Top Research Reports For Cisco, Merck & MasterCard

Wednesday, December 7 2016

Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including MasterCard (MA), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Cisco (CSCO).

Buy rated MasterCard shares have struggled this year, but they have performed relatively better compared to Visa (V) and its broacer peer group. The company remains well positioned for growth on the back of its solid market position, ongoing expansion and digital initiatives and significant opportunities from the secular shift towards electronic payments. Notably, the company has filed for four Blockchain patents as it tries to integrate blockchain-based transactions in its own systems. The proposed acquisition of a major stake in VocaLink will strengthen its electronic payment capabilities. Further, the latest dividend hike & share buyback program reaffirmed MasterCard’s commitment to enhance shareholders' value. However, escalating costs, a challenging forex environment and legal issues remain concerns. (You can read the full research report on MasterCard here>>)

Merck shares have gained more than 14% year-to-date on the back of strong momentum in its product pipeline. The company's better than expected Q3 results and positive guidance also added to the momentum as well. The analyst likes Merck’s new products, especially Keytruda, which should continue to contribute meaningfully to the top line. The latest FDA approval of Keytruda for the first line treatment of metastatic lung cancer should sharply improve the drug’s sales. Merck has also made significant progress with its pipeline and is working on bringing new products to the market. However, generic competition and pricing pressure will continue to pressurize the top line. (You can read the full research report on Merck here>>)

Cisco shares have lost ground following the mixed quarterly report, but the stock is still up more than 8% in the year-to-date period and continues to lead the broader technology space. In the updated research report issued today, the Zacks analyst covering the stock highlights Cisco’s expanding footprint in the rapidly growing security and data center market. Moreover, partnerships with the likes of Pure Storage, salesforce.com and IBM (NYSE:IBM) will help Cisco to gain significant traction in the data center, cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) market in the long haul. (You can read the full research report on Cisco here>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC), AstraZeneca (AZN) and NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE).

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Sheraz Mian

Director of Research

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