Wednesday, May 15, 2019

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 Adobe (ADBE), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Exelon (EXC). 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 >>>

Adobe’s shares have gained +14.5% over the past year, underperforming the Zacks Software industry which has increased +22.9% over the same period. The Zacks analyst thinks Adobe is riding on benefits from Magento and Marketo acquisitions and strong demand for its creative products. It has been making great efforts toward establishing its presence in cloud-related software areas such as documents and marketing.

Adobe’s market position, compelling product lines, continued innovation, solid adoption of Creative Cloud and Adobe marketing cloud are major positives. Estimates have been stable lately ahead of the company’s Q2 earnings release.

The company has a mixed record of earnings surprises in recent quarters. However, lower end-market demand and exposure to Europe remain overhangs. High acquisition expenses do not bode well for its bottom line.

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

Shares of Buy-ranked ConocoPhillips are down -10.8% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks U.S. Integrated Oil industry, which has declined -27.3% over the same period. In terms of production and proved reserves, ConocoPhillips is the largest oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) player in the world.

The Zacks analyst thinks there are significant opportunities for the upstream energy player in the Eagle Ford where it owns about 3,400 undrilled locations. In fact, strong focus on two other prospective resources like Delaware basin and Bakken shale is expected to help ConocoPhillips achieve its target of more than 25% CAGR of production through 2017 to 2019. Increased volumes from the company’s unconventional assets primarily backed the company’s strong first-quarter 2019 results.

Moreover, the upstream energy player is strongly committed toward returning cash to shareholders as is evident from its $3-billion planned buyback program in 2019. ConocoPhillips is also planning to increase its dividend in 2019 after raising the same by 15% in 2018.

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

Exelon’s shares have gained +23.1% in the past year, outperforming the Zacks Electric Power Industry which has gained +14.9% over the same period. Exelon’s first-quarter earnings were in line with estimates but revenues surpassed the same.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company continues to benefit from the strategy of investing in advanced technology and infrastructure to expand the regulated business. Exelon’s $23-billion planned capital investment for the next four years will be focused on grid modernization and further increasing resilience of its system.

The company continues with its hedging program to manage market risks and protect the value of its generation. Strong cash flow generation capacity will help it lower debt levels and increase value of its shareholders.

However, Exelon is subject to the impact of commodity price volatility and price fluctuation in the wholesale markets. The possibility of increase in prices of Uranium and stringent government regulation are causes of concern.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today includeAnadarko Petroleum (APC), Welltower (WELL) and Home Depot (HD).

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Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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>>>