Friday, February 5, 2021

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 Alphabet (GOOGL), Pfizer (PFE) and Uber Technologies (UBER). 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 >>>

Alphabet shares have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year (+39.1% vs. +17.9%). The Zacks analyst believes that the expanding data centers will continue to bolster the company’s presence in the cloud space. Further, major updates in the search segment are enhancing the search results, which is a major positive.

Alphabet reported strong fourth-quarter earnings. The search, cloud and YouTube businesses remained strong in the quarter. The company’s strengthening cloud unit aided substantial revenue growth.

Moreover, Google’s robust mobile search is gaining solid momentum. Additionally, strong focus on innovation of AI techniques and the home automation space should aid business growth in the long term. However, the company’s growing litigation issues and increasing expenses might hurt profitability.

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

Shares of Pfizer have lost -8.9% in the last six months against the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s gain of +4.1%. The Zacks analyst believes that currency headwinds and pricing pressure are key top-line headwinds.

However, Pfizer expects strong growth of key brands like Ibrance, Inlyta and Eliquis to drive sales. Its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed in record time, is now approved for emergency use in several countries. Pfizer boasts a sustainable pipeline with multiple late-stage programs that can drive growth. 

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

Uber shares have gained +29% over the past three months against the Zacks Internet Services industry’s rise of +11.6%. The Zacks analyst believes that Uber’s delivery business is witnessing a boom with online order volumes from homebound customers surging.

In such a scenario, the acquisition of Postmates, which expands its delivery unit, provides a further boost. Additionally, the company has entered into a deal to acquire alcohol delivery startup Drizly Inc. for $1.1 billion. The acquisition is expected to close within the first half of 2021.

However, a significant downturn in the Mobility business is concerning. Although ride volumes have improved from the April lows, it is way below 2019 levels. Due to this rides weakness, Uber expects to become profitable in 2021 instead of 2020, as was anticipated previously.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Cisco Systems (CSCO), Petrobras (PBR) and ConocoPhillips (COP).

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Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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>>>