The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Disney, Amgen, Caterpillar, S&P Global And Emerson Electric

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 14, 2017 – 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 includeDisney (NYSE: (NYSE:DIS) – Free Report), Amgen (NASDAQ: (NASDAQ:AMGN) – Free Report), Caterpillar (NYSE: (NYSE:CAT) – Free Report), S&P Global (NYSE: (NYSE:SPGI) – Free Report) and Emerson Electric (NYSE: (NYSE:EMR) – Free Report).

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Analyst Reports for Disney, Amgen, Caterpillar & More

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 Disney (NYSE:DIS – Free Report), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN – Free Report) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Free Report). 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 >>>

Disney’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Media Conglomerates sector over the last three months, declining -7.6% vs. -3.5%, primarily due to ongoing concerns regarding ESPN’s future. Identical to its performances over the past few quarters, ESPN results disappointed in the third quarter yet again. Further, the stock came under pressure after the company reported mixed third-quarter fiscal 2017 results.

Earnings came in above expectations but revenues lagged the same for the fourth straight quarter. However, the Zacks analyst likes the company’s decision to terminate its distribution agreement with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) for subscription streaming and launch its own streaming services – one for Disney and Pixar brands and another for ESPN followers.

Further, in an effort to attract online viewers, Disney which had earlier acquired 33% stake BAMTech announced its intention to acquire another 42% stake in the firm. Moreover, its Movies and Parks & Resorts businesses look promising.

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

Amgenshares have outperformed the Zacks Biomedicals and Genetics industry year to date, gaining +15.7% vs. +5.6%. Amgen beat estimates on both earnings & sales in the second quarter. While Amgen slightly tightened the sales guidance, it raised the earnings outlook backed by strong profits in the first half. The Zacks analyst likes the performance of Amgen’s newer drugs – Prolia, Xgeva, Vectibix, Nplate and Sensipar.

Amgen is also progressing with its pipeline including biosimilar drugs. However, the company has some challenges in store, given the presence of biosimilar competition and slowdown in sales of mature drugs. Volume growth of new drugs may not be enough to offset the lost sales due to the decline in mature brands. Also the softness in Enbrel sales due to stiff competitive pressure is a key cause for concern. Meanwhile, uptake of Repatha has been slow due to payer restrictions.

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

Strong Buy-rated Caterpillar's shares have gained +22% year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Construction and Mining industry which has increased +19.8% over the same period. Caterpillar’s top and bottom line both improved on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter and also beat expectations. Better-than-expected results in first-half 2017 can be attributed to its cost-control actions.

Backed by upbeat results and improved order activity, Caterpillar hiked revenue guidance to the range of $42–$44 billion and projects earnings per share of $5.00. The Zacks analyst thinks the Asia Pacific region will continue to be the catalyst in both Resource Industries as well as construction, owing to increased infrastructure and residential investment in China.

Also, leading indicators of U.S. construction signal robust conditions ahead that bodes well for Caterpillar. The company’s efforts to reduce costs will help boost margins.

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

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI – Free Report) and Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR – Free Report).

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

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About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year.See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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