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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Johnson & Johnson, Schlumberger, PayPal, Adobe and Philips

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – Oct 25, 2017 – 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 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) , Schlumberger (SLB - Free Report) , PayPal (PYPL - Free Report) , Adobe (ADBE - Free Report) and Philips (PHG - Free Report) .

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Stock Reports for J&J, Schlumberger and PayPal

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 Johnson & Johnson, Schlumberger and PayPal. 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 >>>

Buy-rated Johnson & Johnson’s shares have gained +27.1% in the year-to-date period, compared with the +23.5% gain of the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry. J&J beat estimates for both earnings and sales in the third quarter and raised its 2017 sales and profit outlook.

As indicated last quarter, J&J’s sales growth accelerated in the third quarter backed by higher sales in the pharmaceutical segment and positive contribution from the Actelion deal. Though quite a few key products in J&J’s portfolio like Remicade and Concerta are facing generic competition, the Zacks analyst thinks new products in all segments, label expansion of drugs like Imbruvica and Darzalex and contribution from recent acquisitions - mainly Actelion – can support top-line growth.

Meanwhile, share buybacks and the restructuring initiative should provide bottom-line support. However, headwinds like generics, pricing pressure, sluggish growth in the Consumer segment and soft global market conditions remain.

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

Shares of Schlumberger have lost 24.7% year to date, following the Zacks Oil and Gas Field Services industry’s 30.3% decline. However, this compares unfavorably with rival Halliburton’s 21.0% decline. The company’s third-quarter 2017 earnings were in line with expectations. Also, the bottom line improved from the year-earlier adjusted profit.

Growing hydraulic fracturing work in the North American land market primarily supported the bottom line. Schlumberger is also expected to generate significant cashflow from the Palliser Block project where the company will assist Torxen Energy in setting up more than 1,600 oil wells.

However, since 2015, Schlumberger’s long-term debt load has increased considerably. Moreover, the company’s cash balance has been declining over the last seven quarters, reflecting significant balance sheet weakness.

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

Strong Buy-rated PayPal’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet Software industry in the year to date period (+76.9% vs. +25.4%). The company delivered strong third-quarter 2017 results, surpassing expectations on both counts. The results were driven by continued strong performance in global payments, both online and mobile. Currently, the company is riding high on partnerships and mobile centrism.

The Zacks analyst likes PayPal’s ongoing strategic partnerships with Visa and MasterCard since they offer great flexibility and choice to consumers. Partnerships with Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Alibaba, Intuit and other major retailers and financial institutions are also delivering positive results. However, continuous exposure to foreign exchange and interest rate risks are concerns.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Adobe and Philips.

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About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

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Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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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.