Wednesday, June 24, 2016

Today's must-read reports are for Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Salesforce (CRM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Johnson & Johnshon shares have outperformed its peers and the broad market in the year-to-date period on the back of solid earnings results and one of the most diverse revenue streams in the industry, particularly within the pharmaceutical division. While earnings estimates have been stable lately, the analyst likes this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock for its diversified business model, financial strength, and a deep product pipeline. (You can read the full research report on JNJ here.)

Salesforce’s diverse cloud offerings, focus on strategic acquisitions to expand its market share and strong spending on digital marketing remain growth catalysts. It is among the top three Customer Relationship Management (CRM) vendors in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) enterprise application market. These positives aside, the analyst is concerned about the soft near-term IT spending outlook and other headwinds like stiff competition, currency fluctuations and an increase in investments for international expansions. (You can read the full research report on CRM here.)

Wells Fargo is relatively a more domestic-oriented big bank compared to many of its money-center peers, which is useful in the current environment of Brexit-related anxieties. The bank has cleared the annual stress test in 2016, experienced strong growth in loans and improved credit quality. However, the company reduced financial targets ahead of Q2 earnings in the wake of persistently low interest rates and stricter regulations. (You can read the full research report on WFC here.)

Other notable reports we are featuring today include Visa (V), Coca-Cola (KO) and General Electric (GE).

• Visa (V) Gains Competitive Edge with European Acquisition
• Soft Emerging Market Sales Push Coke (KO) Down to Zacks Rank # 4 (Sell)
•  General Electric (GE) Down to Zacks Rank # 4 (Sell)

You can find all of today's stock research reports here.

Sheraz Mian

Director of Research