AirTran Earns Another #1

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9/10/03 - Zacks Buy List Highlights: AirTran Holdings, Kyphon, PETsMART, and Research In Motion


CHICAGO, Sep 10, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Zacks.com releases another list of stocks that are currently members of the coveted Zacks #1 Ranked list which has produced an average annual return of +33.6% since 1988 and has gained +13.3% annually since 2000 as the markets have been tumbling down. Among the #1 ranked stocks today we highlight the following companies: AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI) and Kyphon Inc. (NASDAQ:KYPH). Further they announced #2 Rankings (Buy) on two other widely held stocks: PETsMART, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM) and Research In Motion, Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM). To see the full Zacks #1 Ranked list or the rank for any other stock then visit: http://www.zacksrank1bw.zacks.com

Here is a synopsis of why these stocks have a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). Note that a #1 Strong Buy rating is applied to 5% of all the stocks we rank:

AirTran Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AAI), through its wholly owned subsidiary, AirTran Airlines, Inc., operates an affordable, no frills, limited frequency, scheduled airline serving short haul markets. Recently, AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings, reported that passenger traffic grew by +32.6% to 689,094 million revenue passenger miles in the month of August, marking a record high for that month. Going back, in late July the company reported second quarter 2003 earnings, excluding special items, that beat both the consensus and the year-ago performance. Earnings estimates for this year and next have improved by approximately +51% and +22% respectively from three months ago, with analysts expecting a more than +30% improvement in next year's earnings result over this year. AirTran Holdings appears to be flying in the right direction and may be able to help your portfolio to take off.