Wednesday May 24, 2017

Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Alphabet (GOOGL), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Abbott (ABT). You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>

Buy rated Alphabet shares are up +22.4% in the year-to-date period vs. the +15% gain for the Zacks Technology sector and +7.4% gain for the S&P 500 index, with the stock getting a boost from the better than expected Q1 earnings report on April 27th (the stock has gained in excess of +10% since then). The Zacks analyst points out the company's good execution to date, more or less maintaining its dominant share in the competitive, fast-growing search market. The company's focus on innovation, strategic acquisitions and Android OS should continue to generate strong cash flows. However, the promise of Google's non-search businesses continue getting pushed into future even as the company's spending keeps rising. (You can read the full research report on Alphabet here >>>)

Morgan Stanley shares have outperformed the Zacks Finance sector over the last one year, gaining +52.5% versus the sector’s +16% increase.  In comparison, Goldman Sachs shares are up +36.4% in that time period. The Zacks analyst likes the company’s efforts to offload its non-core assets to lower balance-sheet risks and shift focus toward less capital-intensive businesses. Moreover, it remains on track to achieve its expense saving target of $1 billion by the end of this year. However, equity trading income distress, new regulatory requirements and intense pricing competition are concerns though the regulatory burden is expected to come down going forward. (You can read the full research report on Morgan Stanley here >>>)

Abbott shares have outperformed the Zacks Medical sector in the year-to-date period (the stock is up +13.6% vs. +7.2% gain for the sector) on the back of greater appreciation for the company's strategic repositioning through acquisitions/divestitures. The St. Jude Medical buyout will complement its cardiovascular devices business. Also, the company’s plans to focus on selling its portfolio in core therapeutic areas. Meanwhile, weakness in the nutrition business in China and sluggish growth in the Venezuelan market is a concern. (You can read the full research report on Abbott here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Waste Management (WM), General Mills (GIS) and Raytheon (RTN).

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Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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>>>