Wednesday, January 31, 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 Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Cisco (CSCO). 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 >>>

Buy-rated Morgan Stanley’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Investment Banking industry over the last year (+32.5% vs. +25%). The performance was supported by the company’s impressive earnings surprise history, having surpassed expectations in all the trailing four quarters.

The company’s fourth-quarter 2017 results reflected higher underwriting fees and a slight rise in net income. The Zacks analyst likes the company’s efforts to lower balance sheet risk and strengthen wealth management operations as well as its cost saving initiatives.

Given a solid capital position, it will likely continue enhancing shareholder value through efficient capital deployment activities. While persistent fall in net interest income and overall trading weakness are expected to hurt the company’s growth, lower tax rates will aid profitability in the quarters ahead.

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

Shares of U.S. Bancorp have underperformed the Zacks Major Banks industry over the last six months, gaining +8.4% vs +19.3%. However, the company boasts an impressive earnings surprise history. It has surpassed expectations for earnings in three out of the trailing four quarters.

The company’s fourth-quarter 2017 earnings were aided by easing margin pressure on rising rates. Elevated average loans and deposit balances reflected organic growth. The Zacks analyst likes U.S. Bancorp's solid business model, core franchise, lower tax rate and diverse revenue streams.

Also, the company’s organic growth remains solid and is likely to benefit from the improving economic scenario. However, escalating expenses and litigations remain key concerns. Additionally, stretched valuation underlines limited upside potential.

(You can read the full research report on U.S. Bancorp here >>>).

Buy-rated Cisco’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Networking industry over the past one year, gaining +38.5% vs. +36.7%. The Zacks analyst thinks the company’s expanding footprint in the rapidly growing security market presents significant growth opportunity. Additionally, partnerships with Telenor, Apple, IBM and Microsoft are other positives.

Also, the company’s Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) solution is currently used by more than 4K customers. The ACI solution was recently enhanced with new features that have aided growth. Further, the planned acquisition of Broadsoft will boost company's recurring revenue base.

Moreover, the company's collaboration with Google Cloud to offer hybrid cloud solution is a key catalyst. However, intense competition from peers and challenges in the emerging markets remains a headwind.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include American Airlines (AAL), Maxim (MXIM) and AMD.

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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>>>