Chicago, IL – October 29, 2024 – 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 Novartis AG NVS, Reddit Inc. RDDT and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. CHKP.
We are in the first half of the third-quarter 2024 earnings season. So far, the results have come in line with expectations. Market participants are closely monitoring the third-quarter results to draw conclusions on the health of the U.S. economy.
Several U.S. corporate behemoths will report next week. Market participants’ focus’ will be on five of the “Magnificent 7” stocks that will report their quarterly financial numbers. Apart from these next-generation investors’ darlings of Wall Street, several large-cap stocks will also report earnings results this week.
These stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank are set to beat on earnings. Investing in them should prove lucrative as they are expected to see their stock prices move northward in the near term. Three such stocks are — Novartis AG, Reddit Inc. and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
As of Friday, 182 companies of the broad-market index — the S&P 500 — have reported their quarterly financial numbers. Total earnings of these companies are down 2.1% year over year on 4.5% higher revenues, with 75.8% beating earnings per share (EPS) estimates and 58.8% beating revenue estimates.
Looking at the third quarter as a whole, total earnings for the S&P 500 Index are expected to be up 1.5% from the same period last year on 5% higher revenues. This follows 10.2% year-over-year EPS growth on 5.5% higher revenues in the previous quarter.
Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
We have narrowed our search to three large-cap stocks set to report earnings results tomorrow. Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better (Rank #1 or 2) and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are anticipated to appreciate after their earnings release. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Novartis’ performance has been impressive year to date with sales growth in almost all key drugs. The rise in operating income guidance, along with robust second-quarter results, indicates strong momentum across all key brands in the upcoming quarters.
NVS maintains strong momentum on the back of a strong and diverse portfolio with drugs like Entresto, Kesimpta, Kisqali, Cosentyx, Pluvicto and Leqvio. With the separation of Sandoz, Novartis is now focused on expanding its drug business.
The uptake of Pluvicto and Scemblix has been outstanding and should fuel top-line growth of NVS. The recent spate of acquisitions has strengthened NVS’ pipeline and should diversify its portfolio further. NVS has an Earnings ESP of +1.51%. The company will report on Oct 29, before the opening bell.
For third-quarter 2024, the Zacks Consensus Estimate currently shows revenues of $12.62 billion, suggesting an improvement of 7.1% year over year and earnings per share of $1.94, indicating an increase of 11.5% year over year. The company pulled off positive earnings surprises in three of the last four reported quarters and missed in the other, delivering an average beat of 1.3%.
Moreover, Novartis has witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions for 2024 in the last 30 days. At present, the Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a year-over-year increase of 0.5% and 9.1%, respectively, for revenues and EPS in 2024. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues and EPS reflects an upside of 5.4% and 10.1%, respectively.
Reddit operates a website that organizes digital communities. RDDT organizes communities based on specific interests that enable users to engage in conversations by sharing experiences, submitting links, uploading images and videos, and replying to one another. RDDT has an Earnings ESP of +37.55%. The company will report on Oct 29, after the closing bell.
For third-quarter 2024, the Zacks Consensus Estimate currently shows revenues of $313.5 million and earnings per share of -$0.07. The company pulled off positive earnings surprises in two of the last four reported quarters and missed in the others, with the average beat being 201.9%.
Moreover, Reddit has witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions for 2024 in the last seven days. At present, the Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a year-over-year increase of 49% for revenues in 2024. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues and EPS reflects an upside of 24.7% and more than 100%, respectively.
Check Point Software Technologies is benefiting from the adoption of cloud solutions, aided by strong demand for its advanced solutions, primarily CloudGuard, Harmony, Sandblast Zero-day threat prevention and Infinity solutions. Increased demands for network security gateways to support higher capacities are aiding the adoption of CHKP’s remote access VPN solutions.
Acquisitions have helped CHKP broaden its portfolio and enter into newer markets, which have eventually driven its revenues. Several Infinity deals in various industries, including government, telecommunication and industrial, were positives in the last reported quarter. CHKP has an Earnings ESP of +1.26%. The company will report on Oct 29, before the opening bell.
For third-quarter 2024, the Zacks Consensus Estimate currently shows revenues of $635.43 million, suggesting an improvement of 6.6% year over year and earnings per share of $2.25, indicating an increase of 8.7% year over year. The company delivered positive earnings surprises in each of the last four reported quarters, with the average beat being 2.2%.
Moreover, Check Point Software Technologies has witnessed positive earnings estimate revisions for 2024 in the last 30 days. At present, the Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a year-over-year increase of 6.2% and 7.8%, respectively, for revenues and EPS in 2024. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 revenues and EPS reflects an upside of 5.7% and 10.6%, respectively.
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