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Titan Machinery, Pilgrim's Pride, Nike, Rite Aid and BlackBerry highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 24, 2018 – Zacks Equity Research Titan Machinery (TITN - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (PPC - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis Nike, Inc. (NKE - Free Report) , Rite Aid Corporation and BlackBerry Limited (BB - Free Report) .

Here is a synopsis of all three stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Titan Machineryis a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and sports a Value and a Growth Style Score of A.  Now I like a growth play a lot better than a value play, but if the value players want to come along for the ride, the more the merrier!  

Let's take a look at TITN and how it became a Zacks Rank #! (Strong Buy) in this Bull of the Day article.

Description

Titan Machinery represents a diversified mix of agricultural, construction, and consumer products dealerships located in the upper Midwest. Their Shared Resource Headquarters is located in the heart of the Red River Valley in Fargo, ND. Titan Machinery is a dealer for Case IH, Case Construction, New Holland, and New Holland Construction. Titan Machinery also represents shortline equipment to meet specialized customer demand and niche product needs.

Recent Earnings

Part of what drives the Zacks Rank is the earnings history.  The thing that got this stock on my radar screen was the most recent report.  The company posted EPS of $0.28 when the Zacks Consensus was calling for $0.10.  That $0.18 beat translates into a positive earnings surprise of 180%.  

Beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate is something that TITN has done in each of the last four reports.  That last report was a monster, with a 180% positive surprise, but the others were big too.  The three preceding that report were +30%, +28% and +150% respectively.

Earnings Estimates

There is a lot going on when you look at the earnings estimates for TITN.  Some moves up, some moves down... it is not as cut and dry as you would hope for.  That might be keeping some investors out, but for those that believe this story, that makes this a great time to get in.

Bear of the Day:

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) after posting a recent miss of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.  The estimates have slipped but it may still be worth a deeper look. As the Bear of the Day, we look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Description

Pilgrim's Pride is one of the largest chicken companies in the US, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The company's fresh chicken retail line is sold throughout the US, throughout Puerto Rico, and in the northern and central regions of Mexico. Its prepared chicken products meet the needs of some of the largest customers in the food service industry across the US. Additionally, the Company exports commodity chicken products to over 90 countries. As a vertically integrated company, it controls every phase of the production of its products. The company operates feed mills, hatcheries, processing plants and distribution centers in US, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Style Scores

Sometimes I look at the Zacks Style Scores and make a rash judgment about a stock.  In the case of PPC, I see an A for Growth and an A for Value.  That tells me something interesting is happening here.  The F for Momentum tells me that the company recently missed an earnings report.

Recent Earnings

The last two reports for PPC have not been that good.  The company has missed by a penny in each of those reports.  The two prior to that were beats, and the beats were much bigger than the misses.

Additional content:

Upcoming Earnings to Watch: NKE, RAD, BB

U.S. stocks saw a mostly positive week after Wall Street shrugged off early concerns about escalating trade tensions. Investors are still looking with a cautious eye toward next week’s Fed meeting, but with Q3 earnings season on the horizon, it is possible a thaw in the trade war could give way to further gains.

New tariffs remain an uncertainty, of course, and specific industries—such as semiconductor manufacturing—are facing cyclical headwinds. Take Micron, for example. The memory chip giant beat earnings estimates and posted decent profit guidance, but investors were not impressed. This implies that those reporting in the coming sessions will face pressure to post very strong numbers.

With that said, investors can always prepare for these events with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. This handy tool is your perfect one-stop-shop to properly prepare for earnings, dividend announcements, and other important financial releases.

We have not quite reached the beginning of the traditional Q3 reporting season, but next week will feature a number of recognizable earnings announcements.

But will any of the reports coming in the next few days have enough positive news to outweigh other headwinds? Let’s take a closer look at a few of the market's marquee reports due during the week of September 24.

1. Nike, Inc.

Athletic apparel giant Nike is slated to release its latest quarterly earnings report after the bell on September 25. Nike has made headlines recently for its new #JustDoIt campaign featuring anthem protest leader Colin Kaepernick, but the trends which are likely to lead this report have been evident for some time.

Nike has dominated the domestic market and made inroads internationally en route to gaining over 60% in the past year. For the soon-to-be-reported quarter, analysts expect Nike to post earnings of $0.62 per share and revenue of $9.88 billion. These results would represent year-over-year growth of 8.8% and 8.9%, respectively. NKE is sporting a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now.

2. Rite Aid Corporation

Struggling pharmacy retailer Rite Aid will report its latest quarterly earnings before the market opens on September 27. Investors will hope this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock can rebound, but things are not looking bright. Shares of Rite Aid have fallen more than 80% since the start of 2017, including a nearly 38% drop over the last three months.

Moreover, serious profitability concerns remain for Rite Aid. According to our Zacks Consensus Estimates, analysts are looking for a loss of a penny per share and revenue of $5.37 billion from this quarter. Earnings estimates have also been trending down over the past 60 days, which implies softening expectations as we have moved closer to the report.

3. BlackBerry Limited

Smartphone pioneer-turned-software firm BlackBerry is scheduled to release its latest quarterly earnings report before the opening bell on September 28. It was a hot 2017 for BlackBerry has investors showed interest in the company’s new enterprise security business model, but valuation and profitability concerns have hampered the stock in 2018.

BB has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) ahead of the report. Our latest Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for adjusted earnings of a penny per share and revenue of $213.48 million. These results would represent year-over-year declines of 80% and 14.3%, respectively.

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