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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Berkshire Hathaway, Pfizer, Danaher, Tesla and Cintas

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 17, 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: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B - Free Report) , Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) , Danaher (DHR - Free Report) , Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) and Cintas (CTAS - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports for Berkshire Hathaway, Pfizer and Danaher

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 Berkshire Hathaway, Pfizer and Danaher. 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 >>>

Berkshire Hathaway’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry in the past year (+11.2% vs. +10.4%). The Zacks analyst thinks it is poised for growth over the long term on the back of its sturdy insurance business. The company’s inorganic growth story remains impressive with strategic acquisitions. A strong cash position supports earnings-accretive bolt-on buyouts. Demand for utilities is expected to rise in the future and drive earnings growth.

Continued insurance business growth also fuels its increase in float. The company’s non-insurance businesses are delivering improved results, supporting overall performance. A sturdy capital level provides further impetus.

However, Berkshire Hathaway’s exposure to catastrophe loss remains a concern as its property and casualty insurance business generates maximum return on equity. Also, huge capital expenses due to railroad operations pose a major concern.

Shares of Pfizer have underperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry year to date (-0.9% vs. -2.1%). Pfizer expects continued strong growth of key product franchises, including Ibrance, Eliquis and Xeljanz in 2019. However, the Zacks analyst thinks loss of exclusivity on key drugs in the United States, mainly Lyrica, and currency headwinds will significantly hurt 2019 sales.

Other top-line headwinds are weak sales in the sterile injectables portfolio, pricing pressure and rising competition. To offset the threat of generic competition, Pfizer is strengthening its pipeline. It is well positioned to deliver several potentially innovative drugs in the next five years which can drive long-term growth.

Biosimilars are also expected to contribute to growth in 2019. Estimates have gone down slightly ahead of Q2 earnings release. Pfizer has a positive record of earnings surprises in recent quarters.

Danaher’s shares have gained +13% over the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Diversified Operations industry, which has increased +0.2% over the same period. The Zacks analyst thinks sturdier demand for products, Danaher Business System ("DBS") implementation and shareholder-friendly policies will likely bolster profitability going forward.

Also, the acquisition of General Electric's BioPharma business will boost its biologics workflow solutions business. The divestiture of the dental business will improve competency.

However, rising cost of sales and unfavorable movements in foreign currencies might continue to restrict Danaher's growth. For 2019, the company lowered adjusted earnings per share guidance from $4.75-$4.85 to $4.72-$4.80, primarily reflecting dilutive impact of funds raised for the BioPharma buyout. Earnings estimates for 2019 have remained stable in the past 60 days.

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Tesla and Cintas.

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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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