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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Visa, Netflix, Accenture, ConocoPhillips and BlackRock

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –June 14, 2019 – 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: Visa (V - Free Report) , Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) , Accenture (ACN - Free Report) , ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) and BlackRock (BLK - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Analyst Reports for Visa, Netflix and Accenture

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 Visa, Netflix and Accenture. 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 >>>

Visa’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry in the past year, gaining +27.7% vs. a +19.7% increase. The Zacks analyst thinks the company is gaining from consistent growth in payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions.

Numerous strategic acquisitions and alliances plus technology upgrades and effective marketing have paved the way for long-term growth and a consistent increase in revenues. The acquisition of Visa Europe is a long term growth strategy for the company. Its international business has been expanding and adds diversification benefits.

Visa is well-poised to gain from the growing electronic payment processing and a solid brand name. Its strong capital position facilitates business investments. Nevertheless, high client incentives and operating expenses weigh on its operating margins. Adverse foreign exchange volatility imparts instability to the company’s earnings.

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

Shares of Netflix have gained +29.1% year to date, outperforming the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry’s rally of +22% during the same period. The Zacks analyst thinks the company’s strong subscriber addition rate reflects growing appeal of the streaming platform, primarily driven by a solid content portfolio.

This is also helping the company counter competition from the likes of YouTube, HBO and Amazon Prime video. Reportedly, the company is set to launch video games based on its popular shows like Stranger Things. The initiative is expected to create a buzz that is likely to drive the stock. However, Netflix’s weak guidance for second-quarter U.S. streaming paid net additions, due to a price hike, is a concern.

Moreover, high streaming content obligations and increased spending related to the gaming endeavor is expected to hurt cash flow generation. In fact, higher cash burn rate in 2019 is a major headwind.

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

Accenture’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Consulting industry year to date, gaining +30.9% vs. +28.7%. The Zacks analyst thinks Accenture has been steadily gaining traction in its outsourcing and consulting businesses. It has been strategically enhancing its cloud and digital marketing suite through acquisitions and partnerships.

The company’s strong operating cash flow has helped it reward its shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. Further, it has enabled Accenture to pursue opportunities in areas that show true potential. Accenture is currently a global leader in the Salesforce implementation service space.

On the flip side, Accenture continues to face pricing pressure due to significant competition from strong companies like Genpact, Cognizant and Infosys. Global presence exposes Accenture to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Buyout-related integration risks can impact the company’s organic growth.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include ConocoPhillips and BlackRock.

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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 http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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