Monday, August 28, 2017

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 AbbVie (ABBV), Broadcom (AVGO) and 21st Century Fox (FOXA). 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 >>>

AbbVie’s shares have gained +15.7% year to date, outperforming the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which has gained +10.8% over the same period. AbbVie reported better-than-expected Q2 results, beating estimates for both earnings and sales. Humira and Imbruvica kept up the strong performance, while Viekira continued to be hurt by intensifying competition.

The Zacks analyst likes Humira’s performance and thinks sales should continue to be driven by strong demand trends. Imbruvica also has a multibillion dollar potential while AbbVie is exploring the possibility of label expansion into solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. AbbVie has a promising pipeline with several pivotal data readouts and regulatory milestones due in the second half.

However, though Humira is doing well, the company is concerned about the product’s long-term growth prospects, given potential biosimilar competition. Viekira also faces intense pricing and competitive pressure in the HCV market.

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

Shares of Broadcom have handily beaten the technology sector as well as the red-hot semiconductor space in the year-to-date period, gaining +38.9%. The Zacks analyst thinks this outperformance is attributable to consistent results. Broadcom reported impressive third-quarter fiscal 2017 results.

The company now expects fourth-quarter revenue growth to be in the double-digit range on a year-over-year basis, much similar to the second and third quarter. However, gross margin is expected to contract slightly due to unfavorable product mix (higher mix of low margin wireless business). Customer concentration and leveraged balance sheet are other concerns for investors.

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

21st Century Fox’s shares have increased +10.2% over the last year, widely outperforming the Zacks Film and Television industry, which has gained +4.8% over the same period. This outperformance is primarily attributable to five straight quarters of earnings beats.

The company posted impressive earnings results in the final quarter of 2017. Cable Network Programming, which has been a driving force backed by rising affiliate fees, is expected to do well in fiscal 2018 as well. However, management anticipates costs at this division to go up in fiscal 2018.

Meanwhile, the company’s proposed acquisition of the remaining 61% stake in Sky plc has hit a roadblock after the deal was 'minded' by the U.K. government for a second phase of reviews.

(You can read the full research report on 21st Century Fox here >>>).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Intuit (INTU), Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) and China Life Insurance (LFC).

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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>>>