For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – September 25, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Alphabet
GOOGL
, Visa
V
, PetroChina Company
PTR
, UnitedHealth Group
UNH
and Honeywell International
HON
.
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Research Reports for Alphabet, Visa and PetroChina
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today’s Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Alphabet, Visa and PetroChina Company. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see
all of
today’s research reports here >>>
Alphabet
shares have underperformed the Zacks Internet Services industry in the year-to-date period (+5.3% vs. +11.5%), reflecting the perceived exposure of the company’s ad business to cyclical forces. The Zacks analyst believes that Alphabet’s strengthening cloud unit is aiding substantial revenue growth. Moreover, expanding data centers will continue to bolster its presence in the cloud space.
Further, major updates in its search segment are enhancing the search results, which is a major positive. Moreover, Google’s robust mobile search is gaining solid momentum. Additionally, strong focus on innovation of AI techniques and the home automation space should aid business growth in the long term.
Also, its deepening focus on the wearables category remains a tailwind. However, the company’s growing litigation issues and increasing expenses might hurt profitability. Further, the company faces persistent pressure from advertisers to tighten controls on YouTube video service. This remains a concern.
(You can
read the full research report on Alphabet here >>>
)
Shares of
Visa
have gained +11.5% over the past year against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s rise of +5.8%. The Zacks analyst believes that numerous acquisitions and alliances together with technology upgrades have paved the way for long-term growth for Visa.
The acquisition of Visa Europe is a growth strategy as well. Its strong balance sheet enables it to make acquisitions and fund capital expenditure. Its strong cash position enables effective capital deployment measures for its shareholders.
Meanwhile, Visa’s high operating expenses owing to personnel-related costs have put operating margins under pressure. Also, ramped-up client initiatives might dent the top line. It is likely to see a slowdown in cross-border business due to the coronavirus outbreak.
(You can
read the full research report on Visa here >>>
)
PetroChina
shares have lost -8.7% over the past six months against the Zacks International Integrated Oil industry’s fall of -12.5%. The Zacks analyst believes that the stock stands to gain from higher energy production and lower lifting costs.
PetroChina’s E&P unit posted a 7% increase in production in the first six months of 2020, while oil and gas lifting costs were down 14% from what it averaged in the first half of last year. However, the historic oil price crash has hit PetroChina hard.
Further, in a sign of weakness in the company’s downstream business, earnings plunged due to depressed domestic demands, lower refined products sales and a drop in price.
(You can
read the full research report on PetroChina here >>>
)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include UnitedHealth Group and Honeywell International.
Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential
The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.
Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.
See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>
Join us on Facbook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss
.
This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit
http://www.zacks.com/performance
for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report