The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Meta Platforms, Inc., Bank of America Corporation, Mastercard Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Medtronic plc


For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – January 4, 2022 – 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: Meta Platforms, Inc.

FB

, Bank of America Corporation

BAC

and Mastercard Inc.

MA

, Pfizer

PFE

and Medtronic

MDT

.


Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:


Top Stock Reports for Meta Platforms, Bank of America and MasterCard

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 Meta Platforms, Inc., Bank of America Corporation, and Mastercard Incorporated. 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 >>>


Shares of

Meta Platforms

have modestly underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year (+25.1% vs. +31.3%), most likely reflecting regulatory worries. That said, the Zacks analyst believes that Meta Platforms has been benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly Asia Pacific.

Increased engagement for Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook Watch remains a major growth driver for Meta. Advertising revenues are benefiting from the ongoing shift to e-commerce. Its focus on becoming a metaverse company is noteworthy. Stiff competition from Snap and Twitter in the advertising space as well as increasing regulatory headwinds in the EU and some other countries remain major concerns, though.

(You can



read the full research report on Meta Platforms here >>>



)


Bank of America

shares have gained +16.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Major Regional Banks industry’s gain of +7.7%. The Zacks analyst believes that efforts to improve revenue growth, a strong balance sheet and expansion into new markets are likely to support Bank of America.

Opening of new branches and a solid IB pipeline will continue supporting BAC’s financials. BAC is also likely to keep enhancing the shareholder value on the back of its impressive capital deployment activities. Lingering low interest rates and the Federal Reserve’s decision to not change it in the near term are expected to weigh on Bank of America’s margins and interest income, though.

(You can



read the full research report on Bank of America here >>>



)

Shares of

Mastercard

have gained +10.4% in the last three months against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s loss of -1.2%. The Zacks analyst believes that Mastercard’s strategic acquisitions, alliances and technology upgrades, along with product-diversification and geographic-expansion initiatives bodes well for the long term.

Accelerated the use of electronic payments with much greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions provides Mastercard with an opportunity to expedite its shift to the digital mode. Strong capital position enables the firm to pursue acquisitions and deploy capital. Steep costs, high rebates and incentives, however, might weigh on revenues.

(You can



read the full research report on Mastercard here >>>



)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Pfizer Inc. and Medtronic plc.

Zacks’ Top Picks to Cash in on Artificial Intelligence

This world-changing technology is projected to generate $100s of billions by 2025. From self-driving cars to consumer data analysis, people are relying on machines more than we ever have before. Now is the time to capitalize on the 4th Industrial Revolution. Zacks’ urgent special report reveals 6 AI picks investors need to know about today.



See 6 Artificial Intelligence Stocks With Extreme Upside Potential>>

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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

https://www.zacks.com/performance

for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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