CHICAGO, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Ford (NYSE:F-Free Report)as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis onTesla Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA-Free Report), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM-Free Report) and Daimler AG (OTC:DDAIF-Free Report).

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Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM-Free Report) has a limited public company history, but it has beaten estimates in each of the last two reports. What's more, aggressive growth investors will like that they have beaten the top line number in each of their three reports and have shown sequential growth in all quarters. Estimates are moving higher for APAM and today it is the Bull of the Day as a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past several years, the asset manager market has been hit time and time again. The financial crisis, the Bernie Madoff and other schemes and the general lack of trust the public has with the stock market have all worked against the group. This has caused the overall market to shrink to a degree, but it has also provided opportunities for some. APAM is among those that view this as an opportunity.

Artisan Partners Asset Management provides investment management services. It offers 12 equity investment strategies spanning various market capitalization segments and investing styles. As of December 31, 2010, it managed 155 accounts spanning 115 client relationships. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Bear of the Day:

Ford (NYSE:F-Free Report) automakers have been posting great numbers throughout 2013, but some analysts are starting to wonder if the cycle is coming to a close. As a result they have lowered their estimates on Ford and today, that stock is the Bear of the day with its Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

For the past several months, US auto sales have shown consistent growth. The sequential growth has small, but the year over year growth was impressive. There was a big drop off in September as new models hit the showroom floors, but as we rolled into the November 1 sales numbers, the growth returned.

This page from the Wall Street Journal breaks down auto sales in a fairly high level of detail. Its interesting stuff no doubt, but the overwhelming idea that you should get from scanning that page is that people are buying new cars.

Additional content:

Tesla Stock Surges on High Sales

The stock of Tesla Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA-Free Report) surged 16.3% to $162 per share after the electric carmaker revealed that vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2013 were 20% higher than estimated. The company sold and delivered 6,900 vehicles in the quarter, compared to the guidance of 6,000 units. Sales were also significantly higher than 5,500 cars sold in the third quarter.

This is the highest sales recorded by Tesla. The combined efforts of the company's production team and its key suppliers, especially Panasonic, helped it to surpass the guidance.

The contribution of suppliers is notable as Tesla has been facing a shortage of lithium-ion battery cells, which is limiting its production capacity. Consequently, the company is facing trouble in meeting the rising demand for its Model S.

Tesla is working on overcoming this constraint. In Nov 2013, the electric carmaker extended its supplier agreement with Panasonic, whereby the latter will supply around two billion automotive grade lithium-ion battery cells to Tesla over the next four years. This is enough to produce around 300,000 cars. The company is also mulling over opening a cell and battery giga factory to boost cell production.

Meanwhile, the demand for Tesla's cars remains strong on robust performances and impressive designs of its products. Model S ensures the least possibility of injury to passengers among all major car makes and models in the U.S. The car won a five-star vehicle safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is awarded to only 1% of the cars tested. Moreover, the safety score of this sedan exceeded the scores of most sports utility vehicles and minivans.

Further, Tesla holds the record of not having any deaths or permanent injuries to passengers in any of its cars, during the six years that its cars have been in the market.

The outstanding performance of Model S in cold weather also contributes to its rising demand. The high traction control provided by its electric powertrain leads to better performance of the car in snow and ice, compared to a gasoline powertrain. As a result, Tesla has the highest per capita sales in Norway.

Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles and electric vehicle powertrain components for partners including Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM-Free Report) and Daimler AG (OTC:DDAIF-Free Report).

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