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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, UnitedHealth, GlaxoSmithKline, Duke and BlackRock

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –September 25, 2019 – 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 , UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) , GlaxoSmithKline (GSK - Free Report) , Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) and BlackRock (BLK - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Stock Reports for Facebook, UnitedHealth and GlaxoSmithKline

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, UnitedHealth Group and GlaxoSmithKline. 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 >>>

Facebook’s shares have outperformed the S&P 500 in the past six months (12.4% vs. 6.9%). The Zacks analyst thinks that solid mobile ad revenues, driven by impressive growth in Instagram Stories and Feed, and Facebook News Feed are expected to drive the top line.

Facebook’s initiatives to improve privacy, transparency and authenticity of ads, and remove fake accounts are likely to boost user trust and engagement. Further, the partnership with ESPN for sports streaming on Facebook Watch is positive. The acquisition of CTRL-Lab is a major growth driver for the long haul.

However, the company’s rising regulatory headwinds, including the antitrust investigation and the EU’s investigation of Libra, are concerns. The unfriendly regulatory environment is expected to delay Libra’s launch, which Facebook has targeted for the first half of 2020.

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

Shares of UnitedHealth have lost 7.6% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Medical Insurance industry’s fall of 7.8%. The Zacks analyst believes that UnitedHealth Group stands apart in the industry by virtue of healthcare services, technology and innovations offered by its unit, Optum.

Numerous acquisitions, made by the company, have broadened its business profile and provide benefits of diversification. Its solid balance sheet and consistent cash flow generation have enabled investment in business, which will drive long-term growth. Also, capital management by dividend payment and share buyback is another positive.

However, slowdown of growth in international operations and underperformance in Medicaid business are some concerns. An increase in leverage and interest burden raises financial risk.

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

GlaxoSmithKline’s shares have gained 3.8% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s fall of 1.8% over the same period. The Zacks analyst believes that Glaxo’s three newest products — Trelegy Ellipta, Shingrix and Juluca — are doing well, particularly Shingrix.

These products coupled with restructuring in the Consumer Health unit have strengthened Glaxo’s competitive position. We are encouraged by the company’s initiatives to focus on its oncology pipeline. However, stiff competition, genericization and pricing pressure on key drugs in the Pharma segment are hurting sales.

Particularly, pricing pressure and competitive dynamics are hampering sales of Glaxo’s respiratory products. Importantly, a generic version of its top-selling drug Advair has been launched, which is significantly eroding the drug’s sales. Also, competitive pressure on HIV drugs is rising in 2019.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Duke Energy and BlackRock.

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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 http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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