Thursday, July 7, 2016

Today's must-read reports are for Expedia (EXPE), BP (BP) and McKesson (MCK).

Despite languishing in the red year-to-date, shares of Expedia have notched up gains over the last quarter. This Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy) rated stock continues to benefit from strong travel market trends. The analyst likes the company's prudent growth plan, a solid travel booking platform, contribution from a series of acquisitions, the Ctrip deal and management execution. (You can read the full research report on EXPE here.)

Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy) rated BP shares have gained nicely this year on the back of the oil price rebound. But the company's continued underperformance of its super-major peers likely reflects that management hasn't fully regained the market's trust following the Gulf of Mexico tragedy of a few years back. This lingering issue notwithstanding, our analyst likes BP’s long-term cost cutting plan and strategy of offloading non-core upstream properties. (You can read the full research report on BP here.)

McKesson’s shares have gained nearly 18% over the last three months. Estimates for this Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy) stock have been moving up lately given favorable trends in its distribution solutions segment, which has held up strongly despite weak pricing trends and customer consolidation. The analyst likes McKesson’s strategy of pursuing deals and acquisitions to drive growth, with the recent Celesio deal expected to strengthen McKesson’s foothold in Europe. (You can read the full research report on MCK here.)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Chevron (CVX), Avon (AVP) and Ventas (VTR).

• Chevron (CVX) to Expand Kazakh Oilfield
• Avon (AVP) Down to Zacks # Rank 5 (Strong Sell)
• Ventas (VTR) Inks $1.5 Billion Deal

You can find all of today's stock research reports here.

Note: Sheraz Mian regularly provides earnings analysis on Zacks.com and appears frequently in the print and electronic media. His weekly earnings related articles include Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview. He also provides weekly commentary to Zacks Premium subscribers and manages the Zacks Focus List and Top 10 portfolios. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here.