Tuesday, April 2, 2024

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 Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Oracle Corporation (ORCL) and Chevron Corporation (CVX). 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 >>>

Alphabet shares have modestly lagged the Zacks Tech sector over the year-to-date period (+9.6% vs. +12.2%), but have performed roughly in-line with the S&P 500 index (+9.6% vs. +10%) over this time period. The company’s robust cloud division is aiding substantial revenue growth. Expanding data centers will continue to bolster its presence in the cloud space. Further, major updates in its search segment are enhancing the search results.

Moreover, Google’s mobile search is gaining solid momentum. Additionally, strong focus on bolstering generative AI capabilities should aid business growth in the near term. Alphabet’s deepening focus on wearables category remains a tailwind.

The company’s strong efforts to gain foothold in the healthcare industry are other positives. Also, its expanding presence in the autonomous driving space is contributing well. However, sluggish Network advertisement business is a negative. Increasing litigation issues and expenses remain concerns.

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

Shares of Oracle have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Software industry over the year-to-date period (+19.5% vs. +11.4%). The company’s third-quarter fiscal 2023 results benefited from the steady adoption of strategic cloud applications, autonomous database and OCI, as well as a recovery in cloud revenue growth.

Oracle’s Gen 2 Cloud is driving artificial intelligence (AI) clientele because of better performance at a lower cost due to high bandwidth and low-latency RDMA networks. ORCL’s continued investment in cloud infrastructure positions it well for sustained growth in the dynamic software industry. Its share buybacks and dividend policy are noteworthy.

However, the uncertain economy and competition in the cloud computing market weighed on demand for its cloud offerings. Stiff competition in the cloud market is slowing down the growth of its expansion efforts in the competitive market.

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

Chevron shares have underperformed the Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry over the past year (-2.6% vs. +4.5%). The company is grappling with lower prices in the upstream segment and declining refining margins in the downstream unit.

Another concern is the sub-100% reserve replacement ratio, indicating challenges in replenishing produced energy. Considering all these factors, investors are advised to wait for a better entry point.

Nevertheless, Chevron is positioned as one of the top global integrated oil firms, set for sustainable production growth, particularly due to its dominant position in the lucrative Permian Basin. Further, the recent acquisition of Hess Corporation is expected to significantly strengthen Chevron's presence in oil-rich Guyana.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Chubb Limited (CB), Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) and General Dynamics Corporation (GD).

Director of Research

Sheraz Mian

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>>>