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: CRA International (NASDAQ: CRAI), The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB), Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO).

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

On CRA Int'l, a Sell is Advised

CRA International (NASDAQ: CRAI), formerly Charles River Associates, is a global provider of legal, regulatory, business consulting, and other expert services through its more than 680 consultants. CRA International competes with a broad range of public and private consulting firms.

We maintain our Sell rating on shares of CRAI prior to the release of year-end earnings. Third-quarter financial results fell well short of Street expectations, which marked the second such disappointment in the last three quarters. As such, we anticipate that investors will demand evidence that management has properly addressed the company's operational problems before affording a higher multiple to CRAI shares.

Kroger Co.: Buying Opportunity

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is one of the largest grocery retailers in the U.S. It operates 2,477 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under approximately 24 local banners, including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Smith's, Fry's and Fry's Marketplace, to name but a few.

Kroger's third quarter results were slightly better than our expectations. Sales matched our forecast, while its EPS beat by $0.01, excluding a one-time charge of $0.03 related to Hurricane Ike. What's more, management raised its full-year EPS guidance from $1.85-$1.90 to $1.88-$1.91.

AvalonBay's Attractive Entry Point

Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) which primarily focuses on developing high-quality, multi-family apartment communities for higher-income clients in high barrier-to-entry regions of the U.S. As of September 30, 2008, the company owned or held ownership interests in 177 apartment communities, with 50,034 apartment homes in 10 states.

Operationally, we expect AVB to outperform peers in 2009, although multifamily fundamentals will slow in the coming quarters due to stagnant job growth and growing unemployment trends. Shares of AVB are off over 35% since October due to a general sector sell-off. We are changing our recommendation to Buy due to valuation.

Juniper Ntwks Outlook Cautious

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) is enjoying robust growth in its infrastructure business. The company reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter; however, it provided cautious outlook for 2008 due to uncertain credit markets and economic concerns.

Although results have been good, we are growing increasingly concerned about levels of capital spending by service providers in light of indications that spending could be slowing. We have lowered our estimates for the fourth quarter of 2008 and for 2009, indicating weak growth prospects for the company amid a slowing economy. In light of this, we maintain a Hold recommendation on the shares of JNPR.

Marathon: More Upside Than Down

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) has indicated interest in splitting the company into separate upstream/downstream entities, essentially undoing the integrated business model. The proposal is at a preliminary stage and a final decision is expected early next year. We can see such a course of action unlocking shareholder value, particularly given its downstream-heavy business structure that is weighing on its much improved upstream assets.

The company's strong inventory of development projects provides for visible production growth over the coming years. We believe that management's guidance of annual production growth of 7% through 2012 is on the conservative side.

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