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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Cummins, General Motors, Exxon Mobil and Target

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – June 24, 2021 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) , Cummins Inc. (CMI - Free Report) , General Motors Company (GM - Free Report) , Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Get Over Bitcoin: Buy These 5 S&P 500 Stocks for Big Gains

Investors have been placing their bets on bitcoin for quite some time now. However, bitcoin price recently dropped like a stone. The cryptocurrency has now lost almost half of its value since the all-time high touched in the month of April, easily dampening investors' sentiment and slowing down activity on the blockchain significantly.

By the way, bitcoin is known for its wild swings. In 2017, bitcoin experienced a similar pattern. Bitcoin prices crashed after scaling upward and it nearly took three years for the prices to hit new highs. Nonetheless, this time around, bitcoin prices were affected by a crackdown by China's central bank on cryptocurrencies.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) advised China's major financial institutions to implement stricter restrictions on cryptocurrency trading. It's worth pointing out that crypto exchanges actually have been pushed out of China but over-the-counter (OTC) platforms continue to receive payment from China investors and buy cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, on their behalf.

Meanwhile, Ant Group's payment platform Alipay and Agricultural Bank of China have assured to step up their initiatives to root out crypto transactions, per PBOC's requirements. Correspondingly, China's State Council said that it will tighten restrictions on both producers and traders of bitcoin, which may further lead to a drop in its price. Thus, avoiding investments in bitcoin seems prudent at the moment.

Let us also admit that the future value of bitcoin is dependent on how widely it is accepted as a form of currency. And currently, it's still not universally an accepted form of currency. Meanwhile, investing in S&P 500 stocks at present seems judicious.

The S&P 500 index largely comprises large-cap U.S. equities, making them a comparatively safer investment option than bitcoin. Additionally, the broader index has shown terrific resilience once it crossed the coveted 4,000 mark back in March.

After all, the index is still above the 4000 level and seems set to rise further. The index has also registered strong performance since its March 2020 trough when the coronavirus outbreak hampered economic growth worldwide.

Nevertheless, from increase in the pace of vaccination to a plethora of stimulus measures taken by the government to pep up the economy, the S&P 500 index will continue to chug along. Notably, a hawkish Fed and subsequent fears of a rise in inflation has failed to act as a deterrent for the broader index's upward journey. What's more, two Fed members recently assured investors that interest rates will remain low at least for now, something that bodes well for the stock market.

Therefore, given the positives, we have highlighted five solid stocks from the S&P 500 index that are poised to gain traction in the near term along with the broader index. These stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and a Growth Score of A or B.

Apple designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 14.9% over the past 60 days. The company's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 57.6%.

Cummins is a leading global designer, manufacturer and distributor of diesel and natural gas engines and powertrain-related component products. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 14.7% over the past 60 days. The company's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 34.7%. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

General Motors is one of the world's largest automakers. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 21.7% over the past 60 days. The company's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 24.9%.

Exxon Mobil explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of A. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 16.8% over the past 60 days. The company's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is a staggering 1,257.58%.

Target Corp. has evolved from being a pure brick-&-mortar retailer to an omni-channel entity. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has moved up 36.6% over the past 60 days. The company's expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 25.6%.

Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential

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Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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