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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Meta Platforms, JPMorgan Chase, Salesforce, Medtronic and PNC Financial

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – December 4, 2023 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Meta Platforms, Inc. (META - Free Report) , JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) , Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) , Medtronic plc (MDT - Free Report) and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports for Meta Platforms, JPMorgan Chase and Salesforce

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., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Salesforce, Inc. 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 >>>

Meta Platforms shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet - Software industry over the year-to-date period (+171.9% vs. +57.1%). The company is benefiting from steady user growth across all regions, particularly Asia Pacific. Increased engagement for its offerings like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook has been a major growth driver.

Meta Platforms is leveraging AI to recommend Reels content, which is driving traffic on Instagram and Facebook. Its innovative portfolio, which includes Threads, Reels and Llama 2, is likely to aid prospects.

However, challenging macroeconomic conditions remain a headwind for Meta’s advertising revenues, along with targeting and measurement headwinds due to Apple’s iOS changes. Slow monetization of Reels, along with mounting operating losses at Reality Labs, are concerns.

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

Shares of JPMorgan Chase have outperformed the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry over the year-to-date period (+19.9% vs. +4.1%). The company is witnessing high interest rates, buyouts, global expansion efforts and decent loan demand will aid net interest income (NII), though rising funding costs will weigh on it.

Despite visibility of some green shoots in the investment banking (IB) business, IB fees are less likely to improve soon. This, along with the volatile nature of the capital markets business and high mortgage rates, will likely hamper fee income growth. Aided by solid earnings strength and balance sheet, it will be able to sustain capital distributions.

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

Sares of Salesforce have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Software industry over the year-to-date period (+90.0% vs. +57.9%). The company is benefiting from a robust demand environment as customers are undergoing a major digital transformation. The company’s sustained focus on aligning products with customer needs is driving the top line.

Continued deal wins in the international market are another growth driver. The acquisition of Slack has positioned the company as a leader in enterprise team collaboration and improved its competitive standing versus Microsoft Teams. Salesforce’s strategy of continuously expanding generative AI offerings will help the company tap the growing opportunities in the space.

However, stiff competition and unfavorable currency fluctuations are concerns. Also, the challenging macroeconomic environment and geopolitical issues could hurt its growth prospects.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Medtronic plc and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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