Monday, January 22, 2018

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 Nike (NKE), Oracle (ORCL) and Boeing (BA). 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 >>>

Nike’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Shoes and Retail Apparel industry over the last three months (+25.3% vs. +24.1%), driven by strength in international business and the global NIKE Direct business. This also led earnings and sales to top estimates in second-quarter fiscal 2018, marking the company’s 22nd straight earnings beat.

The second-quarter results reflected significant progress on the Consumer Direct Offense, which the company anticipates to continue in the second half of fiscal 2018. Additionally, the company’s strong line-up of product innovations to be launched in the back half of the fiscal year is likely to enhance performance.

However, lackluster sales trend in the company’s key North American market remains a headwind. Moreover, the company’s strained margins and higher SG&A expenses are likely to continue through fiscal 2018. Consequently, the company reiterated previously outlined soft outlook for fiscal 2018.

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

Shares of Oracle have underperformed the Zacks Software industry over the past year, gaining +27.5% vs. +39.5%. However, Oracle is benefiting from strong adoption of its cloud-based solutions.

The Zacks analyst thinks partnerships with the likes of Accenture are helping the company rapidly expand its cloud-base clientele. Moreover, this has helped in improving the company's competitive position against the likes of salesforce.com and Workday.

The company’s growing cloud market share will continue to drive top-line growth. Further, strong demand for the next-generation autonomous database supported by machine learning will likely drive top-line growth. Higher investments on IaaS platform will affect gross margin expansion in the near term. A strong U.S. dollar remains a headwind.

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

Buy-rated Boeing’s shares have surged +114% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Aerospace & Defense sector, which gained +53.2% during the same time period. Notably, Boeing is the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue, orders and deliveries, and one of the largest aerospace and defense contractors. In this regard, the company’s 20-year market outlook forecasts commercial jetliner demand to increase by 3.6%.

Boeing expects single-aisle jets to be the major driver behind this demand growth. Meanwhile, India appears to be another promising market for Boeing as the country is expected to become the world’s fastest growing aviation market. Yet, this aerospace company continues to face challenges from stiff competition as well as falling delivery numbers.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include NetApp (NTAP), BB&T (BBT) and General Mills (GIS).

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Mark Vickery

Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>