Today's must-read reports are for Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) (ORCL), Disney (DIS) , and Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT).
The market's positive reaction to Oracle's mixed earnings report after the close on Thursday - they missed the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate, but came out ahead on revenues - is kind of a sigh of relief; it could have been worse. That said, the company offered reassuring guidance and appears to be making steady progress in its cloud transition. The Zacks analyst discusses the pros and cons of the Oracle story in the research report linked nearby.
Disney's big Shanghai inauguration was partly overshadowed by the sad headlines out of Florida where a two-year boy fell victim to an alligator at the company's resort. But the company has high hopes from its new Chinese theme park, which allows it to market its offerings to that country's growing middle class. In the research report, linked nearby, the Zacks analyst discusses the growth promise of Disney's movie business and investors' ESPN concerns.
The Central Garden report, linked near-by in the 'must-read reports section, has been isued to reflect the rating upgrade to Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy). The upgrade reflects the company's positive earnings momentum following its quarterly results, with estimates for this year and next steadily going up.
Other noteworthy reports today include Twitter (TWTR), Monsanto (NYSE:MON) (MON), and Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW) (DOW) . You can access all of today's research reports issued by the Zacks analyst team here
Today's Must Read
Featured Reports
1.tHeadline: Dow Chemical (DOW) Gets Saudi License
The chemical giant becomes the foreign company in the kingdom to get a trading license.
Research Report on Twitter (TWTR)
The analyst discusses the pros and cons of investing in Twitter shares at present.
North American Volumes Improve for Coca Cola (KO)
In this updated research report, the analyst discusses the positive impact of increased marketing spending on Coke's improving North American volumes.
Xerox's (NYSE:XRX) New BPO Unit to be Named Conduent
The company recently announced that its business process outsourcing unit will be called Conduent, with the document technology unit retaining the legacy name.
BBT Corp. (BBT) Held Back for Tough Backdrop
The analyst explains how this major regional bank has done an excellent job of growing its loan portfolio, but suffers because of the interest rate backdrop
New Upgrades
Reynolds American (NYSE:RAI) Remains a Buy
The analyst discusses the strong momentum in the company's diversified business portfolio.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) upgraded to Buy
The company is benefiting from renewal of the .com contract and price hikes for the .com and .net domain names.
New Downgrades
Dillard's (DDS) is a Strong Sell
The downgrade to Zacks Rank # 5 (Strong Sell) reflects negative estimate revisions due to margin pressures and weakness in merchandise sales.
Ralph Lauren's (NYSE:RL) Tough Road Ahead
A host of near-term challenges lie ahead for Ralph Lauren as it tries to steady its floundering ship.
TWITTER INC (TWTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
ORACLE CORP (ORCL): Free Stock Analysis Report
MONSANTO CO-NEW (MON): Free Stock Analysis Report
DOW CHEMICAL (DOW): Free Stock Analysis Report
DISNEY WALT (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
CENTRAL GARDEN (CENT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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