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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, Mastercard, Pfizer, PepsiCo and Merck
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 21, 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: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , Mastercard Inc. (MA - Free Report) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) , PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP - Free Report) and Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Microsoft, Mastercard and Pfizer
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 Microsoft, Mastercard and Pfizer. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
Shares of Microsoft have outperformed the S&P 500 in the year to date period (+39.1% vs. +22.7%). The Zacks analyst believes that the enterprise refresh cycle, new subscription model, as well as strength in Teams and Gaming segment is likely to continue generating sizable cash flows for the company.
Microsoft’s performance is driven by strength in its Azure cloud amid accelerated global digital transformation. The company is also witnessing growth in the user base of Microsoft 365 suite and Dynamics. Softness in the core computing market, increasing costs related to Azure enhancements amid intensifying competition in the cloud are the major headwinds though.
Mastercard shares have gained +7.6% over the past year against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s decline of -3.5%. The Zacks analyst believes that strategic acquisitions, technology upgrades, product-diversification efforts and geographic-expansion initiatives are some of the major catalysts for growth.
The company’s efforts to expedite its shift to the digital mode to address the greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions bodes well. It is poised to gain from its steady cash-generating abilities. A strong capital position not only enables the company to pursue acquisitions but also prudently deploy capital. Higher expenses, high rebates and incentives might stress the company's margins though.
Shares of Pfizer have gained +10.7% over the past six months against the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s gain of +7.5%. The Zacks analyst believes that strong growth of key brands like Ibrance, Inlyta and Eliquis to drive sales.
Its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is now approved for emergency use in several countries and has been contributing immensely to the top line growth. Currency headwinds and pricing pressure, however, are key top-line headwinds. High profile pipeline failures in the central nervous system category including insomnia drug Indiplon and antipsychotic asenapine are an added concern.
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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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, Mastercard, Pfizer, PepsiCo and Merck
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 21, 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: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) , Mastercard Inc. (MA - Free Report) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) , PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP - Free Report) and Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Microsoft, Mastercard and Pfizer
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 Microsoft, Mastercard and Pfizer. 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 Microsoft have outperformed the S&P 500 in the year to date period (+39.1% vs. +22.7%). The Zacks analyst believes that the enterprise refresh cycle, new subscription model, as well as strength in Teams and Gaming segment is likely to continue generating sizable cash flows for the company.
Microsoft’s performance is driven by strength in its Azure cloud amid accelerated global digital transformation. The company is also witnessing growth in the user base of Microsoft 365 suite and Dynamics. Softness in the core computing market, increasing costs related to Azure enhancements amid intensifying competition in the cloud are the major headwinds though.
(You can read the full research report on Microsoft here >>>)
Mastercard shares have gained +7.6% over the past year against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s decline of -3.5%. The Zacks analyst believes that strategic acquisitions, technology upgrades, product-diversification efforts and geographic-expansion initiatives are some of the major catalysts for growth.
The company’s efforts to expedite its shift to the digital mode to address the greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions bodes well. It is poised to gain from its steady cash-generating abilities. A strong capital position not only enables the company to pursue acquisitions but also prudently deploy capital. Higher expenses, high rebates and incentives might stress the company's margins though.
(You can read the full research report on Mastercard here >>>)
Shares of Pfizer have gained +10.7% over the past six months against the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s gain of +7.5%. The Zacks analyst believes that strong growth of key brands like Ibrance, Inlyta and Eliquis to drive sales.
Its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is now approved for emergency use in several countries and has been contributing immensely to the top line growth. Currency headwinds and pricing pressure, however, are key top-line headwinds. High profile pipeline failures in the central nervous system category including insomnia drug Indiplon and antipsychotic asenapine are an added concern.
(You can read the full research report on Pfizer here >>>)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include PepsiCo and Merck & Co.
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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.