We reaffirm our Neutral recommendation on Patterson Companies Inc (PDCO), a leading distributor of dental, companion-pet veterinarian and rehabilitation medical supplies in the U.S. and Canada . First-quarter fiscal 2011 (ended July 31, 2010) earnings per share of 45 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.
 
Profit soared 19.6% year-over-year on account of higher sales which climbed roughly 8%, benefited by an extra week in the quarter. However, sales trailed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
 
Patterson’s core Dental Supply business posted 6% year-over-year revenue growth, boosted by healthy dental equipment sales (up 13%). Revenues from its Webster Veterinary Supply segment grew 6% in a soft economic backdrop, helped by higher equipment sales. Rehabilitation Supply revenues cruised 17% on the back of acquisitions and contribution from the additional week. The company backed its fiscal 2011 earnings guidance.
 
Minnesota-based Patterson provides a wide range of consumable supplies, equipment and software and value-added services to its customers. The company operates through three business segments, Dental Supply, Veterinary Supply and Rehabilitation Supply (“Patterson Medical”).
 
Patterson has been successful in growing revenues over the past few quarters driven by healthy double-digit growth at its Rehabilitation Supply unit. The division is benefiting from the synergies from acquisitions and will continue to explore such lucrative deals in fiscal 2011 to boost market position and geographic reach. Moreover, Dental Supply, the largest contributor to Patterson’s revenues, is expected to benefit from the gradual recovery in the dental market and the rebounding dental equipment business.
 
However, Patterson faces significant competition, especially in the dental market. The U.S. dental products distribution industry is highly competitive and consists principally of national, regional and local full-service and mail-order distributors. We also remain cautious about the company’s aggressive acquisition strategy to drive growth given the inherent integration risk. Our recommendation on the stock is supported by a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold).

 
PATTERSON COS (PDCO): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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Patterson’s first-quarter fiscal 2011 (ended July 31, 2010) EPS of 45 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.

Bear market ETFs traded mostly higher today, as U.S. equity market continues to struggle. The NASDAQ-100 Index fell 1.22%, and ProShares Trust UltraPro Short QQQ ETF (NYSE: SQQQ) jumped 3.46%. Among the NASDAQ-100 components Patterson Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDCO) had the biggest loss with a decline of 4.91%.

ProShares UltraShort Semiconductors(ETF) (NYSE: SSG) continued to move higher, as investors are still selling the semiconductor stocks. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) fell 1.86% today, and closed at $18.18.

Direxion Daily Technology Bear 3x Shares(ETF) (NYSE: TYP) gained 3.14%, as International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) dropped 1.99%. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) dropped 1.07%, and closed at $240.28.

ProShares UltraShort MSCI Brazil (NYSE: BZQ) gained 2.88%, and closed at $23.57. Vale (ADR) (NYSE: VALE) fell 1.02%, and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (ADR) (NYSE: PBR) dropped 0.93%.

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• Patterson (NASDAQ: PDCO) posted fiscal first quarter earnings a penny above estimates at 45 cents per share, on revenues of $850 million that fell shy of Zacks estimates of $855 million

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Patterson Companies Inc. (PDCO), a leading distributor of dental, companion-pet veterinarian and rehabilitation medical supplies in the U.S. and Canada, reported first-quarter fiscal 2011 (ended July 31, 2010) results with earnings per share of 45 cents beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny while surpassing the year-ago earnings of 38 cents. Net income jumped [...]

New York, August 26th (TradersHuddle.com) - The S&P 500 index is flat trading at 1055.34, which represents 0% versus its previous close. The broad market index is having a mixed day with slightly more than 50% of the S&P 500 components trading higher.

Monster Worldwide (NYSE:MWW) is the S&P 500's top perfo. Read More --

New York, August 26th (TradersHuddle.com) - Unusual high volume detected on shares of Patterson Companies Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCO), early in the trading session. Patterson is currently trading lower by 4.05%, so definitely the sellers in control, as the stock's volume is on pace to break its average.

Patterson Co. Read More --

 Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares gained 1.2% on reports that the company is expected to introduce iPods with cameras and/or TV capability  Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced that it will add phone calling feature to its Gmail email service, offering competition to Skype  Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated a “Conviction Buy” on Boeing (NYSE:BA), raised second half earnings estimates and set a ...

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