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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: U.S. Bancorp, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Gilead Sciences

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 23, 2019, 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: U.S. Bancorp (USB - Free Report) , Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY - Free Report) , Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) , Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) and Gilead Sciences (GILD - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Stock Reports for U.S. Bancorp, Bristol-Myers and Morgan Stanley

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 U.S. Bancorp, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Morgan Stanley. 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 >>>

U.S. Bancorp’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Major Banks industry year to date (22.6% vs. 21.9%). The Zacks analyst believes that U.S. Bancorp’s solid business model, core franchise and diverse revenue streams are expected to continue supporting its performance.

The company possesses an impressive earnings surprise history, having beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. Third-quarter results benefited from higher revenues and loan growth. Further, rising loans and deposit balances have strengthened the company's balance sheet, enabling it to undertake strategic acquisitions.

Moreover, improved credit quality is a tailwind for the company. However, escalating costs due to its ongoing investments in technology and the likely increase in legal expenses remain concerns. Also, significant exposure to commercial loans remains a headwind for the company.

Shares of Bristol-Myers have gained 16.6% in the past six months against the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s rise of 2.4%. The Zacks analyst believes that Bristol-Myers’ lead immuno-oncology drug, Opdivo, continues to drive growth. Label expansion of the drug into additional indications should boost the top line. Empliciti and Sprycel are also performing well on label expansions.

Moreover, Bristol-Myers also has presence in other core therapeutic areas, including immunoscience and cardiovascular. Blood thinner drug, Eliquis, is also expected to drive growth. Meanwhile, the impending acquisition of Celgene will broaden the company’s oncology portfolio with the addition of Revlimid.

However, pipeline setbacks are a concern. The failure of the part 2 of the Checkmate-227 study was disappointing, given the potential in the NSCLC market. Earnings estimates are stable ahead of third-quarter results. 

Morgan Stanley’s shares have lost 1% over the past three months against the Zacks Investment Banking industry’s decline of 5.9%. The Zacks analyst believes the acquisition of Solium Capital is in sync with the company’s efforts to further strengthen its wealth management business.

The company has an impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters. Its third-quarter 2019 results show improvement in trading and investment banking operations.

Its focus on corporate lending business, steady loan growth and strong balance sheet will continue to aid profitability. However, weaknesses in investment banking and trading are expected to hinder fee income growth and the top line. Also, given the expectation of more rate cuts and a tough operating backdrop, the company’s performance is expected to remain sluggish in the near term.

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Bank of America and Gilead Sciences.

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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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