Monday June 12 2017

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's write-up features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Facebook (FB), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Merck (MRK).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 >>>

Facebook’s shares lagged the S&P 500 index following the election, but have more than made up for that underperformance since the start of 2017 - the stock is up +29.9% in the year-to-date period vs. +8.9% gain for the index in that time period. The stock has lost ground in the last few sessions as the market has soured on the high-flying tech sector, but the Zacks analyst remains about Facebook's outlook given the social media giant's strong growth outlook. Apart from mobile and video, the potential for monetization of its Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus assets, a huge user base and room for higher engagement levels remain at the core of the company's attractive fundamentals. Longer term, Facebook's investments in augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies also remain promising. On the flip side, while the stock isn't nose-bleed expensive on valuation grounds, it nevertheless remains vulnerable to sentiment shift if the technology rally falters.

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

Wal-Mart shares have been strong performers lately, with the stock up +14.6% in the year-to-date period, handily outperforming the S&P 500's +8.9% gain in the same time period. The market's growing appreciation for the company's efforts to build e-commerce capabilities and strengthen the legacy business through improved and expanded product assortment, store cleanliness and an overall pleasant customer experience to drive traffic. The positive comps for the last 10 quarters and strong results in the last quarterly report are some of the more tangible outcomes of these efforts. The company has been making steady investments in its business, both on the brick-and-mortar side as well as in the e-commerce platform. These are necessary outlays for its long-term competitive positioning, but they nevertheless have bearing on near-term profitability. The stock's recent momentum and outperformance relative to others like Target (TGT) suggest that market participants are willing to be patient with management's plans.

(You can read the full research report on Wal-Mart here >>>).

Merck shares have outperformed the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the last one year, gaining +14.6% versus the industry’s +4.5% increase. This momentum reflects the progress it has made with product pipeline and strong recent results; the company beat estimates in Q1 and raised guidance. While generic competition for several drugs and pricing pressures as are material in the Merck story as they are for many of its peers, the Zacks analyst points out that the company's new products like Keytruda and Zepatier hold great potential.  The analyst discusses all of these issues in the updated research report issued today.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Dominion Resources (D), Kellogg (K) and PACCAR (PCAR).

Zacks' 2017 IPO Watch List
Before looking into the stocks mentioned above, you may want to get a head start on potential tech IPOs that are popping up on Zacks' radar. Imagine being in the first wave of investors to jump on a company with almost unlimited growth potential? This Special Report gives you the current scoop on 5 that may go public at any time.

One has driven from 0 to a $68 billion valuation in 8 years. Four others are a little less obvious but already show jaw-dropping growth. Download this IPO Watch List today for free >>

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>>>