Wednesday, April 14, 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 Abbott Laboratories (ABT), salesforce.com (CRM), and BHP Group (BHP). 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 Abbott have outperformed the Zacks Medical Products industry over the past year (+34% vs. +20.6%). The Zacks analyst believes that the branded generics and international diabetes businesses should drive growth in the coming quarters. New product launches and acquisitions are likely to boost sales further.

The company has been seeing improvements in testing and procedure volumes across its hospital-based businesses. At the same time, its consumer-facing businesses like diabetes care, nutrition and established pharmaceuticals (EPD), are catching up pace.

Diabetes Care sales were strong on solid worldwide adoption of FreeStyle Libre in the fourth quarter of 2020. In 2020, the company received U.S. approval of Freestyle Libre 2 and CE Mark for Libre 3 and Libre Sense Glucose Sport. Yet, the company’s performance was disappointing particularly in Pediatric Nutrition, Cardiovascular and Neuromodulation.

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

salesforce shares have lost -10.6% over the last six months against the Zacks Computer Software industry’s gain of +13.4%. The Zacks analyst believes that is the company is benefiting from a robust demand environment as customers are undergoing a major digital transformation.

The rapid adoption of its cloud-based solutions is driving demand for its products. Continued deal wins in the international market is another growth driver. Furthermore, the recent deal to acquire Slack would position the company to be a leader in enterprise team collaboration solution space and better compete with Microsoft’s Teams product.

However, stiff competition remains a concern. Besides, unfavorable currency fluctuations along with increasing investments in international expansions and data centers are an overhang on near-term profitability.

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

Shares of BHP Group have gained +3% in the past three months against the Zacks Mining - Miscellaneous industry’s gain of +13.1%. The Zacks analyst believes that the company’s efforts to make operations more efficient through smart technology adoption across the entire value chain will continue to aid in reducing costs, thereby boosting margins.

BHP Group expects to produce 245-255 Mt (million tons) of iron ore in fiscal 2021. Iron ore prices have been gaining on the back of strong demand in China and supply concerns, which will reflect on the company’s results.

It plans to simplify its coal portfolio and concentrate on higher quality coking coals to capitalize on demand from steelmakers. The company has four major projects under development in petroleum, iron ore and potash, which are likely to drive growth in the long run.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Danaher (DHR), Amgen (AMGN) and Zoom Video Communications (ZM).

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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>>>