Friday, October 20, 2023

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 12 major stocks, including Apple Inc. (AAPL), Amgen Inc. (AMGN) and Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX). 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 >>>

Apple shares have outperformed the broader market this year (+34% vs. +12.8% for the S&P 500 index) and roughly matched the Zacks Tech sector (+34% vs. +34.8%). The company expects iPhone and Services’ year-over-year growth to accelerate in the fiscal fourth quarter compared with the June quarter.

Apple launched four new iPhone models at its product launch event on Sep 12. Demand for the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max is strong as shipment delivery has reportedly slipped to mid-November. It also upgraded Airpods and made iOS 17, watchOS 10, iPadOS 17 and tvOS 17 available.

Apple is benefiting from increasing customer engagement in the services segment. The expanding content portfolio of Apple TV+ and robust adoption of Apple Pay and Apple Arcade are helping drive subscriber growth.

However, revenues for both Mac and iPad are expected to decline double digits on a year-over-year basis in the fiscal fourth quarter due to difficult comparisons.

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

Shares of Amgen have outperformed the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry over the year-to-date period (+9.7% vs. -20.4%). The company expects strong sales growth of products like Tezspire, Evenity, Repatha, Prolia and Tavneos to be offset by lower revenues from oncology biosimilars and legacy established products such as Enbrel in the future quarters.

The recently completed acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics is expected to enhance Amgen’s growth prospects. Amgen also has some key pipeline assets in obesity and inflammation, which are indications that can have a large market opportunity. Several data readouts are expected in the next 12 months.

However, increased pricing headwinds and competitive pressure are hurting sales of many of Amgen’s products, including some biosimilars. Weakness in some key brands like Otezla and Lumakras create potential revenue headwinds. Estimate movements have been mixed ahead of Q3 results.

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

Shares of Becton, Dickinson have gained +2.4% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Medical - Dental Supplies industry’s gain of +12.2%. The company continued focus on research and development (R&D) and its progress toward meeting its BD 2025 strategy raises optimism.

The company’s divestiture of its surgical instruments platform to support the achievement of its BD 2025 financial goals and further advance the BD Interventional segment’s focus on high-growth end markets looks promising.

Regulatory approvals and product launches over the past few months are also encouraging. Yet, BD’s operation in a significantly consolidated and competitive medical technology industry is worrying. Lower COVID-only testing revenues are discouraging from a business perspective. Forex volatility prevails.

(You can read the full research report on Becton, Dickinson here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include UnitedHealth Group (UNH), MPLX LP (MPLX) and Verisk Analytics (VRSK).

Director of Research

Sheraz Mian

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>>>