT and JAZZ have a Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) and should also most likely be sold or avoided for the next one to three months. Note that a #4 Sell rating is applied to 15% of all the stocks ranked by Zacks;

The New York Times Company (NYT) third -quarter loss of 1 cent per share, posted on October 25, lagged analysts projections by nearly 112.50%. For 2012, the Zacks Consensus Estimate moved down 12 cent in the last 30 days as 2 out of the 4 covering analysts cut back on forecasts. The forecast for next year slid 12 cents to 54 cents per share in the same time span.

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (JAZZ) reported a third-quarter profit of $1.19 per share on November 8, that fell 0.83% short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The full-year average forecast is currently pegged at $4.38 per share, compared with the last 30 days projection of $4.45. Next year’s forecast dropped 21 cents per share in the same period.