Tuesday, January 4, 2022

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 Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB), Bank of America Corporation (BAC), and Mastercard Incorporated (MA). 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 Meta Platforms have modestly underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year (+25.1% vs. +31.3%), most likely reflecting regulatory worries. That said, the Zacks analyst believes that Meta Platforms has been benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly Asia Pacific.

Increased engagement for Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook Watch remains a major growth driver for Meta. Advertising revenues are benefiting from the ongoing shift to e-commerce. Its focus on becoming a metaverse company is noteworthy. Stiff competition from Snap and Twitter in the advertising space as well as increasing regulatory headwinds in the EU and some other countries remain major concerns, though.

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

Bank of America shares have gained +16.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Major Regional Banks industry’s gain of +7.7%. The Zacks analyst believes that efforts to improve revenue growth, a strong balance sheet and expansion into new markets are likely to support Bank of America.

Opening of new branches and a solid IB pipeline will continue supporting BAC’s financials. BAC is also likely to keep enhancing the shareholder value on the back of its impressive capital deployment activities. Lingering low interest rates and the Federal Reserve’s decision to not change it in the near term are expected to weigh on Bank of America’s margins and interest income, though.

(You can read the full research report on Bank of America here >>>)

Shares of Mastercard have gained +10.4% in the last three months against the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry’s loss of -1.2%. The Zacks analyst believes that Mastercard’s strategic acquisitions, alliances and technology upgrades, along with product-diversification and geographic-expansion initiatives bodes well for the long term.

Accelerated the use of electronic payments with much greater adoption of digital and contactless solutions provides Mastercard with an opportunity to expedite its shift to the digital mode. Strong capital position enables the firm to pursue acquisitions and deploy capital. Steep costs, high rebates and incentives, however, might weigh on revenues.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Pfizer Inc. (PFE), AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) and Medtronic plc (MDT).

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>>>