Thursday, October 7, 2021

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 Inc. (PFE), American Tower Corporation (AMT), and Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG). 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 >>>

Shares of Pfizer have outperformed the Zacks Large-Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+25% vs. +16%). The Zacks analyst believes that Pfizer looks well positioned to deliver several potential new breakthrough innovative medicines in the next five years, which can drive long-term growth.

The Consumer Healthcare JV with Glaxo and merger of Upjohn unit with Mylan has made Pfizer a smaller company with a diversified portfolio of innovative drugs and vaccines. Its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is now approved for emergency use in several countries and has become a key contributor to the top line. Pricing pressure, currency headwinds, and stiff competition in the immuno-oncology market remain as some of the major concerns though.

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

American Tower shares have gained +12.8% in the last six months against the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust industry’s gain of +8.8%. The Zacks analyst believes that the company is likely to benefit from increased investment by wireless carriers in 4G LTE and 5G networks.

Solid business fundamentals, prudent capital-allocation strategy as well as steady dividend payouts are encouraging. American Tower is rapidly expanding in the international markets, especially in the emerging Asian and Latin American markets. Tower operations in such markets, however, are not as profitable as that in the mature U.S. market. Stiff competition from other tower companies is another concern.

(You can read the full research report on American Tower here >>>)

Shares of Intuitive Surgical have gained +5.6% over the past three months against the Zacks Medical Instruments industry’s loss of -9%. The Zacks analyst believes that growing adoption of the da Vinci system, improving procedure volumes, as well as a solid recurring revenue base are some of the major headwinds.

The company’s revenue growth in the second quarter of 2021 indicated procedure growth as well as higher-than-expected system placements. Strong segmental performance was also witnessed during the quarter. Stiff competition in the global MedTech space, increased production cost due to the pandemic and risks related to procedure adoption remain as major concerns though.

(You can read the full research report on Intuitive Surgical here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include CVS Health Corp. (CVS), Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS) and FedEx Corp. (FDX).

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>>>