We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Copa Airlines and Nutrien have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – February 13, 2023 – Zacks Equity Research shares Copa Airlines (CPA - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Nutrien (NTR - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Roblox (RBLX - Free Report) , Vipshop Holdings (VIPS - Free Report) and Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) .
Panama-based Copa Airlines is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that offers airline passenger and cargo services via its main subsidiaries – Copa Airlines and Copa Colombia. Like most of the airline industry, Copa suffered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising fuel costs but is turning the corner.
Copa sports the best possible VGM score of A (combines Zacks Style scores into one: Value, Growth, Momentum). Over the past year, Copa Airlines has outperformed the the Transportation – Air Industry group by a wide margin. The company's market cap (~$3.5 billion) is much smaller than that of its well-known competitors, such as Delta(~$25 billion).
Copa Airlines Company Profile
Copa Airlines was started in the late 1940s by a group of Panamanian investors. The company began its operations with small planes and domestic flights. By the 1970s, Copa airlines expanded into international flights and acquired large Boeing737 jets.
A major milestone occurred in 1998 when Continental Airlines, now part of United, purchased half of the company. When Copa became a public company, Continental divested a large portion of its holdings but still holds a stake in the company. Copa mainly services customers with flights across most Latin American destinations and has flights to the United States through its fleet of around 100 planes.
Earnings Are Flying High
Copa announced blockbuster earnings in its third-quarter report – earning $2.91 a share versus the $2.63 expected by Zacks Consensus Estimates. The $2.91 earned in the last quarter dwarfed the $0.06 earned in all of 2021 and marked a massive turnaround since losing $5.82 a share during the pandemic period of 2020.
From a top-line perspective, Copa missed slightly, earning revenues of $809.4 million versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $816.2 million. Nevertheless, investors have taken on a glass-half-full view.
Though Copa has endured several wrenches thrown at it in recent years (the pandemic, sky-high fuel prices etc), the company has consistently outperformed and beat Wall Street's expectations. Out of the past 17 quarters, CPA has surpassed consensus expectations in 15 of them.
The Runway Ahead
While past earnings strength and consistency is a "nice to have," Zacks research shows that earnings estimates moving forward are an integral factor in determining what comes next. Over the past 60 days, 2023 consensus estimates have gone from $9.54 to $10.34.
Because of the recent positive revisions, CPA has a positive Earnings Expected Surprise Prediction score – suggesting that the company is once again expected to surprise to the upside when it reports earnings after the close on February 15th.
Chart Analysis
Like CPA's fundamentals, its technical paint a pretty picture. In November, the 50-day moving average crossed above the 200-day moving average, signaling a bullish Golden Cross. Since then, the stock has been stair-stepping higher, riding the 50-day moving average, and is forming a bull flag ahead of earnings.
Outlook
Copa has all the ingredients a savvy investor looks for in a stock, including a stellar fundamental track record, strong estimates (and recently revised estimates higher), a reasonable valuation, high growth, and a uniform price trend. Tailwinds include lower fuel prices, a recovery in demand, and a strengthening macro environment.
With all that considered, the stock offers both value and growth-oriented investors an attractive risk-reward zone. Investors interested in purchasing CPA can use the 50-day moving average as a risk guide.
Canadian-based Nutrien is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) that is a leading provider of crop inputs and services – particularly fertilizer. It supplies growers through its leading global retail network and operates over 2,000 retail locations across the United States, Canada, Australia, and South America.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, shares soared by more than 40% in just two months' time.
While the stock was already performing well amid an inflationary macroeconomic backdrop, the invasion acted as a unique windfall for the company. Because Ukraine and Russia are two of the world's largest grain producers (accounting for around a third of the world's production), farmers elsewhere needed to fill the void – driving up fertilizer prices. Since then, the stock has careened lower and presently the stock still looks like it may have further to go.
Nutrien Company Profile
Nutrien was created when PotashCorp and Agrium merged in early 2018. The merger took place amid a backdrop of bargain basement fertilizer prices. The two companies believed that the now massive $34 billion company could achieve greater scale and offset lower margins by merging. Thus far, the strategy has worked. Nutrien produces and sells potash, phosphate, and nitrogen products, and its competitors include firms such as Mosaic (MOS) and CF Industries (CF).
Stocks are Forward Looking
Nutrien earnings have grown like a weed in the past several quarters. In four of the past five quarters, earnings grew at a triple-digit pace. Though past earnings growth is one factor to consider, what really matters is how earnings compare to expectations (surprise), future earnings expectations (consensus estimates), and the delta in recent estimates (consensus estimate trend).
1. Robust, but Slowing EPS Growth: In two of the past three quarters, Nutrien has registered negative EPS surprises. Last quarter, NTR fell short of estimates by 35.95%.
2. Lukewarm Future Expectations: When Nutrien reports earnings on February 15, consensus analyst estimates suggest a slowdown of ~17% versus the corresponding period one year ago. Analysts also anticipate a 16% drop in earnings for the full year 2023. ($11.60 est. vs $13.76 in 2022). According to consensus data, earnings are expected to decline until 2025.
3. Declining Consensus Estimate Trend: Not only are future estimates weak for NTR, but they have also recently been revised lower. For example, 90 days ago the consensus was that NTR would earn $13.42 a share in full-year 2023. Over the past few months that number has steadily dropped and is sitting at $11.60 per share currently.
A Disconnect Between Input Costs and the Stock Price
One of Nutrien's largest input costs is natural gas, which is used to produce nitrogen. Since August, natural gas prices have been steadily declining. However, Nutrien shares have fallen in tandem after its euphoric top early last year. The United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG) is at its second-most oversold level in more than a year.
If natural gas is to bounce, it will act as another headwind for NTR shares.
Technical View
Over the past three months, relative price weakness is becoming evident in NTR. The Zacks fertilizer group is up 11.80% while Nutrien shares are only up 5.20%.
The 200-day is also acting as resistance into earnings, and a ton of overhead supply exists from the correction the stock has gone through over the last year.
Outlook
With the recent strength in the market, it is tough to find weak stocks. However, Nutrien fits the bill and is underperforming the market and its peers. Though the company is still reporting strong results from a fundamental perspective, what matters to investors and the price of the stock most is the future – and the poor action in the stock illustrates this most.
Nutrien faces tough EPS comps (versus last year when the Ukraine war was starting), declining consensus estimates, and a potential headwind if natural gas prices can sustain a bounce. Shorting before earnings and amid a bull market can be tricky and risky. Investors should steer clear for now and monitor how NTR's EPS results impact the stock.
Additional content:
What's in the Cards for Roblox's (RBLX - Free Report) Q4 Earnings?
Roblox is set to report its fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 15.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $888.49 million, indicating growth of 15.37% from the year-ago quarter's levels.
The consensus estimate for the bottom line has increased by 7.8% in the past 30 days and is currently pegged at a loss of 55 cents per share.
Let's see how things have shaped up prior to this announcement.
Factors to Note
Roblox's fourth-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from consumer onboarding, developer growth and a year-over-year rise in user engagement.
In the third quarter of 2022, average daily active users were 58.8 million, up 24% year over year, driven by the overall increase in engagement on the Roblox platform and international growth.
In the third quarter of 2022, hours engaged were 13.4 billion, up 20% year over year. The to-be-reported quarter's performance is expected to have benefited from the holiday season during Thanksgiving and the month of December.
Roblox has been committed to investing in the developer community, payment processing and infrastructure that would improve the overall efficiency of the platform to make it easy to use for users. The benefits of this are expected to drive the fourth-quarter results.
In addition, Roblox's increasing partnerships with fashion brands such as Gucci, Burberry, Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger and NARS have allowed the company to create digital fashion and immersive experiences for users, which could further aid growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
What Our Model Say
Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that's not the case here.
Roblox has an Earnings ESP of -0.23% and carries a Zacks Rank #3, currently. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter
Other Stocks to Consider
Per our model, Vipshop Holdings and Applied Materials also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.
Vipshop sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has an Earnings ESP of +1.01%. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 22. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the preceding four quarters while missing the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 20.8%. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VIPS' fourth-quarter earnings stands at 50 cents per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 22%. It is estimated to report revenues of $4.42 billion, which suggests a decline of 15.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Applied Materials is slated to report first-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Feb 16. The company has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +0.42% at present. Applied Materials' earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the trailing four quarters while missing the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 6.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.93 per share, suggesting an increase of 2.1% from the year-ago quarter's earnings of $1.89. Applied Materials' quarterly revenues are estimated to increase 6.6% year over year to $6.69 billion.
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +6.2 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +46.4%, +49.5% and +55.2% per year. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Copa Airlines and Nutrien have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – February 13, 2023 – Zacks Equity Research shares Copa Airlines (CPA - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Nutrien (NTR - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Roblox (RBLX - Free Report) , Vipshop Holdings (VIPS - Free Report) and Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) .
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:
Panama-based Copa Airlines is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) that offers airline passenger and cargo services via its main subsidiaries – Copa Airlines and Copa Colombia. Like most of the airline industry, Copa suffered from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising fuel costs but is turning the corner.
Copa sports the best possible VGM score of A (combines Zacks Style scores into one: Value, Growth, Momentum). Over the past year, Copa Airlines has outperformed the the Transportation – Air Industry group by a wide margin. The company's market cap (~$3.5 billion) is much smaller than that of its well-known competitors, such as Delta(~$25 billion).
Copa Airlines Company Profile
Copa Airlines was started in the late 1940s by a group of Panamanian investors. The company began its operations with small planes and domestic flights. By the 1970s, Copa airlines expanded into international flights and acquired large Boeing737 jets.
A major milestone occurred in 1998 when Continental Airlines, now part of United, purchased half of the company. When Copa became a public company, Continental divested a large portion of its holdings but still holds a stake in the company. Copa mainly services customers with flights across most Latin American destinations and has flights to the United States through its fleet of around 100 planes.
Earnings Are Flying High
Copa announced blockbuster earnings in its third-quarter report – earning $2.91 a share versus the $2.63 expected by Zacks Consensus Estimates. The $2.91 earned in the last quarter dwarfed the $0.06 earned in all of 2021 and marked a massive turnaround since losing $5.82 a share during the pandemic period of 2020.
From a top-line perspective, Copa missed slightly, earning revenues of $809.4 million versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $816.2 million. Nevertheless, investors have taken on a glass-half-full view.
Though Copa has endured several wrenches thrown at it in recent years (the pandemic, sky-high fuel prices etc), the company has consistently outperformed and beat Wall Street's expectations. Out of the past 17 quarters, CPA has surpassed consensus expectations in 15 of them.
The Runway Ahead
While past earnings strength and consistency is a "nice to have," Zacks research shows that earnings estimates moving forward are an integral factor in determining what comes next. Over the past 60 days, 2023 consensus estimates have gone from $9.54 to $10.34.
Because of the recent positive revisions, CPA has a positive Earnings Expected Surprise Prediction score – suggesting that the company is once again expected to surprise to the upside when it reports earnings after the close on February 15th.
Chart Analysis
Like CPA's fundamentals, its technical paint a pretty picture. In November, the 50-day moving average crossed above the 200-day moving average, signaling a bullish Golden Cross. Since then, the stock has been stair-stepping higher, riding the 50-day moving average, and is forming a bull flag ahead of earnings.
Outlook
Copa has all the ingredients a savvy investor looks for in a stock, including a stellar fundamental track record, strong estimates (and recently revised estimates higher), a reasonable valuation, high growth, and a uniform price trend. Tailwinds include lower fuel prices, a recovery in demand, and a strengthening macro environment.
With all that considered, the stock offers both value and growth-oriented investors an attractive risk-reward zone. Investors interested in purchasing CPA can use the 50-day moving average as a risk guide.
Bear of the Day:
Canadian-based Nutrien is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) that is a leading provider of crop inputs and services – particularly fertilizer. It supplies growers through its leading global retail network and operates over 2,000 retail locations across the United States, Canada, Australia, and South America.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, shares soared by more than 40% in just two months' time.
While the stock was already performing well amid an inflationary macroeconomic backdrop, the invasion acted as a unique windfall for the company. Because Ukraine and Russia are two of the world's largest grain producers (accounting for around a third of the world's production), farmers elsewhere needed to fill the void – driving up fertilizer prices. Since then, the stock has careened lower and presently the stock still looks like it may have further to go.
Nutrien Company Profile
Nutrien was created when PotashCorp and Agrium merged in early 2018. The merger took place amid a backdrop of bargain basement fertilizer prices. The two companies believed that the now massive $34 billion company could achieve greater scale and offset lower margins by merging. Thus far, the strategy has worked. Nutrien produces and sells potash, phosphate, and nitrogen products, and its competitors include firms such as Mosaic (MOS) and CF Industries (CF).
Stocks are Forward Looking
Nutrien earnings have grown like a weed in the past several quarters. In four of the past five quarters, earnings grew at a triple-digit pace. Though past earnings growth is one factor to consider, what really matters is how earnings compare to expectations (surprise), future earnings expectations (consensus estimates), and the delta in recent estimates (consensus estimate trend).
1. Robust, but Slowing EPS Growth: In two of the past three quarters, Nutrien has registered negative EPS surprises. Last quarter, NTR fell short of estimates by 35.95%.
2. Lukewarm Future Expectations: When Nutrien reports earnings on February 15, consensus analyst estimates suggest a slowdown of ~17% versus the corresponding period one year ago. Analysts also anticipate a 16% drop in earnings for the full year 2023. ($11.60 est. vs $13.76 in 2022). According to consensus data, earnings are expected to decline until 2025.
3. Declining Consensus Estimate Trend: Not only are future estimates weak for NTR, but they have also recently been revised lower. For example, 90 days ago the consensus was that NTR would earn $13.42 a share in full-year 2023. Over the past few months that number has steadily dropped and is sitting at $11.60 per share currently.
A Disconnect Between Input Costs and the Stock Price
One of Nutrien's largest input costs is natural gas, which is used to produce nitrogen. Since August, natural gas prices have been steadily declining. However, Nutrien shares have fallen in tandem after its euphoric top early last year. The United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG) is at its second-most oversold level in more than a year.
If natural gas is to bounce, it will act as another headwind for NTR shares.
Technical View
Over the past three months, relative price weakness is becoming evident in NTR. The Zacks fertilizer group is up 11.80% while Nutrien shares are only up 5.20%.
The 200-day is also acting as resistance into earnings, and a ton of overhead supply exists from the correction the stock has gone through over the last year.
Outlook
With the recent strength in the market, it is tough to find weak stocks. However, Nutrien fits the bill and is underperforming the market and its peers. Though the company is still reporting strong results from a fundamental perspective, what matters to investors and the price of the stock most is the future – and the poor action in the stock illustrates this most.
Nutrien faces tough EPS comps (versus last year when the Ukraine war was starting), declining consensus estimates, and a potential headwind if natural gas prices can sustain a bounce. Shorting before earnings and amid a bull market can be tricky and risky. Investors should steer clear for now and monitor how NTR's EPS results impact the stock.
Additional content:
What's in the Cards for Roblox's (RBLX - Free Report) Q4 Earnings?
Roblox is set to report its fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 15.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $888.49 million, indicating growth of 15.37% from the year-ago quarter's levels.
The consensus estimate for the bottom line has increased by 7.8% in the past 30 days and is currently pegged at a loss of 55 cents per share.
Let's see how things have shaped up prior to this announcement.
Factors to Note
Roblox's fourth-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from consumer onboarding, developer growth and a year-over-year rise in user engagement.
In the third quarter of 2022, average daily active users were 58.8 million, up 24% year over year, driven by the overall increase in engagement on the Roblox platform and international growth.
In the third quarter of 2022, hours engaged were 13.4 billion, up 20% year over year. The to-be-reported quarter's performance is expected to have benefited from the holiday season during Thanksgiving and the month of December.
Roblox has been committed to investing in the developer community, payment processing and infrastructure that would improve the overall efficiency of the platform to make it easy to use for users. The benefits of this are expected to drive the fourth-quarter results.
In addition, Roblox's increasing partnerships with fashion brands such as Gucci, Burberry, Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger and NARS have allowed the company to create digital fashion and immersive experiences for users, which could further aid growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
What Our Model Say
Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that's not the case here.
Roblox has an Earnings ESP of -0.23% and carries a Zacks Rank #3, currently. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter
Other Stocks to Consider
Per our model, Vipshop Holdings and Applied Materials also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.
Vipshop sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has an Earnings ESP of +1.01%. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 22. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the preceding four quarters while missing the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 20.8%. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VIPS' fourth-quarter earnings stands at 50 cents per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 22%. It is estimated to report revenues of $4.42 billion, which suggests a decline of 15.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Applied Materials is slated to report first-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Feb 16. The company has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +0.42% at present. Applied Materials' earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the trailing four quarters while missing the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 6.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.93 per share, suggesting an increase of 2.1% from the year-ago quarter's earnings of $1.89. Applied Materials' quarterly revenues are estimated to increase 6.6% year over year to $6.69 billion.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +6.2 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +46.4%, +49.5% and +55.2% per year. Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
https://www.zacks.com
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer.
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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.