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Research Daily

Tuesday June 20 2017

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 UnitedHealth (UNH), Netflix (NFLX) and Pepsi (PEP). 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 >>>

UnitedHealth’s continued strong growth at Optum as well as UnitedHealthcare segments are driving growth. The buy-rated stock’s international business and strong capital position are other positives. Moreover, the company has reduced its exposure to the troubled public exchange business.

Though this move will shield it from losses in this business, the company’s premium revenues are likely to be affected. UnitedHealth shares have underperformed the Zacks Medical-HMOs industry in the year-to-date period (up +14.4% vs. +19.2%).

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

Shares of Buy-rated Netflix have gained +68.6% over the past 12 months, outperforming the Zacks Broadcast Radio/TV industry, which has gained +22.3% over the same period. Netflix’s focus on global expansion and original content has paid off with the streaming giant adding 4.95 million net new additions in the last reported quarter, taking the total count to 98.75 million.

Going forward, the company expects to add 0.60 million subscribers in the domestic streaming segment and 2.60 million subscribers in the international segment in the second quarter. The company’s efforts to attract viewers through investing in more regional programming should also boost user base. Estimates have remained stable ahead of the upcoming earnings release. 

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

Pepsi’s shares modestly lagged the broader market over the last year (+12.6% for PEP vs. +17.6% for the S&P 500), but they outperformed the Zacks Soft Drinks Beverages industry as well as Coke (KO was +0.6%). Despite global macro challenges, Pepsi has been doing well since 2014 on the back of significant innovation, ongoing revenue management strategies, improved productivity and better market execution.

The company has been facing challenges amid the shift in consumers’ preferences. Given this backdrop, it is gradually reshuffling its portfolio toward healthier “Everyday Nutrition Products” in order to adapt to the changing customer needs of healthier lifestyles. However, apart from sluggish CSD volumes, rising volatility in global markets and increasing currency headwinds may limit top line growth.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Qualcomm (QCOM), Occidental (OXY) and Phillips 66 (PSX).

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Mark Vickery

Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

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