Tuesday, December 17, 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 Apple (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Oracle (ORCL). 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 >>>

Apple’s shares have outperformed the S&P 500 year to date (+77.4% vs. +26%). The Zacks analyst believes that Apple is benefiting from continued momentum in the Services segment and improved iPhone sales, owing to the trade-in programs.

Non-iPhone devices continue to perform well, driven by strong demand for iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods. The company’s expanded portfolio that now includes new MacBook Pro, Apple Watch Series 5 and streaming service Apple TV+ is a key catalyst. Moreover, iPhone sales are expected to improve in China with the new iPhone models.

Nevertheless, uncertainties over the timeframe of the resolution of the U.S.-China trade war do not bode well for the company. Further, antitrust investigations, App Store-related lawsuits and Spotify’s complaint increase legal woes.

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

Shares of Cisco have lost -6.8% in the past three months against the Zacks Computer Networking industry’s fall of -6.6%. The Zacks analyst believes that Cisco is benefiting from solid security business.

Strong contribution from Infrastructure Platforms and applications is a positive. Moreover, order strength and improving traction of the subscription-based business model are tailwinds. Further, strengthening collaboration portfolio, which includes Webex Teams, bodes well. Additionally, acquisitions of Voicea and CloudCherry hold promise.

Cisco’s latest Silicon One strategy to enhance its network hardware business is expected to boost reveune base. However, weakness in service provider business in China remains a concern.

Further, stiff competition from Arista and Juniper in switching and routing verticals is likely to create pricing pressure and impact profitability. Also, increasing investments on product enhancements are likely to limit margin expansion at least in the near-term.

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

Oracle's shares have gained 2% over the past six months against the Zacks Computer Software industry's rise of 10.6%. The Zacks analyst believes that Oracle is benefiting from strong adoption of cloud-based solutions, comprising NetSuite ERP, Fusion ERP and Fusion HCM among others.

In fact, momentum witnessed in cloud services were a key upside to the company’s performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. Going ahead, the company is expected to reap benefits from rising adoption of SaaS.

Moreover, strong demand for the latest autonomous database supported by ML is likely to drive the top line. It will also provide a competitive edge against Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the Database-as-a-Service market.

However, stiff competition in the cloud market from dominant players is anticipated to put pressure on profitability. Further, lower hardware volumes are expected to hurt the top line. Additionally, integration risks from buyouts remain a concern.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include HSBC Holdings (HSBC), Adobe (ADBE) and Amgen (AMGN).

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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>>>