Wednesday, September 5, 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 Pfizer (PFE), Salesforce (CRM) and ADP (ADP). 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 >>>

Pfizer’s shares have outperformed the peer group year-to-date (the stock is up +14.2% over this period vs. a +3.8% increase for the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry). Pfizer has been working on strengthening its product portfolio through acquisitions and licensing deals.

However, Pfizer is facing top-line headwinds in the form of genericization of key drugs, supply challenges in the legacy Hospira portfolio, pricing pressure and rising competition. Nonetheless, the Zacks analyst thinks new products like Ibrance, contribution from acquisitions, cost-cutting efforts, a lower tax rate and share buybacks should help the company achieve its guidance.

Pfizer also boasts a strong pipeline and expects approximately 25 to 30 drug approvals through 2022, including around 15 products that have blockbuster potential. Pfizer’s growing immuno-oncology portfolio has strong potential. Bavencio is being considered a key long-term growth driver for Pfizer. In oncology, Pfizer has four potential medicines under FDA’s priority review.

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

Shares of Strong-Buy ranked Salesforce have handily beaten the broader Tech sector over the past year, with the stock up nearly three times the Zacks Technology sector's +20.2% gain. Salesforce reported stellar Q2 results and provided a strong outlook.

The Zacks analyst thinks the company’s diverse cloud offerings and strong spending on digital marketing remain the catalysts. Management is extremely optimistic about enhancement of customer experience that has aided growth of the cloud segment. Additionally, strategic acquisitions and the resultant synergies are anticipated to prove conducive to growth over the long run.

Furthermore, the company’s move of utilizing other data center operators like Amazon and Alphabet’s geographical reach to expand its international business is commendable and will help it in achieving its targeted $23 billion sales mark by 2022. Nonetheless, stiff competition, currency fluctuations and an increase in investments for international expansions and data centers could negatively impact near-term profitability.

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

ADP's shares have gained +34.9% over the past year,outperforming the Zacks Outsourcing industry, which has gained +30.6% over the same period. ADP reported strong fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 results, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed expectations.

The Zacks analyst thinks ADP holds a dominant position in the payroll processing and HCM market, primarily due to its robust product portfolio. Acquisitions have also been a key growth catalyst for the company. Further, the company’s strong balance sheet enables it to continue with its shareholder friendly activities alongside strategic buyouts and investments on product development.

However, ADP faces significant competition in each of its product lines. Failure to meet varying client demands with updated technologies might reduce the demand for its solutions and services, thus hampering its position in the market. Further, the company’s dependence on its payroll, financial, accounting, and other data processing systems remains a concern.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Accenture (ACN), General Motors (GM) and Southwest Airlines (LUV).

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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>>>