Monday, December 20, 2021

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 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM). 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 Johnson & Johnson have underperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+12.7% vs. +24.9%), however, things seem to be improving for it. The Zacks analyst believes that Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to diversify make it relatively resilient amid macroeconomic turmoil.

JNJ is making rapid progress with its pipeline and line extensions. Several pivotal data readouts and regulatory milestones are expected in the near term. The Medical Devices segment is demonstrating a recovery after its sales were hurt in the early stages of the pandemic. Sales of the Consumer unit are improving. Numerous lawsuits that allege personal injuries to patients, caused by the use of its products, remains a major headwind though.

(You can read the full research report on Johnson & Johnson here >>>)

Home Depot shares have gained +49.1% in the year to date period against the Zacks Retail Building Products industry’s gain of +45.6%. The Zacks analyst believes that Home Depot has been benefiting significantly from the execution of its One Home Depot plan, which focuses on expanding supply chain, technology investments and digital enhancements.

HD reported six straight quarters of earnings and sales beat reported in third-quarter fiscal 2021. Results gained from continued demand for home-improvement projects, robust housing market and ongoing investments. Home Depot, however, reported soft gross margin in the fiscal third quarter mainly driven by higher cost of goods sold arising from higher transportation costs and mix of products sold.

(You can read the full research report on Home Depot here >>>)

Shares of Toyota have gained +2.9% in the last six months against the Zacks Foreign Automotive industry’s loss of -10%. The Zacks analyst believes that Toyota’s focus on developing electric and driverless cars is likely to boost revenues, going forward.

TM projects fiscal 2022 operating income at ¥2.8 trillion, up 27.4% year over year. Strategic collaborations with Subaru and Mazda are likely to aid Toyota’s ambitious e-mobility goals. High capex and R&D expenses on advanced technologies, however, are expected to dent near-term margins for the firm. Toyota's high debt levels has also been weighing on its financial flexibility.

(You can read the full research report on Toyota here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and Intuit Inc. (INTU).

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>