Wednesday, March 29, 2023

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), Salesforce, Inc. (CRM) and Linde plc (LIN). 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 Group have underperformed the Zacks Medical - HMOs industry over the past year (-10.0% vs. -8.6%). The company’s membership in its global business continues to decline. Rising operating costs are hurting margins. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

Nevertheless, UnitedHealth Group’s top line remains well-poised for growth on the back of a strong market position, new deals, renewed agreements, and expansion of service offerings. Its solid health services segment provides diversification benefits.

UNH's Government business remains well-poised for growth. A sturdy balance sheet enables business investments.

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

Shares of Salesforce have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Software industry over the past six months (+35.6% vs. +22.4%). 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.

Its sustained focus on introducing more aligned products as per customer needs is driving its top-line. Continued deal wins in the international market is another growth driver. The acquisition of 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 and unfavorable currency fluctuations are concerns. Besides, challenging macroeconomic environment might hurt its growth prospects in the near-term.

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

Linde’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry over the past year (+7.5% vs. -8.8%). With a wide range of applications for its industrial gases, Linde is making the world more productive by the day. The company’s primary products in industrial gases include oxygen, which is used as life support in hospitals. Its process gas, like hydrogen, is being utilized for clean fuels, while its high-purity and specialty gases are employed to manufacture electronics.

Linde has long-term contracts with on-site customers backed by minimum purchase requirements, thereby securing stable cashflows. In the profitable industrial gas market, the merger of Praxair and Linde has created an efficient player with considerable size advantages.

However, the cost of sales continues to increase, hurting the firm’s bottom line. The firm has mostly been paying a lower dividend yield than the industry’s composite stocks over the past two years.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW), IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX) and Telefónica, S.A. (TEF).

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>>>