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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Mastercard, Gilead, Goldman Sachs, PepsiCo and Aetna

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 10, 2018 – 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 Mastercard (MA - Free Report) , Gilead (GILD - Free Report) , Goldman Sachs (GS - Free Report) , PepsiCo (PEP - Free Report) and Aetna .

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

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports for Mastercard, Gilead and Goldman Sachs

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 Mastercard, Gilead and Goldman Sachs. 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-ranked Mastercard’s shares have increased 62.6% over the last year, significantly outperforming the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s gain of 37.1% during the same period. The Zacks analyst thinks the company is well placed for growth, given its solid market position, ongoing expansion and digital initiatives plus significant opportunities from the secular shift toward electronic payments.

The buyouts of VocaLink and NuData Security complement the company’s efforts to participate in new payment flows and enhance its safety and security offerings. The stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 and 2019 earnings being revised upward over the last 60 days. However, escalating costs continue to bother. Also, higher incentives and rewards will put pressure on its bottom line.

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

Shares of Gilead have outperformed the Zacks Biotech industry year to date, gaining +5% vs. a decline of -3.7%. Gilead is now banking on its HIV franchise and newer avenues like the CAR-T therapy to drive growth. The HIV franchise maintains momentum driven by the rapid adoption of Descovy-based regimens.

The FDA approval of Biktarvy has further widened the portfolio. Biktarvy has also been approved in Europe which should boost sales further. The initial uptake of Yescarta is encouraging in the United States and the CHMP gave a positive opinion on the same. Meanwhile, Gilead is intending to foray into the NASH market with selonsertib and filgotinib. Both candidates are being evaluated in late stage studies and a tentative approval will diversify Gilead’s portfolio.

However, Gilead’s HCV franchise is under pressure due to competitive and pricing pressure. Pricing has largely stabilized and market share will stabilize by mid-2018, while patient starts are expected to decline further.

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

Goldman Sachs’ shares have lost -12.8% in the past six months, underperforming the -8.6% decline of the Zacks Investment Banking industry. However, the company boasts an impressive earnings surprise history. It surpassed expectations for earnings in all the trailing four quarters. Estimates have decreased slightly ahead of the company’s second quarter earnings release.

Though regulatory issues are concerns, the Zacks analyst thinks the company’s well-diversified business and focus to capitalize on growth opportunities through strategic moves will continue to strengthen the overall business. Further, its cost-control measures are commendable. Additionally, the company’s steady capital-deployment activities have boosted investors' confidence along with the Fed's approval to 2018 Capital Plan.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include PepsiCo and Aetna.

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

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.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

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.