Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Palm, Inc., Research In Motion, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Sony Corp. and Microsoft

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: Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM), Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).

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Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

PALM Pre Trade Reports

Trade and press reports are speculating that Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) will release a downsized, cheaper version of the Pre phone code named the Pixie. Other reports suggest that Palm will not release the Pre in May as speculated but will wait until June 7.

iSupply, a major consulting firm, has suggested that the Pre will cost $170 to produce. Research In Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) gross margin for fiscal 2009 was 46%, suggesting that the selling price of the Pre could be $300 or more.

Hain Celestial Weathers Storm

Yesterday after the close, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ending March 31, 2009. Despite the very tough quarter being the second consecutive below expectations quarter, we maintain our Buy rating on the stock.

Hain Celestial has weathered the perfect storm, and not only survived but prospered. Despite multiple headwinds, sales increased. And on an operating basis, the company was profitable.

Sony Looks to Challenge Wii

The trade press has reported that Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) will introduce motion sensor capabilities in the PlayStation 3 that may be introduced at E3 in June. Although Sony does offer a DualShock 3 wireless controller as an accessory for the PS3, the new controller is rumored to be better than the current Nintendo Wii system.

Nintendo is still the leading seller of game consoles with its two products with the Xbox from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) being third and the PS3 and PlayStation Portable being fourth and fifth. Nintendo's growth in Wii sales is flattening as there is a shortage of new games and the whole industry is suffering due to the current economy.

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