For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – December 18, 2020 – 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: PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL, Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) Inc. SHOP, BP (NYSE:BP) p.l.c. BP, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), Inc. GILD and The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) SO.
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Research Reports for PayPal, Shopify and BP
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including PayPal, Shopify and BP p.l.c. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
PayPal shares have outperformed the Zacks Internet Software industry in the year to date period (+118.5% vs. +107.9%). The Zacks analyst believes that PayPal is benefiting from robust growth in total payments volume owing to increasing net new active accounts.
Further, strengthening customer engagement on the company’s platform is a major positive. Furthermore, Venmo’s improving monetization efforts and rising adoption rate across various platforms are aiding the total active accounts. Additionally, growing momentum of core peer to peer and PayPal Checkout experiences is a tailwind.
Also, benefits from Honey buyout are positives. However, increasing credit loss reserves owing to macroeconomic projections on account of coronavirus is a serious matter of concern. Further, intensifying digital payment competition is a risk.
(You can read the full research report on PayPal here >>>)
Shares of Shopify have gained +198.2% over the past year against the Zacks Internet Services industry’s gain of +32.8%. The Zacks analyst believes that Shopify is well poised to gain from the e-commerce boom along with growth in the merchant base as well as increases in buying of essential items due to COVID-19 led lockdowns and shelter-in-place guidelines.
Robust uptick in Shopify Shipping, Shopify Payments and Shopify Capital will drive the top line. Further, solid adoption of new merchant-friendly applications amid evolving retail environments hold promise. Additionally, partnerships with TikTok, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) are expected to expand merchant base, going ahead.
Also, initiatives aimed at international expansion are noteworthy. However, higher investments on product development and fulfillment platforms amid stiff competition in the e-commerce space are likely to limit margin expansion in the near term.
(You can read the full research report on Shopify here >>>)
BP’s shares have lost -7.5% over the past six months against the Zacks International Integrated Oil industry’s rise of +1.7%. The Zacks analyst believes that weak refining marker margin & declining refinery throughput since the coronavirus pandemic has dented fuel demand have been affecting downstream business.
Meanwhile, BP has a strong portfolio of upstream projects, which has been backing impressive production growth. Since 2016, BP has placed several key upstream projects online. All the key projects BP has been delivering over the years backed the company to post record production levels.
The company also plans to boost capital spending on renewable power business as most oil companies in Europe have decided to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, and focusing on clean energy. However, the company’s balance sheet has more debt exposure as compared with its peers.
(You can read the full research report on BP here >>>)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Gilead Sciences and Southern.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>
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Southern Company The (SO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD): Free Stock Analysis Report
BP p.l.c. (BP): Free Stock Analysis Report
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Shopify Inc. (SHOP): Free Stock Analysis Report
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