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Research Daily

Mark Vickery

Top Research Reports for Novartis, Lowe's & Goldman Sachs

GS XEL NVS LOW USB

Trades from $3

Thursday, October 6, 2022

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 12 major stocks, including Novartis AG (NVS), Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS). 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 >>>

Novartis shares have underperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (-6.2% vs. +7.7%). The company is facing generic competition for key drugs, and pipeline setbacks also remain a concern.

Nevertheless, Novartis has a strong and diverse portfolio. Solid momentum in key brands like psoriasis drug Cosentyx, cardiovascular drug Entresto, gene therapy Zolgensma, the oncology portfolio, and the launch of Kesimpta continue to boost performance. The launch of additional drugs like Pluvicto, Piqray, Leqvio and Mayzent, and the label expansion of key drugs should also boost its performance further.

The pipeline progress is also impressive, and the company has some promising candidates. Management’s focus on cost savings should boost the bottom line as well. The company recently decided to spin off its generics business Sandoz into a separate entity to focus on its core pharma business.

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

Lowe's shares have outperformed the Zacks Building Products - Retail industry over the past two years (+18.1% vs. +5.5%). The company remains well positioned to capitalize on demand for the home improvement market, backed by investments in technology, merchandise and strength in its Pro business.

Earnings performance benefited from strong operating margin, stemming from gains from the Total Home strategy and the execution of the Perpetual Productivity Improvement initiative. Focus on driving growth boosted margins.

The Total Home strategy has been resonating well with Pro and DIY customers for a while. Management is committed to enhancing its Pro offerings, expanding the company’s market share and driving its operating margin.

(You can read the full research report on Lowe’s here >>>)

Goldman Sachs shares have underperformed the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry over the past year (-21.5% vs. -15.6%). The company’s decline in equities revenues is likely to hurt the Global Market segment. A rise in the expense base will hinder the bottom line. Also, legal hassles and higher dependence on overseas revenues are woes.

However, Goldman Sachs has a decent earnings surprise history. Its earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in the other. The company continues to expand organically and bolster its digital consumer banking platform.

Other than business diversification, robust client engagement, a solid position in announced and completed mergers and acquisitions (M&As), and a decent investment banking (IB) backlog are likely to aid in navigating weaker markets. Also, its robust liquidity position will help sustain capital deployments.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include U.S. Bancorp (USB), Twitter, Inc. (TWTR), and Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL).

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>>>

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