C.R. Bard (BCR) To Report Q3 Earnings: What's In The Cards?

CR Bard Inc. (NYSE:BCR) is scheduled to report third-quarter 2016 earnings on Oct 25. Last quarter, the company reported earnings of $2.56 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.46 by 4.07%.

Notably, the company’s earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, by an average of 3.63%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this quarter.

Factors at Play

We believe that the growing adoption of Lutonix drug coated-balloon (DCB) will continue to be the key growth catalyst for Bard. Lutonix DCB, an angioplasty balloon coated with a therapeutic dose of the drug paclitaxel, is used to treat patients suffering from peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Improving reimbursement rates also bode well for the product. Moreover, the company's continued investments in emerging markets have strengthened its position internationally and are reaping accretive returns.

However, the company continues to witness significant pricing pressure, which is a headwind. Also, unfavorable foreign currency will continue to hurt top- and bottom-line growth.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that CR Bard is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: CR Bard has an earnings ESP of 0.00%. That is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at $2.55 per share.

Zacks Rank: CR Bard carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) , with an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Additionally, the stock represents a stellar one-year return of 52.7%.

Exelixis Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) , with an Earnings ESP of +7.69% and a Zacks Rank #1. Notably, the company has a stupendous one-year return of 99.7%.

Glaukos Corp. (NYSE:GKOS) has an Earnings ESP of +200.00% and a Zacks Rank #1. We note that the company represents an impressive one-year return of 58.83%.

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