The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Caterpillar, Microsoft, Thermo Fisher, Alcoa And PNC Financial

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 14, 2016 – 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 Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) (NYSE:CAT-Free Report),Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) (NASDAQ:MSFT-Free Report),Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO-Free Report),Alcoa (NYSE:AA) (NYSE:AA-Free Report) andPNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) (NYSE:PNC -Free Report).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

New Research Reports for Microsoft, Caterpillar and Thermo Fisher

We are featuring 16 new research reports in today's Research Daily, including analyst-written reports on buy-rated Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT -Free Report), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT -Free Report) and Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO -Free Report).

Caterpillar shares have struggled over the last few years as a result of the commodity bust and weak global spending on infrastructure and construction. But after bottoming earlier this year, the stock has had an impressive run up (up more than 28% year-to-date), with improving outlook for construction activities and management efforts to improve efficiencies and squeeze costs out of operations finally getting acknowledged. While the outlook for mining continues to be problematic, the construction has started showing signs of life, as recent data from the Asia Pacific region show. This is starting to show up in rising EPS estimates for this buy-rated stock. (You can read the full research report on Caterpillar here>>)

Microsoft shares have lagged the Tech sector and the broader market this year (the stock is up about 3% year-to-date), given continued headwinds in the PC space that has weighed on the Windows 10 adoption rates. But the company's efforts to reorganize and reposition its businesses hold long-term promise. Microsoft's cloud opportunity particularly stands out, with the company appearing to be emerging as a leader in this fast-growing space, alongside Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google's parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and others. The Zacks analyst also likes buy-rated Microsoft's enterprise strength, the Office 365 subscription model, Azure and promising new products in the augmented and virtual reality space. (You can read the full research report on Microsoft here>>)

Thermo Fisher shares have outperformed the broader medical sector (up more than 8% year-to-date), with the recently completed FEI Company acquisition expected to significantly facilitate the company’s performance in life-science research. The FEI acquisition followed the successful purchase and integration of Affimetrix that boosted the buy-rated Thermo Fisher's offerings in the fast-growing flow cytometry market. Fresh product launches, strong growth in emerging markets and an enhancement in the company’s customer value proposition are other positives. (You can read the full research report on Thermo Fisher here>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Alcoa (NYSE:AA -Free Report) and PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC -Free Report).

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You can find all of today's stock research reports here>>

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

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