Wednesday, December 27, 2023

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 Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO), Walmart Inc. (WMT) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). 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 >>>

Shares of Novo Nordisk have outperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+55.5% vs. +9.1%). The company beat earnings and revenue estimates in third-quarter 2023 due to higher GLP-1 product sales.  It has one of the broadest diabetes portfolios in the industry. Ozempic and Rybelsus have been performing well in the diabetes market.

Obesity drug Wegovy has been enjoying increasing demand. Label expansions of diabetes and obesity care drugs in cardiovascular and other indications will likely boost sales. Novo Nordisk raised its 2023 view due to higher demand for Ozempic and Wegovy.

Its diversifying efforts to develop new treatments are encouraging. To tackle the supply constraints of Wegovy in international markets, Novo recently announced initiating a €2.1 billion project to expand its current manufacturing facility in Chartres, France.

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

Walmart’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Retail - Supermarkets industry over the past year (+10.4% vs. +9.3%). The company’s performance was driven by its robust omnichannel operations aimed at improving the overall shopping experience. Walmart’s strategic focus on enhancing delivery services has been especially rewarding.

This is evident from the constant increase in the market share for groceries, which boosted U.S. comparable sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2024. During the quarter, the top and bottom lines grew year over year, encouraging management to raise its guidance for fiscal 2024.

Strong comp sales growth globally and e-commerce growth across all units were upsides. While the gross margin increased year over year, it was partly hurt by an adverse category mix, which is likely to linger in the third quarter. Management also expects variable pay expenses to increase year over year in the third quarter.

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

Shares of AMD have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past year (+129.2% vs. +102.9%). The company is benefiting from portfolio strength and an expanding partner base. Strong demand for EPYC processors has been a growth driver.

The launch of the Ryzen 8040 series processor with Ryzen AI and Instinct MI300 Series data center AI accelerators bodes well for top-line growth. AMD continues to benefit from acquisitions, including Xilinx and Pensando, which has diversified its business.

For fourth-quarter 2023, AMD expects to witness year-over-year growth in the Data Center and Client segments by double-digit percentage. Sequentially, the Data Center segment’s revenues are expected to grow on a double-digit percentage, while Client is expected to increase. However, weakness in the Gaming and Embedded segment revenues are expected to hurt top-line growth.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Union Pacific Corp. (UNP).

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>>>