As earnings season begins to wind down, some apparel retailers are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters anticipate that Walmart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the 800-pound gorilla in the space, will report that it earned $0.77 per share in the first quarter, about the same as in the first quarter of last year. But JCPenney Co. (NYSE: JCP), Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS), Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), and Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) are expected to report lower profits for the first quarter as consumers continued to hold off on spending. Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) are expected to have swung to a loss year over year.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Winn Dixie Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN) are likewise expected to report declining earnings, while the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (NYSE: GAP), parent of the A&P supermarket chain, is expected to have narrowed its net loss 68.9% to $0.28 per share.

Stanley Inc. (NYSE: SXE) provides information technology services and solutions to U.S. defense and federal civilian government agencies. The firm offers its customers systems integration solutions and expertise to support their mission-essential needs at any stage of program, product development or business life cycle. Services involve systems engineering, enterprise integration, operational logistics, business process outsourcing, and advanced engineering and technology. The company employs more than 2,800 and operates at over 100 locations worldwide.

Stanley pleased investors last week when it announced fiscal Q2 EPS of 27 cents and revenues of $150.2 million. Analysts had been expecting 24 cents and $135.8 million. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 27-29 cents (24-cent consensus), Q3 revenues to $152-$162 million ($134.75M consensus), FY08 EPS to $1.05-$1.10 (96-cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $590-$610 million ($541.75M consensus). Stifel Nicolaus subsequently reiterated its "buy" recommendation. SXE shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Altogether, brokers now recommend the issue with seven "strong buys" and one "buy." Analysts see a 22% average annual growth rate through the next five years. The SXE Price to Sales ratio (1.43), Sales Growth rate (53.01%) and EPS Growth rate (80.00%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 65% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $13.41 and $33.69. A stop-loss of $27.75 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

Stanley Inc. (NYSE: SXE) provides information technology services and solutions to U.S. defense and federal civilian government agencies. The firm offers systems integration solutions and expertise to support mission-essential needs at any stage of program, product development or business lifecycle. Services involve systems engineering, enterprise integration, operational logistics, business process outsourcing, and advanced engineering and technology. The company employs more than 2,800 and operates at over 100 locations worldwide.

Stanley pleased investors earlier in the month, when it announced fiscal Q1 EPS of 23 cents and revenues of $133.5 million. Analysts had been expecting 21 cents and $122.4 million. Management also guided Q2 EPS to 23-25 cents (20 cent consensus), Q2 revenues to $133-$138 million ($122.33M consensus), FY08 EPS to 90-95 cents (85 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $525-$540 million ($497.11M consensus). Stifel Nicolaus subsequently reiterated its "buy" recommendation. SXE shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling when they entered them. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Altogether, brokers now recommend the issue with eight "strong buys" and one "buy." Analysts see a 22% average annual growth rate, through the next five years. The SXE Price to Sales ratio (1.15), Price to Book ratio (3.47), Sales Growth rate (44.23%) and EPS Growth rate (53.33%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 61% of the outstanding shares. Since going public last October, the stock has traded between $13.41 and $22.84. A stop-loss of $18.50 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.

When you want to be a successful government consultant, you have to understand the government's ways. There is an information technology outfit in Arlington, Virginia that has the inside track that way. It was founded by an admiral and works for the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Homeland Security, Justice and State.

Stanley Inc. (NYSE: SXE) provides information technology services and solutions to U.S. defense and federal civilian government agencies. The firm offers its customers systems integration solutions and expertise in support of their needs at any stage of program, product development or business lifecycle. Services involve systems engineering, enterprise integration, operational logistics, business process outsourcing and advanced engineering. The company employs more than 2,700 and operates at over 100 locations worldwide.

Stanley pleased investors last week, when it announced fiscal Q4 EPS of 20 cents and revenues of $116.6 million. Analysts had been expecting 18 cents and $102.55 million. Management also guided Q1 EPS to 19-21 cents (18 cent consensus), Q1 revenues to $120-$125 million ($107.19M consensus), FY08 EPS to 79-85 cents (83 cent consensus) and FY08 revenues to $480-$500 million ($450.50M consensus). Wachovia and Stifel Nicolaus subsequently declared the stock a "buy" and the later boosted its price target to $22.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: MGM Mirage (MGM), USA Truck, Inc (USAK), Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd (VLCCF), Monolithic Power Systems, Inc (MPWR) and Stanley, Inc (SXE) topped out today's noteworthy upgrade list:

• Prudential upgraded shares of MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation, as the firm believes the recent weakness presents a buying opportunity.

• USA Truck Inc (NASDAQ: USAK) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Stephens based on valuation.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Knightsbridge Tankers Ltd (NASDAQ: VLCCF) to Hold from Underperform to reflect the company's five vessels now operating on long-term time charter contracts and its recent entry into the dry bulk shipping sector.

• Monolithic Power (NASDAQ: MPWR) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank following its patent win case against O2Micro International Ltd (OIIM).

• Wachovia upgraded Stanley Inc (NYSE: SXE) to Outperform from Market Perform based on its strong Q4 report and guidance...

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Cognos Inc (NASDAQ: COGN) was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at Pacific Crest.

• Riverbed Technology, Inc (NASDAQ: RVBD) was raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.

• Stifel upgraded Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ: PCLN) to Buy from Hold.

• Barrington raised X-Rite, Inc (NASDAQ: XRIT) To Outperform from Market Perform.

• Morgan Stanley raised Principal Financial Group Inc (NYSE: PFG) to Equal Weight from Underweight.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Stanley (SXE) and The NYMEX (NMX) topped today's extensive list of initiations.

• Stanley Inc. (NYSE:SXE) was initiated by a host of firms today: Wachovia started the IT services company with a Market Perform rating, citing valuation. Cowen started Stanley with an Outperform rating, citing expectations for 20% EPS growth and the potential for margin upside for their rationale. JP Morgan, Stifel and Citigroup initiated Stanely with Buy ratings, citing solid market positioning in the civilian and federal IT markets.
• The NYMEX (NYSE:NMX) was initiated at Prudential with an Underweight rating and $112 target, citing a rich valuation and the unlikely chance of a takeout.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Caris started Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) with an Average rating, citing shares that are fully valued and 2007 growth expectations that could prove to be aggressive.
• Wachovia initiated Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMED) with a Market Perform rating, citing the risks from potential changes to Medicare reimbursement rules for its rating.
• Goldman initiated Biovail Corp. (NYSE:BVF) with a Buy rating and $22 target, citing an attractive valuation.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).