Wednesday, April 13, 2022

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 Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Charles Schwab (SCHW), and Vale S.A. (VALE). 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 Pfizer have outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+48.1% vs. +35.8%), with the company's industry-leading Covid vaccines/treatments driving the momentum. The vaccine together with Pfizer’s promising oral antiviral pill for COVID-19, Paxlovid is expected to generate a combined $54 billion in sales in 2022.
 

Pfizer boasts a sustainable pipeline with multiple late-stage programs that can drive growth. However, currency headwinds and pricing pressure are key top-line headwinds. Concerns remain about its long-term growth drivers beyond its COVID-related products due to competitive pressure.
 
(You can read the full research report on Pfizer here >>>)
 

Shares of Charles Schwab have outperformed the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry over the past year (+21.0% vs. -0.7%). The Zacks analyst believes that strategic acquisitions have reinforced Schwab's position as a leading brokerage player. The same will likely be accretive to earnings. Offering commission-free trading has led to a rise in client assets and brokerage accounts, thereby improving trading revenues.

Schwab's efficient capital deployments reflect a solid balance sheet position, through which it will enhance shareholder value. However, despite expectations of a few rate hikes, relatively lower interest rates will likely keep hurting margins in the near term. Elevated operating expenses might hamper the company's bottom-line growth to an extent.
 

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

Vale shares have gained +22.9% over the past year against the +8.2% gain for the S&P 500 index on the back of the mining giant's exposure to favorable pricing outlook for iron ore, Copper and nickel. The Zacks analyst believes that the company is expected to end this year with higher production capacity, after the ramp-up of the tailings filtration plants at the Itabira and Brucutu sites and their respective additions in tailings storage capacity. 
 

Efforts to improve productivity, the introduction of more high-quality ore in the market, and control costs will also favor its results. Backed by its solid cash flow, Vale continues to lower debt levels while continuing to invest in projects that will drive growth for the company. Vale has inked an agreement to sell its coal business to focus on its core businesses and become a leader in low-carbon mining company.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Citigroup Inc. (C), HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA), and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW).

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>>>