Werner, Carlisle, Gilead, Intel, And Mattel As Zacks Bull And Bear Of The Day
Zacks Equity Research highlights Werner (WERN) as the Bull of the Day and Carlisle (CSL) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Gilead (GILD), Intel (INTC), and Mattel (MAT). Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.
Bull of the Day
It is earnings season. That means it is time for the cream to rise to the top and whatever isn’t cream to fall to the bottom. If it were only that easy, we would all be millionaires. But, the fact of the matter is, it is way harder than that to make money in the market. As such, we have to let our childish dreams subside as we ardently investigate the next potential game-changing investment one at a time.
One way to find the next big winner is to find stocks which have the strongest earnings trends. The thinking here is easy. Stocks with the strongest earnings trends tend to go up more than stocks which have weak trends. Companies that make more money over the long run give better returns to investors.
The Zacks Rank helps uncover stocks with the strongest earnings trends. While not a perfect science, it does offer us a bit of an edge. One such stock is today’s Bull of the Day, Werner. Werner Enterprises, Inc., a transportation and logistics company, engages in transporting truckload shipments of general commodities in interstate and intrastate commerce in the United States, Mexico, Canada, China, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Truckload Transportation Services and Werner Logistics.
Werner has the rare distinction of being a Zacks Rank #1 that also has a VGM Composite Score of A. Add to that, the Transportation – Truck industry is in the Top 2% of our Zacks Industry Rank. The reason for the favorable rank is the series of positive earnings revisions coming from analysts.
Over the last 30 days, five analysts have increased their earnings expectations for the current year, as well as next year. That has pushed up our Zacks Consensus Estimate from $1.95 to $2.42 for the current year, and from $2.35 to $2.87 for next year.
Bear of the Day
Disappointing stocks are everywhere. With the market chopping around, worried about Pelosi vs Mnuchin, we need a deal done now. Actually, it should have happened six months ago, but I digress.
This brings to mind something I like to call the Bear of the Day. Now, before you get upset with me for calling out what is inevitably your favorite stock, bear with me for a moment.
The Bear of the Day, to me, is not necessarily a stock you should run away from. Merely, what I try to do here is shed some light on a situation. Maybe you are a long-term shareholder wondering why, or maybe you are a timid shareholder that hasn’t yet made the leap. I am not here to steer you either way, but rather, to bring to light something you may not have known.
The Zacks Rank allows me to do so. Rather than take thousands of hours to analyze each and every stock on Earth, I take the easy route and allow Zacks to do the heavy lifting. Based on earnings estimate revisions from analysts on Wall Street, I make my decision.
Today’s Bear of the Day is Zacks Rank #5 Carlisle. Carlisle Companies Incorporated operates as a diversified manufacturer of engineered products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally.
The reason for the unfavorable Zacks Rank stems from recent negative earnings estimate revisions. Over the last week, two analysts have cut their numbers while one has shaved next year, too. The bearish moves have dropped the Zacks Consensus Estimates for the current year from $5.80 to $5.49 while next year’s number is off from $7.50 to $7.11.
Stimulus or No? Plus News from GILD, Earnings from INTC, & More
Market indexes swung to positive closes after yet another day where news on Capitol Hill brought promise of a stimulus relief package agreement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. On the one hand, we must credit the work being put into finding a compromise, especially so close to a General Election. On the other — haven’t we been here before?
Of course, everyone hopes an agreement can be reached with how many struggling small businesses and family units are in danger of insolvency. Thus, The Dow rose 0.54% on the day, +153 points; the S&P 500 was up 0.52%, +18%; the Nasdaq pulled up the rear, +0.19% or 21.3 points. This was another day we saw the small-cap Russell 2000 index outpace the larger indexes, +1.65% on the day, which is its best single trading day in more than two weeks.
Gilead shares are up 4% in late trading on an announcement that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted full approval to its remdesivir treatment, which is used in the treatment of COVID-19. The treatment, with the brand name Viklury, was one of the drugs President Trump had received in his recovery from the coronavirus three weeks ago in which he displayed symptoms of the disease, but only for a handful of days. Viklury had initially only won FDA approval for emergency use.
If this news comes as something of a surprise, you may be remembering the recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO) in its study of remdesivir, which called into question the treatment’s overall effectiveness. Yet the FDA’s news is providing a boost to Gilead, which remains well off its late-April peak on the first reports released in association with the company’s COVID-19 treatment.
Intel shares, on the other hand, have sold off 10% in late trading on a slight beat on the bottom line and surpassing revenue estimates. Earnings of $1.11 per share topped the Zacks consensus by a penny, while $18.33 billion in sales was neatly above the $18.21 billion analysts had expected. Guidance for Q4 earnings were also slightly ahead of current estimates for the company. So why the sell-off?
The devil is in the details, as they say: while its PC units rose in the quarter to $9.8 billion, this is the more antiquated business to which Intel caters. The Data Center business, at $5.9 billion in the quarter, was lower than analysts were looking for. Gross Margin fell notably and Server ASPs were way off pace. Also consider, Intel has not missed on earnings in almost seven years; a one-cent beat might be considered a miss to a company with that level of performance.
Mattel, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated toy manufacturer, has a different story to tell: 95 cents per share was about 2.5x the 38 cents expected, with sales of $1.63 billion blowing the doors off the $1.46 billion in the Zacks consensus. Low inventories, with growth in Dolls and Games in the quarter, helped spur the good news ahead of Q4 holiday season. Shares are up 6% on the earnings report.
Disclosure: Zacks.com contains statements and statistics that have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. References to any specific ...
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