Wednesday, September 22, 2016

Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including FedEx (FDX), NIKE (NKE) and Yum! Brands (YUM). These reports have been handpicked from the roughly 70 research reports issued by our analyst team today. You can see the complete list of research reports issued today here >>>

FedEx shares jumped in response to the strong quarterly report where they beat estimates and raised guidance despite subdued commentary about the macro backdrop. Strong sales at the company’s express, ground and freight divisions as well as the inclusion of results of TNT Express boosted the top line. While management needs to provide more details about the TNT acquisition, but the Zacks analyst likes the purchase since it significantly expands FedEx’s scale of operations, particularly in Europe. These results show that the integration process is off to a promising start, but one can easily envision bumps over the coming quarters. The ecommerce leverage is the most important aspect of the FedEx story. (You can read the full research report on FedEx here>>)

NIKE’s shares have lagged the broader market this year on growing competition in the space from Under Armour and Adidas. While a strong performer from the bottom line perspective, Nike’s top line has been missing estimates for quite some time due to adverse currency movements. Evidently, the company expects lingering currency woes to hurt revenues in first-half fiscal 2017. However, the analyst likes Nike’s customer-centric approach, innovative products and strong portfolio. This, along with the desire for increasing its global footprint, popularity and market share demonstrates its growth appetite. You can read the full research report on NIKE here>>)

Yum! Brands' continued momentum (the stock is up 22% year-to-date) reflects its robust performance in the domestic market and many key international markets. The analyst likes the company’s efforts to capitalize on high-growth emerging markets. Yum! has raised its profit outlook – for the second time this year -- mainly encouraged by strong first-half results and the current profitability trends in China.  However, a slowdown in some of the key emerging markets, negative currency translation along with intense competition raises concern. (You can read the full research report on Yum! Brands here>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Adobe (ADBE), JPMorgan (JPM) and Pepsi (PEP).

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You can find all of today's stock research reports here>>

Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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