Wednesday, February 15 2017

Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), Eli Lilly (LLY) and T-Mobile (TMUS).

Berkshire Hathaway shares have modestly lagged the Zacks Finance over the past 12 months (+29.8% vs. +35.4%), but have done better than the S&P 500 index in that same time period (+29.8% vs. +22.4%). The insurance business, which remains at the core of this financial conglomerate's business portfolio, is as much a beneficiary of the post-election momentum in interest rates as are traditional banks and brokers. Berkshire Hathaway is more than insurance - it has assets in the railroads, oil pipelines and many other spaces. The company's name has long been synonymous with Warren Buffet, concerns about whose succession have been an issue for the stock.  The company is expected to report fourth quarter results on Feb 24. (You can read the full research report on Berkshire Hathaway here >>)

Pharmaceutical stocks have been under pressure since last year on pricing and regulatory concerns and Eli Lily shares have been no different. That said, the stock has done modestly better than the peer group; it is up +7.6% over the last 12 months vs. +5.8% for the Zacks Pharma industry and +4.3% for the Zacks Medical sector. Lilly’s fourth-quarter results were mixed with earnings missing estimates but revenues coming out ahead. But the analyst is encouraged by the fact that Lilly expects to launch 20 new products in a 10 year time-frame ranging from 2014 to 2023 and could launch at least 2 new indications/line extensions on average every year. Moreover, Lilly expects to return to annual dividend increases and to return excess cash through share buybacks. (You can read the full research report on Lilly here >>)

T-Mobile shares have been strong performers lately - the stock is up +68.1% over the last 12 months, handily outperforming the Zacks National Wireless industry (up +12.4%) and the broader Zacks Telecom Services industry (+6.9%). Driving this outperformance is the success of the carrier's cultivation of an 'insurgent' persona through promotional measures like the 'Un-carrier' initiatives. Being the fourth national carrier, the company regularly gets mentioned in industry consolidation rumors, which helps the stock price. The Zacks analyst also likes the company's network expansion plans such as 5G trials with Ericsson as well as 4G LTE network improvement and expansion. On the flip side, T-Mobile US operates in a highly competitive and saturated wireless market where it has to work hard to maintain its growth momentum. (You can read the full research report on T-Mobile here >>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Oracle (ORCL), Activision (ATVI) and Marathon Petroleum (MPC).

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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 >>>