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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, Walmart, Novartis, PayPal and Advanced Micro Devices

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 22, 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: Facebook, Inc. , Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) , Novartis AG (NVS - Free Report) , PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL - Free Report)  and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports for Facebook, Walmart and Novartis

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 Facebook, Walmart, and Novartis. 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 Facebook have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year (+39.6% vs. +35.1%) on the back of increasing mobile ad revenues, growing adoption of Stories by advertisers across Instagram, core Facebook app and Messenger, and initiatives to improve security.

Advertising revenues have benefited too from the ongoing shift to e-commerce. Facebook's strong balance sheet is another major catalyst for growth. The company is, however, facing stiff competition in the advertising space from Snap and Twitter. Increasing regulatory headwinds in the EU remains a major cause of concern.

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

Walmart shares have gained +9.3% in the last six months against the Zacks Supermarkets industry's gain of +8.6%. The Zacks analyst acknowledges that Walmart has been gaining from its sturdy comp sales record, driven by its constant omnichannel efforts. 

Its second quarter earnings and sales rose year over year on the back of improving store experience. The company has been posting positive comp sales in the U.S. division for 28 quarters now. Walmart, however, witnessed a slowdown in its e-commerce growth rate in the quarter. Supply-chain hurdles and wage-cost inflation have been weighing on the revenues too.

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

Shares of Novartis have lost -10.4% in the past three months against the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry's gain of +1.5%, however, momentum in its key brands should continue to boost its performance. The Zacks analyst is encouraged by its strong oncology portfolio and efforts to develop its immuno-oncology pipeline.

Key drugs such as Kisqali and Lucentis continue to boost its top line. The launch of drugs like Piqray and Mayzent have not only boosted sales but also made up for the decline in sales of legacy drugs. A competitive landscape and pandemic-related woes remain as major headwinds for the company though.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include PayPal Holdings and Advanced Micro Devices.

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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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