Monday, January 9, 2017

We have featured new research reports on 16 major stocks in today's Research Daily, including report son Wal-Mart (WMT), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and QUALCOMM (QCOM). 

Wal-Mart shares have lost ground lately on concerns that the incoming administration's tax reform could be unfavorable to retailers, particularly. That said, the stock has done better relative to its peers over the past year, on the back of improving outlook for its core store-based operations and momentum in its online business. In today's research report, the analyst discusses the pros & cons of investing in Wal-Mart shares. The analyst likes the company's focus on its online presence, with the recent ShoeBuy acquisition following the earlier Jet.com purchase geared towards that end. That said, investments in wages and e-commerce activities will likely weigh on near-term profitability. (You can read the full research report on Wal-Mart here  >>)

Exxon Mobil shares outpaced the broader market last year (+15.8% for XOM vs. +9.5% for the S&P 500), but it underperformed the Zacks Oil & Gas-International Integrated industry as well as peer Chevron (CVX was up +30.9%). The analyst expects the company’s resilient and integrated business model to steer it away from crude price volatility. The company’s upstream business is also poised to benefit from the current OPEC deal and the subsequent advancement of crude oil prices. Exxon Mobil reports Q4 results on January 31st. (You can read the full research report on Exxon Mobil here >>)   

QUALCOMM shares have been standout performers lately, with the stock up an impressive +30.5% over the last one year vs. the -7.6% decline for the Zacks Wireless Equipment industry. The Zacks analyst likes the company’s active involvement in the production of chipsets for the 5G standard. Also, Qualcomm is widening its presence in adjacent opportunities, including automotive, networking, and mobile computing strategies. However, aggressive competition in the mobile phone chipset market, stringent regulatory norms and anti-competitive charges are some of the major headwinds faced by the company. (You can read the full research report on QUALCOMM here >>)  

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Merck (MRK), Coca-Cola (KO) and Monsanto (MON).

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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 >>>