Tuesday, May 24, 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 Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO), and Novartis AG (NVS). 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 >>>
 

Bank of America shares have declined -14.6% over the past year against the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry’s decline of -16.6%. However, the company’s first-quarter 2022 results benefited substantially from loan growth and higher rates.

The Zacks analyst believes that the opening of financial centers, enhancement in digital capabilities and cost-saving efforts will likely keep aiding profits. Supported by robust loan growth and the investment banking (IB) pipeline, the company’s top line is expected to keep improving.

Bank of America is expected to keep enhancing shareholder value through impressive capital deployments. However, despite the expected rate hikes in 2022, relatively low rates might hurt margins and interest income for some time in the near term. The volatile nature of the trading business is concerning as it might hamper fee income growth.
 

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

Shares of Novo Nordisk have outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past year (+34.2% vs. +20.0%) on the back of one of the broadest diabetes portfolios in the industry. Ozempic, Rybelsus, Xultophy and Saxenda have been helping the company maintain momentum. Label expansion of these existing drugs is expected to further boost sales.

However, lower realized prices in the Unites States, loss of exclusivity for products and stiff competition are affecting sales. Sales are also being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the supply challenges for Wegovy have hurt the stock. The patent expiry on some of the products in Novo Nordisk’s portfolio is concerning too.
 

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

Novartis shares have gained +3.7% in the year to date period against the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry’s gain of +5.1%. Novartis’ performance in the first quarter, in fact, was good as the lagging Sandoz business returned to growth and cardiovascular drug Entresto maintained its stellar performance.

The Zacks analyst believes that drugs like Cosentyx, Entresto, Kesimpta, gene therapy Zolgensma, Kisqali and Leqvio should continue to fuel growth and offset the impact of generic competition. The launch of additional drugs like Pluvicto, Piqray, Leqvio and Mayzent, and the label expansion of key drugs should also aid performance. However, generic competition for key drugs and pipeline setbacks poses concerns.
 

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (PBR), Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), and Sony Group Corp. (SONY).
 

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>>>