Friday, November 4, 2022
 
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 Berkshire Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Canadian National Railway Company (CNI). 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 >>>

Berkshire Bristol-Myers Squibb shares have outperformed the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry over the past year (+32.5% vs. -30.2%). The Zacks analyst believes that solid demand for blood thinner drug, Eliquis and the label expansion of Opdivo should maintain momentum. Eliquis is the leading oral anticoagulant drug and continues to experience growth in its market share.

The label expansion of Opdivo into indications for lung cancer, renal cancer and gastric cancer boosted sales. The recent approval of drugs added a new stream of revenues. Our estimates for BMY’s top line suggest a CAGR of around 1.2% over the next three years, driven by solid demand for legacy drugs and the approval of new drugs.

However, Revlimid, one of the top revenue generators, is facing sales decline year over year due to generic competition.

(You can read the full research report on Bristol-Myers Squibb here >>>)

Shares of Verizon Communications have underperformed the Zacks Wireless National industry over the past year (-28.5% vs. -15.8%). The company reiterated its soft guidance for 2022 due a to challenging macroeconomic environment. An intensely competitive market and hefty expenses on promotions and lucrative discounts to attract customers are likely to hurt profitability. Spectrum crunch with a saturated wireless market is a headwind.

However, Verizon reported relatively healthy third-quarter 2022 results with the bottom line and the top line beating the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. It plans to accelerate the availability of the 5G Ultra-Wideband network with C-Band deployment, focusing on 5G mobility, nationwide broadband, mobile edge compute and business solutions.

It is offering various mix-and-match pricing in both wireless and home broadband plans. Customer-focused planning, disciplined engineering and continued network upgrades will likely augment its market position.

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

Canadian National Railway shares have declined -10.4% over the past year against the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry’s decline of -16.8%. The company is facing supply chain disruptions, network fluidity challenges and weak Canadian grain crops are hurting the company’s volumes. Escalating fuel prices amid the Russia-Ukraine war pose a threat to Canadian National's bottom line. The company’s weak liquidity position is an added concern.

However, Canadian National's efforts to reward its shareholders via dividends and buybacks are encouraging and highlight the company's financial strength. In January, the company announced a 19% dividend hike. Canadian National is also active on the share buyback front.

Strong cash flow generating-ability supports Canadian National's shareholder-friendly activities. The company is benefiting from strong freight demand and solid pricing. With this, management expects adjusted earnings to increase 25% year over year in the current year.

(You can read the full research report on Canadian National Railway here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Airbnb, Inc. (ABNB), DTE Energy Company (DTE), and First Republic Bank (FRC).

Sheraz Mian
 
Director of Research

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>>>