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Primoris Services, Regis Corp, Apple, Alphabet and Amazon highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 11, 2021 – Zacks Equity Research Shares of Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day, Regis Corporation (RGS - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Apple, Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL - Free Report) and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) .

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

When the market is rallying, up near all-time highs, investors can start to feel invincible. The rising tide lifts all ships in the harbor. Money rushing into the broad market helps most stocks out there. But what happens when the tide comes in? It is the stocks with the strongest earnings which will likely continue to be the most profitable ones to hold. One way to uncover these stocks is by leaning on the tried and true power of the Zacks Rank.

Today’s Bull of the Day is a stock that is in the good graces of our Zacks Rank. It’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Primoris Services. Primoris is a specialty contractor company, provides a range of construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. It operates in five segments: Power, Industrial, and Engineering; Pipeline and Underground; Utilities and Distribution; Transmission and Distribution; and Civil.

Not only is Primoris Services a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), but it also enjoys a Value Style Score of A, Growth of A, Momentum of C, to give it a VGM Composite Score of A.

Over the course of the last sixty days, two analysts have increased their earnings estimates for the current year. The bullish sentiment has increased our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from $2.04 to $2.46 while next year’s number is up from $2.64 to $2.90.

This bullish earnings trend has helped push the stock much higher. The stock was trading down at $18 at the end of October 2020. That was the last time the stock traded below its 50-day moving average. From there, the stock has more than doubled, hitting north of $39 during the trading day on March 10th.

Bear of the Day:

It is easy to beat up on retail nowadays. Not only was the brick-and-mortar industry under pressure from online e-commerce giants, but the pandemic shutdowns made things worse. It is no wonder that the Retail – Miscellaneous industry ranks in the Bottom 32% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Today’s Bear of the Day is a stock in that industry which is also on the wrong side of our Zacks Rank.

Today’s Bear of the Day is Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) Regis. Regis Corporation owns, operates, and franchises hairstyling and hair care salons in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company operates in two segments, Company-owned Salons and Franchise Salons. The company also offers OpenSalon Pro, a cloud-based salon management and point of commerce solution; Supercuts mobile application (app) for check-in and booking services; and Cost Cutters mobile app and website for appointment booking services. It operates its salons primarily under the SmartStyle, Supercuts, Cost Cutters, Roosters, and First Choice Haircutters names. As of June 30, 2020, the company operated 6,923 salons, such as 5,209 franchised salons, 1,632 company-owned salons, and 82 non-controlling ownership salons. It also operates accredited cosmetology schools.

Over the course of the last sixty days, analysts have been cutting their estimates for the current year and next year. The bearish moves have slashed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year from a 76-cent loss to a $1.49 loss. Next year’s number has dropped down from 31 cents to 16 cents.

Analysts looking for stocks within the same industry have a few stocks to choose from. There are at least five stocks in the good graces of the Zacks Rank. Among those are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Hibbett Sports and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) Five Below.

Additional content:

3 Stocks to Watch as Music Streaming Services Gain Traction

While outdoor entertainment came to a standstill, music streaming saw a blowout 2020, thanks to the pandemic, which worked miracles for some industries. Much like video streaming, 2020 turned out to be a great year for music streaming service providers that gained both in terms of revenues and subscribers.

According to the latest report from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 2020 witnessed the biggest year-to-year leap for music streaming services. And the trend is likely to continue given that the pandemic is far from over and people are still frightened to visit outdoor entertainment spots.

Robust Year for Music Streaming Services

According to the report from RIAA, the music streaming industry saw more than 15 million new users buying subscriptions, reaching a total of 75.5 million subscribers across the United States in 2020.

More subscribers mean more revenues. In 2020, total revenues from recorded music increased 9.2% on a year-over-year basis to $12.2 billion. Revenues came in at $11.1 million in 2019.

Of the total revenues generated from recorded music, streaming makes up for 83% of the revenues. Paid subscription now makes up for 64% of total revenues. Revenues from streaming jumped 13% year over year in 2020 to $10.1 billion. This includes revenues from paid subscriptions like Apple, radio streamers and ad-supported music services like Alphabet’s YoutTube Music.

Streaming Music Services Poised to Grow

Sales of CDs and DVDs have been on the decline for some time with music streaming fast eating into their revenues. That, however, hasn’t affected the music industry’s revenues. Streaming services are making up for the revenues, with thousands of new subscribers buying paid music.

Moreover, the pandemic has been working miracles for the industry. While live music concerts struggled in 2020, more people subscribed to music streaming services as they had not too many options for entertainment.

Our Choices

Music streaming giants are likely to see more subscriber additions in the near term given that the pandemic is far from over and people still have fewer choices of entertainment. Given this situation, it is the opportune time to invest in music streaming stocks.

Apple, Inc.’s music streaming service is extremely popular. It reportedly had more than 72 million subscribers as of June 2020. It is the second largest music streaming service in the world.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 36.3%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 10.9% over the last 60 days.  Apple carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Amazon.com, besides being an e-commerce giant, offers several other services. Amazon Prime, a membership program, provides access to streaming of movies, TV episodes and music among other services, and is one of the market leaders in the streaming space. Amazon has more than 55 million subscribers for its music streaming services worldwide.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 18.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 0.4% over the last 60 days. Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Alphabet is one of the most innovative companies in the modern technological age. Over the last few years, the company has evolved from being primarily a search-engine provider to a cloud computing, ad-based video and music streaming, autonomous vehicles and healthcare provider and others.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 17.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings improved 10.7% over the last 60 days.  Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

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