Friday, December 23 2016

Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including IBM  (IBM), BP (BP) and Disney (DIS).

IBM shares lagged the technology space and the S&P 500 index over the last few years as the company struggled to reposition its business to the evolving business landscape. But the stock turned around this year (up +21.4% in the year-to-date period vs. +9.3% for the Zacks Technology sector) on greater appreciation for the company's outlook. The Zacks analyst likes IBM's strategic growth initiatives, including its Big Data & business analytics, cloud computing, mobile and social business. The company is expected to report Q4 results on January 17th. (You can read the full research report on IBM here >>>)

The turnaround in oil prices this year has benefited all oil players, BP  included. BP shares have gained in excess of +18% this year, modestly below the Zacks Oil Integrated industry's +19.1% gain. The Zacks analyst likes the company’s major expense reductions over the last four quarters, which is expected to remain a focus in the coming quarters as well. BP is scheduled to report Q4 results on February 7th, with the oil giant expected to report $0.50 per share on $52.2 billion in revenues. While upstream volumes are expected to be modestly up from the Q3 level, the refining business could be under pressure. (You can read the full research report on BP here >>>)

Disney shares have struggled this year, weighed down by concerns about ESPN whose future growth has been clouded by the evolving media landscape as a result of 'cord cutting' and the steady migration of subscribers to online and digital platforms. However, management anticipates reporting modest earnings growth in fiscal 2017 and a "more robust growth" in fiscal 2018. The Zacks analyst likes Disney's movie business and the parks & resorts division. The company is expected to report Q4 results on February 14th. (You can read the full research report on Disney here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include BlackBerry (BBRY), Adobe (ADBE) and Cisco (CSCO). You can check all of today's research reports here >>>

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Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

Note: Sheraz Mian is an acknowledged expert on corporate earnings and manages the Zacks Focus List and  the annual Top 10 portfolios. The Top 10 Stocks for 2017 portfolio will be coming out on January 3rd, 2017. To find out more about the new Top 10 portfolio, click here >>>.

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