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Twitter, Marriott Vacations, Veeva, Attunity and Apptio highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 15, 2018 – Zacks Equity Research Twitter, Inc. as the Bull of the Day, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation (VAC - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Veeva Systems Inc. (VEEV - Free Report) , Attunity Ltd. and Apptio, Inc. .

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Twitter, Inc. is winning over Wall Street quarter by quarter. This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is expected to grow both revenue and earnings by the double digits in both 2018 and 2019.

Twitter operates a social media platform in 40 languages around the world that provides users with updates on what is happening, including breaking news, globally.

Big Earnings Beat in Q3

On Oct 25, Twitter reported its third quarter results and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7 cents. Earnings were $0.21 versus the consensus of $0.14. That's a beat of 50%.

Revenue rose 29% to $758 million, up from $590 million.

Of that total revenue, most came from advertising revenue which rose 29% to $650 million. Half of the advertising revenue is now coming from the video ad format.

Wall Street is always watching the Daily Active Users count, which fell to 326 million from 335 million in the second quarter but that was mostly the result of the company's policy of purging fake, spam and abusive accounts.

Analysts Are Bullish on 2018 and 2019

The analysts mostly liked what they saw in this report as the majority raised 2018 full year guidance and also 2019 full year guidance.

This is a big change from the prior years where the analysts were mostly downbeat on earnings growth for the company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 jumped to $0.79 from $0.71 in the last month, with 12 analysts raising and just 2 lowering estimates in that time.

That's earnings growth of 79.5% over 2017 when it made just $0.44.

2019 is also looking strong. 11 estimates have been revised higher for 2019 in the last month, pushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate up to $0.88 from $0.78. That's another 11.3% growth in the earnings.

Revenue expectations also continue to be bullish. 2018 revenue is expected to be up 22.1% to $2.98 billion from $2.44 billion in 2017.

The good times are forecast to continue in 2019 with revenue jumping another 14.4% to $3.4 billion.

Bear of the Day:

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporationjust closed on a big acquisition that could have significant impacts. But estimates are still coming down for the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) after the hurricanes took some of the momentum out of last quarter.

Marriott Vacations offers vacation ownership (aka timeshares), exchange, rental and resort and property management at more than 100 resorts worldwide. It has nearly 650,000 owners and members in its portfolio that includes 7 vacation ownership brands.

It also has a membership program with nearly 3,200 resorts in over 80 nations which has about 2 million members. Additionally, the company manages 200 other resorts and lodging properties.

It has long-term relations with Marriott International and Hyatt Hotels Corporation for the development, sales and marketing of vacation ownership products and services.

ILG Deal Closed in September

The company closed on its acquisition of ILG, Inc. on Sep 1, 2018 so a month of those earnings were also incorporated into the third quarter earnings report.

This deal creates a juggernaut in the travel industry as it combines both Marriott and Hyatt brands under one roof.

It now operates 7 upscale brands including: Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, St. Regis Residence Club and Hyatt Residence Club.

Marriott Vacations paid $4.6 billion in consideration for the deal. It expects to see synergies of at least $100 million.

Another Miss in the Third Quarter

On Nov 7, Marriott Vacations reported its third quarter results and missed on the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 34 cents.

Earnings were $1.42 versus the Zacks Consensus of $1.76. It was the third earnings miss in a row.

The quarter saw impacts by two hurricanes, however, Hurricane Lane in Hawaii and Hurricane Florence on the US east coast, both of which forced evacuations, cancellations and clean-up.

The company estimated that the hurricanes impacted the quarter by $0.12.

Additional content:

3 Cloud Stocks to Buy Right Now

 

In a matter of just a few years, “the Cloud” has evolved from a budding new tech feature to one of the main factors driving growth in the technology sector. Cloud computing is now an essential focus for software-related companies, and cloud stocks have piqued the interest of many tech-focused investors.

New technologies and changing consumer behavior have changed the shape of the technology landscape, and an industry that was once centered on the personal computer has adapted to survive in the world of mobile computing and the Cloud. The markets have been paying attention, and some of the best tech stocks have been those that are either primarily cloud-based companies, or those that have shown growth in their cloud operations.

With this in mind, we’ve highlighted three stocks that are not only showing strong cloud-related activity, but also strong fundamental metrics. Check out these three cloud stocks to buy right now:

1. Veeva Systems Inc.

Veeva makes cloud-based solutions for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Its main offerings are presented in a software-as-a-service model and delivers industry-specific tools for CRM, content management, and many other enterprise applications. Shares of Veeva currently hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

VEEV has emerged as a hot growth and momentum stock this year, adding more than 64%—even after recent market-wide pullbacks—amid strong earnings improvements. The firm is projected to finish its current fiscal year with earnings growth of 59.1% and has a long-term expected growth rate of 19.3%. Veeva is also generating cash flow growth in excess of 86.6% currently.

2. Attunity Ltd.

Attunity is a provider of software solutions that enable access, management, sharing, and distribution of data across enterprise platforms and the Cloud. Simply put, Attunity customers have real-time access to a plethora of data and information whenever it’s needed. The firm works closely with trusted cloud leaders like AWS, Cloudera and Microsoft.

ATTU is sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The reason for this strong rank is a number of recent positive earnings estimate revisions. These bullish revisions have pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATTU’s current year EPS to 40 cents from 26 cents, while next year’s consensus has moved to 49 cents from 32 cents.

Part of this has to do with Attunity’s most recent quarter, in which the firm delivered earnings of 20 cents per share against estimates of just three cents. Now, current-year growth estimates are calling for revenue and earnings to improve by 35% and 500%, respectively.

3. Apptio, Inc.

Apptio develops cloud-based, software-as-a-service platforms for business management applications. Its enterprise-focused apps are designed to help companies assess and plan for the costs of IT services, which helps save time and money related to planning, budgeting, and forecasting. APTI currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and an “A” grade in the Growth category of our Style Scores system.

Despite being a segment leader for years, APTI is still witnessing aggressive earnings and revenue growth. The firm’s bottom line is expected to grow 133.3% this year and revenue growth will hit 24.1%, according to our latest Zacks Consensus Estimates. APTI also has a long-term projected growth rate of 12.5%.

3 Medical Stocks to Buy Now

The greatest discovery in this century of biology is now at the flashpoint between theory and realization. Billions of dollars in research have poured into it. Companies are already generating revenue, and cures for a variety of deadly diseases are in the pipeline.

So are big potential profits for early investors. Zacks has released an updated Special Report that explains this breakthrough and names the best 3 stocks to ride it.

See them today for free >>

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