Chicago, IL – March 5, 2025 – Zacks Equity Research shares Pacira BioSciences PCRX as the Bull of the Day and Golden Entertainment GDEN as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on — Barclays BCS, NatWest Group NWG and Mr. Cooper Group COOP.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Yes, the market has certainly seen its share of volatility recently. It’s led to some treacherous slides in equity prices. It seems that the high beta names are really getting slapped down. In most cases, the mega caps have stood in relatively well. Tuesday’s move to the 200-day on the S&P 500 brought out the bargain shoppers too. Many stocks managed to push into positive territory.
On a bounce from those lows, resist the urge to buy everything that moves. Rather, look for stocks with strong earnings trends which have retreated to support. One way to find these is by leaning on the time-tested ability of the Zacks Rank. Stocks in the good graces of our Zacks Rank have the best earnings trends recently, which could set investors up for success when the market turns back up.
Once such stock is today’s Bull of the Day, Pacira BioSciences. Pacira BioSciences, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of non-opioid pain management and regenerative health solutions to healthcare practitioners in the United States.
Pacira is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) in the Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry which ranks in the Top 29% of our Zacks Industry Rank. The reason for the favorable rank stems from analysts’ reaction to its last earnings report. For the third consecutive quarter, the company’s earnings beat expectations. The 5-cent beat was enough to see two analysts raise their earnings estimates for the current year and next year. The bullish sentiment pushed up our Zacks Consensus Estimates for the current year from $2.67 to $3.59 and next year’s number up from $3.01 to $4.30.
That sets current year earnings growth at 11.84%, with next year’s number accelerating to 19.79% growth. That puts Pacira at a PE of just 6.39x earnings. That’s on revenue growth of 7.2% this year and 9.95% next year.
This has been a rough market for equities recently, no question. So many stocks have been under pressure. Sometimes, the broad market dumps an industry because there’ simply nowhere to hide. But sometimes, it’s for reasons that are lurking under the surface that investors might not be aware of. Stocks which have the weakest earnings trends are at the bottom of our Zacks Rank. It doesn’t make them “bad stocks” it just means that their earnings are trending in the wrong direction, and investors should take note.
Today’s Bear of the Day is one such stock like this, It’s Golden Entertainment. Golden Entertainment Golden Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates a diversified entertainment platform in the United States. The company operates through four segments; Nevada Casino Resorts, Nevada Locals Casinos, Nevada Taverns, and Distributed Gaming. It also operates casino, casino resorts, and taverns; and slot machines in third party non-casino locations.
Unfortunately, the stock is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). The reason being, three analysts have cut their earnings estimates for the current year and next year. The bearish moves have slashed our Zacks Consensus Estimates for the current year from 85 cents to 61 cents. Next year’s number is off from $1.05 to 88 cents over the last month. That means that the company is now forecast to see earnings contract by 64% this year. The good news is, next year there is a return to growth at 44%.
The Gaming industry is in the Top 35% of our Zacks Industry Rank. There are several names within the industry that are actually in the good graces of our Zacks Rank.
U.S. stocks wrapped up February on a grim note as heightened macro-economic uncertainty engrossed the U.S. stock market. All three major indices fell sharply in February. The S&P 500 declined 2%, whereas the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 2.8%.
Despite the weakness in the stock market, the Financial Services sector was among the top five best-performing sectors, rising 1.7% in February.
Hence, we have selected three finance stocks — Barclays, NatWest Group and Mr. Cooper Group — which performed impressively in February and outperformed the S&P 500 Index.
The U.S. stock markets have stumbled over the past few weeks amid mounting concerns about the economic health and uncertainty about the impacts of policies being pursued by the Trump administration.
The market is reeling under Trump's fast-paced trade policy. President Trump has raised tariffs on China imports to 20%. Trump has also threatened tariffs on the European Union, and ordered a 25% import tax on steel and aluminum. Further, 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect today. These tariffs are likely to increase inflation, hindering economic growth.
In January 2025, inflation rose 2.5% from 2.6% in December 2024. Though inflation has declined slightly, it is likely to remain high in the near term, which will lead the central bank to pursue a cautious approach toward interest rate cuts.
Though the weakness in the stock market is exerting pressure on finance stocks, these three selected stocks are fundamentally strong and are expected to gain from the Fed rate cuts, potential deregulation and lower tax rates. The stocks have a market cap of $7 billion or more and currently sport a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Barclays: The company has been striving to simplify operations and focus on core businesses. In February 2025, it divested its Germany-based consumer finance business. In November 2024, BCS acquired Tesco’s retail banking business. The move is expected to complement its existing business and strengthen its market position.
Its cost-mitigating efforts are expected to continue supporting bottom-line growth. The company aims to achieve gross efficiency savings of £0.5 billion in 2025. By 2026 end, management expects total gross efficiency savings of £2 billion.
BCS’ 2025 and 2026 earnings are expected to grow 9.8% and 25.9% year over year, respectively. It currently sports a Zacs Rank #1 and has a market cap of $57.11 billion.
NatWest: This operates as a banking and financial services company. NWG provides personal and business banking, consumer loans, asset and invoice finances, commercial and residential mortgages, credit cards and financial planning services, as well as life, personal and income protection insurance.
In December 2024, Natwest announced that it was set to launch its first Fintech Growth Programme, an exciting opportunity for fintech startups to use the resources, expertise and networks of an established high-street bank to help them scale up sustainably. Throughout 2024, the company has made good progress against its strategic priorities by growing all three of its customer businesses, improving productivity and actively managing capital.
By 2025 end, NWG expects to achieve a return on tangible equity of 15-16%. By 2027, the metric is expected to be greater than 15%.
Natwest’s 2025 and 2026 earnings are expected to rise 7% and 13.7% year over year, respectively. It sports a Zacks Rank of 1 and has a market cap of $49.3 billion.
Mr. Cooper Group: The company has been growing through acquisitions and mergers, supporting its financials. In November 2024, Mr. Cooper Group acquired Flagstar Bank N.A.’s mortgage operations. The transaction included the acquisition of MSRs, advances, sub-servicing contracts and Flagstar’s third-party origination platform for $1.3 billion in cash. This, along with other transactions, will keep supporting the company’s financials.
The company’s rising liquidity position will support the capital distribution moves. Mr. Cooper Group exited the fourth quarter with total assets of $18.9 billion, increasing 16% sequentially. Cash and cash equivalents were $753 million, up 2.8% sequentially.
COOP’s 2025 and 2026 earnings are expected to grow 27% and 18.3% year over year, respectively. It carries a Zacks Rank of 2 and has a market cap of $7.2 billion.
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Barclays PLC (BCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Pacira BioSciences, Inc. (PCRX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Golden Entertainment, Inc. (GDEN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
MR. COOPER GROUP INC (COOP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NatWest Group plc (NWG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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