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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's P/E/Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Peter Lynch. This strategy looks for stocks trading at a reasonable price relative to earnings growth that also possess strong balance sheets.

VIRTUS INVESTMENT PARTNERS INC (VRTS) is a small-cap value stock in the Investment Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 72% to 91% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. provides investment management and related services to individuals and institutions. The Company offers investments strategies for individual and institutional investors in different investment product structures and through multiple distribution channels. The Company provides various asset classes (equity, fixed income and alternative), geographies (domestic, global, international, and emerging), market capitalizations (large, mid, and small), styles (growth, core, and value) and investment approaches (fundamental, quantitative, and thematic). Its retail products include open-end funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs), as well as closed-end funds and retail separate accounts. Its institutional products are offered through separate accounts and pooled to a variety of institutional clients. The Company also provides sub advisory services to other investment advisers and serve as the collateral manager for structured products.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of VIRTUS INVESTMENT PARTNERS INC

FIDELITY D&D BANCORP INC (FDBC) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch changed from 72% to 74% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Fidelity D & D Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company. The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank (the Bank) is the Company's state-chartered commercial bank. The Bank offers a full range of traditional banking services. The Bank has a personal and corporate trust department and also provides alternative financial and insurance products with asset management services. The Bank has investment securities classified into three categories: trading, available-for-sale (AFS) or held-to-maturity (HTM). The Bank service area is comprised of the Borough of Dunmore and the surrounding communities within Lackawanna and Luzerne counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Northampton County in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Company provides health benefit to bankers, including medical, dental and vision insurances, life insurance, long- and short-term disability coverage and flexible spending accounts. The Company and the Bank operate approximately 21 full-service banking offices.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of FIDELITY D&D BANCORP INC

About Peter Lynch: Perhaps the greatest mutual fund manager of all-time, Lynch guided Fidelity Investment's Magellan Fund to a 29.2 percent average annual return from 1977 until his retirement in 1990, almost doubling the S&P 500's 15.8 percent yearly return over that time. Lynch's common sense approach and quick wit made him one of the most quoted investors on Wall Street. ("Go for a business that any idiot can run -- because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it," is one of his many pearls of wisdom.) Lynch's bestseller One Up on Wall Street is something of a "stocks for the everyman/everywoman", breaking his approach down into easy-to-understand concepts.

About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.