Tuesday, July 31, 2018

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 Comcast (CMCSA), United Technologies (UTX) and Biogen (BIIB). 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 >>>

Buy-ranked Comcast’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Cable Television industry year to date, losing -11.4% vs. -14.3%. Comcast’s second-quarter results benefited from solid growth in the number of residential high-speed Internet customers. Advertising revenues also increased due to higher political advertising.

Moreover, strong adoption of Xfinity Home drove top-line growth. The company expects to continue investments on Theme Parks, which also reported impressive top-line growth in the quarter. The Zacks analyst thinks the nationwide rollout of the DOCSIS 3.1 technology and the completion of the nationwide rollout of Comcast’s wireless services under the Xfinity Mobile brand will boost subscriber base going forward.

Partnerships with the likes of Charter and Netflix are positive. However, the company continues to lose voice and video subscribers due to cord-cutting and stiff competition. Additionally, high debt level is a headwind.

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

Shares of United Technologies have gained +11.9% in the last year, outperforming the Zacks Diversified Operations industry, which has lost -10% over the same period. The company's second-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings outpaced expectations and came in higher than the year-ago tally of.

The Zacks analyst thinks that going forward, stronger Otis, Climate Control and Security, Pratt & Whitney and Aerospace Systems sales, as well as new innovation investments will likely continue to drive United Technologies’ revenues. On the other hand, higher revenues and cost-cutting measures are expected to boost profitability in the quarters ahead.

However, material cost inflation and a stretched workforce market scenario have been escalating United Technologies' aggregate costs, of late. These issues, along with additional tariff imposition, might continue to inflate the company's expenses, moving ahead.

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

Buy-ranked Biogen’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Biomedical and Genetics industry year to date (+4% vs. -6%). Biogen beat estimates for both earnings and sales in Q2 and raised its outlook for the year. Biogen has a strong position in the MS market with a wide range of products including Avonex, Tysabri, Tecfidera & Plegridy.

The Zacks analyst likes its efforts to diversify beyond MS to other areas like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson's and stroke, among others. Meanwhile, its newest drug Spinraza has multi-billion dollar potential. Biogen’s efforts to regularly in-license assets to build its pipeline are also encouraging.

Multiple data readouts are expected this year. However, the launch of Ocrevus by Roche is having a negative impact on MS franchise sales in the United States. Also, Spinraza’s slightly moderating trends in the United States is a concern.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include PNC Financial (PNC), Mondelez (MDLZ) and Valero (VLO).

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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>>>