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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Box, Spectrum Brands, Central Garden Pet Co, Funko and Grocery Outlet

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 9, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Box, Inc. (BOX - Free Report) , Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. (SPB - Free Report) , Central Garden Pet Company (CENT - Free Report) , Funko, Inc. (FNKO - Free Report) and Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (GO - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Daily Coronavirus Cases Hit Record High: 5 Stocks to Buy

While all eyes are on the U.S. presidential election, the deadly coronavirus continues to spread at a faster pace. On Nov 4, new daily coronavirus cases surpassed a whopping 100,000 in the United States for the first time, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University. Understandably, with a record number of hospitalizations, fears continue to reside in the minds of millions.

Moreover, the fears of coronavirus flaring up further may not be unwarranted, as there is still no assurance on getting a vaccine to wipe out the virus. Although some European countries are going under lockdown again on fears of the virus spreading at an alarming rate, it is quite unlikely that the United States will take similar steps at a time when the economy is trying to get back on its feet.

That said, it won’t come as a surprise if people start confining themselves to their homes once again. Amid this uncertainty, a few businesses have been making use of the opportunity, while most others continue to bleed.

Coronavirus Cases Hit New High

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States recorded 102,831 new coronavirus cases on Nov 4, hitting an all-time high after recording 91,530 cases on election day. However, the death toll was somewhat lower. Total deaths recorded on Nov 4 were 1,097 compared with 1,134 registered a day earlier.

On the basis of states, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa and New Mexico have reported the maximum number of hospitalizations over the past week. Naturally, fears have once again started escalating and if not a lockdown, the states have already started considering tightening restrictions keeping in mind the safety of millions.

Dealing With the Pandemic

Life has changed dramatically since the coronavirus outbreak with work-and-learn-from-home becoming the new culture. Social distancing has also changed business and trade completely. This has made people become more self-reliant.

The pandemic has left global trade badly battered and bruised with travel, tourism and hospitality businesses completely shattered. Moreover, lockdowns by different governments following the outbreak of coronavirus are still taking a toll on import and export.

However, some sectors are particularly benefiting from the situation. The technology and consumer discretionary sectors are the two major beneficiaries of this pandemic. In the past six months, the Technology Select Sector SPDR has returned 29.1%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR has returned 33.2%.

The technology sector has played a major role during the lockdown period as more people are staying indoors. Also, fears of the virus have made people stockpile on essential goods giving a big boost to the consumer discretionary sector.

Our Choices

It won’t come as a surprise if people once again start stockpiling on fears of the virus spreading. Given this situation, it would be prudent to invest in shelter-in-place stocks.

Box is a provider of a cloud content management platform. The platform enables internal and external collaboration on content, automation of content-driven business processes, development of custom applications, data protection, security and compliance features.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.8% over the past 60 days.  Box, Inc. carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Spectrum Brands Holdings offers a portfolio of leading brands in several product categories like residential locksets, plumbing, electric shaving and grooming products, personal care products, small household appliances, specialty pet supplies, and lawn, garden and home pest control products and repellents.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 26.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.6% over the past 60 days. Spectrum Brands has a Zacks Rank #2.

Central Garden Pet Co is looking forward to strengthening its position as one of the leading companies in the U.S. pet supplies and lawn and garden supplies space.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 23.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1% over the past 60 days. Central Garden Pet Company has a Zacks Rank #2.

Funko offers figures, plush, apparel, toys, vinyl, bags, wallets, homewares and accessories under the Mystery Minis, Dorbz, Pint Size Heroes, Rock Candy, Galactic or Hero Plushies, SuperCute, MyMoji and Loungefly brands. 

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for next year is more than 100%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 100% over the past 60 days. Funko carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Grocery Outlet is a high-growth, extreme value retailer of quality, name-brand consumables and fresh products that are sold through a network of independently owned and operated stores. 

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 54.4%. Its shares have advanced 3.9% over the past three months.  Grocery Outlet has a Zacks Rank #2.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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