Back to top

Image: Bigstock

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Visa, Walt Disney, Abbott Laboratories, Nike and United Parcel Service

Read MoreHide Full Article

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 29, 2022 – 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: Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) , The Walt Disney Co. (DIS - Free Report) , Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) , Nike, Inc. (NKE - Free Report) and United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Analyst Reports for Visa, Walt Disney and Abbott

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 Visa Inc., The Walt Disney Co., and Abbott Laboratories. 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 Visa have outperformed the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry over the year-to-date basis (+1.8% vs. -3.5%). The company's second-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings beat estimates on strong payments volume. Numerous buyouts and alliances paved the way for long-term growth and consistently drove its revenues.

Its investments in technology are solidifying its position in the payments market. A shift in payments to the digital mode is a boon. The coronavirus vaccine rollouts and the gradual revival of consumer confidence will keep driving spending, expanding business volumes in turn.

Backed by its strong cash position, the company remains committed to boost its shareholder value. However, high operating expenses stress the margins. Ramped-up client incentives will dent the top line. Its declining cash volume from the Asia Pacific bothers. Its volumes will likely suffer due to the Russia-Ukraine situation.

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

Walt Disney shares have declined -38.7% over the past year against the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry's decline of -40.8%. The company's profitability is expected to be negatively impacted by rising programming and production costs. Disney expects continued investments in its owned and produced content for direct-to-consumer services to hurt operating income.

Closure of its Shanghai theme park due to COVID-19 doesn't bode well for the Parks, Experiences, and Products revenues in the near term. Disney's leveraged balance sheet also remains a concern.

However, owing to a strong content portfolio and a cheaper bundle offering. Availability in the Nordics, Latin America and other Asian territories should help expand the user base. Revival in Parks, Experiences and Products businesses also hold promise.

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

Abbott shares have declined -1.2% over the past year against the Zacks Medical - Products industry's decline of -23.9%. The company's pediatric nutrition sales were negatively impacted by a voluntary recall of certain powder formulas manufactured at one of Abbott's U.S. plants. Barring Nutrition (where the company reported a 4.4% year-over-year decline on an organic basis), the company registered organic sales growth across all its core operating segments. Global COVID-19 testing-related sales were led by the sales of rapid testing products.

Within the Diabetes Care, the company has been in the limelight for developments in its flagship, sensor-based continuous glucose monitoring system, FreeStyle Libre. Within Adult Nutrition, the company gained from the strong performance of Ensure and Glucerna brands.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Nike, Inc. and United Parcel Service, Inc.

Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?

Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's impressive +28.8% gain in 2021. Amazingly, they soared +40.3%, +48.2%, +67.6%, +94.4%, and +95.3%. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.

See Stocks Free >>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

https://www.zacks.com

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.

Published in