Thursday, January 28, 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 NVIDIA (NVDA), Verizon Communications (VZ) and AstraZeneca (AZN). 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 >>>

NVIDIA shares have outperformed the Zacks General Semiconductor industry over the past year (+110.4% vs. +28.8%), as the company benefited from the coronavirus-induced work-from-home and learn-at-home wave. It is also benefiting from strong growth in GeForce desktop and notebook GPUs, which is boosting gaming revenues.

Moreover, a surge in Hyperscale demand remains a tailwind for the company’s Data Center business. Expansion of NVIDIA GeForce NOW is expected to drive user base. Further, solid uptake of AI-based smart cockpit infotainment solutions is a boon.

Additionally, collaboration with Daimler-owned Mercedes-Benz is expected to further strengthen NVIDIA’s presence in the autonomous vehicles and other automotive electronics space. However, management expects COVID-19 pandemic to negatively impact near-term revenues by $100 million. Moreover, the U.S.-China trade war remains a key concern.

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

Shares of Verizon have lost -4.1% in the last six months against the Zacks Wireless National industry’s gain of +5.9%. The Zacks analyst believes that adoption of unlimited data plans has resulted in reduction of wireless service revenues. Hefty expenses on promotion and lucrative discounts to attract customers, further hampers its profitability.

Verizon reported relatively solid fourth-quarter results with the top and bottom line beating the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate driven by a disciplined network strategy and focused roadmap for technology leadership. It expects to witness solid 5G momentum backed by customer-centric business model and diligent execution of operational plans.

Verizon is aiming to augment its mid-band spectrum capacity to support the evolving customer behavior. The company has offered a bullish guidance based on the resilient earnings performance and projected trends. However, Verizon operates in an intensely competitive U.S. wireless market that strains margins.

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

AstraZeneca shares have gained +2% over the past three months against the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s rise of +15.4%. The Zacks analyst believes that AstraZeneca’s products like Nexium, Crestor and Seroquel are facing generic competition, which is hurting sales.

The diabetes franchise also faces stiff competition while pricing pressure is hurting sales in the respiratory unit. Nonetheless, AstraZeneca’s cancer medicines Lynparza, Tagrisso and Imfinzi should keep driving revenues. Its pipeline is strong with several phase III data readouts lined up. Its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222 has progressed at a rapid pace.

AstraZeneca has also engaged in external acquisitions and strategic collaborations to boost its pipeline while investing in geographic areas of high growth like China. Its shares have underperformed the industry in the past six months. The company has a mixed record of earnings surprises in recent quarters. Estimates have gone down slightly ahead of Q4 earnings release.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include PayPal (PYPL), Micron Technology (MU) and Anthem (ANTM).

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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>>>