Friday, December 10, 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 UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), The Procter & Gamble Company (PG), and CVS Health Corp. (CVS). 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 UnitedHealth have outperformed the Zacks Medical Insurance industry over the past year (+42.4% vs. +36.5%).  The Zacks analyst believes that UnitedHealth's continued strong growth at Optum as well as UnitedHealthcare segments have been driving revenues.  Strength in government business and a strong capital position are other positives.

This momentum is likely to continue in the years ahead, on the back of its strong market position that continues to be driven by new deals, renewed agreements and expansion of service offerings. Its solid health services segment provides diversification benefits. Weakness in the commercial business and overvaluation concerns remain as the major concerns though.

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

Procter & Gamble shares have gained +13% in the year to date period against the Zacks Soap and Cleaning Materials industry’s gain of +3.4%. The Zacks analyst believes that the nature of Procter & Gamble’s products has led to increased consumer demand for its hand soaps, detergents and surface cleaning products since the beginning of the pandemic.

PG benefited from robust top-line growth, in first-quarter fiscal 2022, across all segments on the back of robust volume, pricing and mix. Procter & Gamble’s revenues beat estimates for the sixth straight time in the quarter. Higher commodity and freight costs, however, are likely to persist and PG expects impacts of $2.1 billion from input costs and $200 million from freight costs in fiscal 2022.

(You can read the full research report on Procter & Gamble here >>>)

Shares of CVS Health have gained +15.2% in the last six months against the Zacks Retail Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry’s gain of +6.1%. The Zacks analyst believes that CVS Health’s specialty digital solutions for patients has registered a CAGR of 25% in the past two years.

Since the start of the pandemic, CVS has been witnessed a significant growth in specialty orders placed digitally. The consumer-centric digital strategy has become more relevant in the current environment as people use technology more while staying indoors. Rising pressure to reduce reimbursement rates for generic drugs, disappointing retail performance, and stiff competition in the market remain as major concerns though.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Infosys Ltd. (INFY), Square, Inc. (SQ) and ABB Ltd. (ABB).

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>>>