The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Alphabet, Facebook, Nike, United Airlines And Edison

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL –July 9, 2019 – 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: Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) , Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) , Nike (NYSE:NKE) , United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Edison International (NYSE:EIX) .

Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Research Reports for Alphabet, Facebook and Nike

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, Facebook and Nike. 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’s shares have lost -2.9% in the past one year, outperforming the Zacks Internet Services industry's decline of -22.7%. The Zacks analyst thinks Alphabet’s strong initiatives toward elimination of bad ads and introducing useful major search updates are tailwinds.

Further, Google’s robust mobile search is also a positive. Its strong focus toward bolstering presence in the cloud market on the back of expanding data centers and robust cloud offerings continues to aid growth. Further, Google’s strong focus on innovation of its AI techniques and home automation space is aiding its business growth.

However, the company’s growing litigation issues and increased spending on YouTube and consumer gadgets might hurt profitability. Also, increasing competition in the advertising business and currency fluctuations are concerns.

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

Shares of Facebook have gained +49.8% year to date, outperforming the S&P 500’s increase of +17.7% during the same period. The Zacks analyst thinks Facebook is benefiting from solid mobile ad revenues, driven by impressive growth in Instagram Stories and Feed, and Facebook News Feed. Interactive Stories ads on Instagram are likely to lead to better interaction among people, businesses and advertisers.

Moreover, the upcoming cryptocurrency, Libra, is expected to expand the company’s footprint into the lucrative online payments space. Meanwhile, estimates have been stable ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings release.

The company has mixed record of earnings surprises in recent quarters. However, a persistent mix shift toward Stories is anticipated to hurt ARPU. Rising regulatory headwinds are also a concern.

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

Nike’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Shoes and Retail Apparel industry in the past year, gaining +12.4% vs. +9.8%. The Zacks analyst thinks the outperformance is attributable to a robust sales trend stemming from the execution of Consumer Direct Offense as well as strength in Wholesale and Nike Direct businesses.

Fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 marked the ninth straight quarter of top-line beat for the company. Further, it expects strong sales results for fiscal 2020, driven by brand recognition, robust innovation pipeline, and a positive response from Nike Direct and wholesale partners. However, Nike’s earnings missed estimates in the fiscal fourth quarter, marking a negative surprise after 28 straight beats.

For fiscal 2020, it anticipates headwinds from higher SG&A expenses, tax rate and adverse currency to mar results. Further, the company expects gross margin gains to be partly offset by supply-chain investments and expansion of Air manufacturing innovation.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include United Airlines and Edison International.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com

http://www.zacks.com

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 http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.