Tag: STOCKS & FUNDS

The largest US mobile operator Verizon Communications in the second quarter increased its net profit by 22.9%, revenue by 10.9%. Revenue reached $ 33.764 billion against $ 30.447 billion a year earlier. Net income in April-June rose to $ 5.949 billion, or $ 1.4 per share, up from $ 4.839 billion, or $ 1.14 per share, in the same period last year. Earnings excluding one-off factors were $ 1.37 per share. The market consensus was for adjusted earnings of $ 1.3 per share on $ 32.8 billion in revenues.

Tilray released its results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2022, which ended August 31. The company’s revenue increased by 250% compared to the first quarter of last year to $ 168 million. However, the figure was 3% less than our consensus due to the fact that the company still feels pressure on its business due to the Covid pandemic. However, according to the press release, in-store traffic is starting to grow markedly, which gives confidence in the short term. The management announced that it continues to implement the program to reduce costs and is already close to achieving the planned target. In annual terms, Tilray managed to save about $ 55 million from the planned $ 80 million.

We are raising our valuation for Costco Wholesale from $ 440 to $ 520 per share. The company reported strong results in September. Like-for-like sales rose 14.3% year-on-year, with a 14.6% increase in the US. Global traffic to Costco stores increased 7.2% yoy, including 7.4% in the US. We have a positive outlook for Costco’s business and believe that the company is able to continue to grow its market share through a broad product portfolio and competitive pricing policy. The company continues to expand its club program, which allows Costco to grow steadily through an annual membership fee. Membership customers rose to 91.3% in the US and 88.7% in Canada, an all-time high.

We begin coverage of Li-Cycle, a pioneer in the North American lithium-ion battery recycling market, which we believe will grow as the transition to electric vehicles accelerates. Recycling lithium-ion batteries partly solves the global supply disruption caused by the pandemic and helps reduce the risk of millions of tons of spent batteries ending up in landfills. We estimate the fair value of Li-Cycle shares at $ 15.

PepsiCo increased its revenue by 11.6% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021, but reduced its bottom line. Revenue increased to $ 20.19 billion from $ 18.09 billion, outperforming the market consensus of $ 19.39 billion. The company posted moderate revenue growth in North America, while revenues in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia skyrocketed by 27-33%. The Covid factor continues to weigh on the company’s earnings. Thus, the company’s net income for the twelve weeks ended September 4 was $ 2.22 billion, or $ 1.6 per share, compared with $ 2.29 billion, or $ 1.65 per share, received in the comparable period a year earlier. Earnings excluding one-off factors were $ 1.79 per share, better than market consensus of $ 1.73 per share.

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Netflix shares gained more than 5% yesterday, hitting an all-time high. The growth in the company’s capitalization occurred against an overall positive background, as well as improved market forecasts relative to quarterly results, which are due to be published on October 19. We are also optimistic and expect the number of paid subscribers to increase by 3.63 million in July-September, compared with management’s forecast of 3.5 million, as autumn is a seasonally favorable period for the company’s subscriber base growth. In addition, we admit that the prolonged Covid factor can lead to more positive results that may exceed even our expectations. Recall that in April-June, the number of subscribers to paid services increased by 1.54 million to 209.18 million, while at the end of April Netflix assumed that the increase would be only 1 million.

The spread of the new delta strain affected US scheduled operations in Q3, so we cut our MedDevice sales forecast for the previous quarter by $ 157 million. In the diagnostics division, weak quarterly data on major items will be more than offset by growth in revenue from sales of Covid tests. Thus, we raised our Diagnostics division’s quarterly revenue estimate to $ 184 million and maintained our valuation for the campaign’s stock at $ 140. Overall, we expect Abbott’s 3Q financials to outperform market expectations, so we assume that our outlook is somewhat conservative. The company will publish reports on October 20.

Darden Restaurants in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 increased its net profit more than sixfold and raised its annual forecast. Revenue increased to $ 2.306 billion from $ 1.527 billion a year earlier. Net income for the quarter ended Aug. 29 was $ 230.9 million, or $ 1.75 per share, compared to $ 36.1 million, or $ 0.28 per share, in the comparable period last year. Market consensus predicted earnings of $ 1.64 per share on revenues of $ 2.24 billion. Darden Restaurants will pay out $ 1.1 per share in dividends, as it did a quarter earlier. The register of shareholders will close on October 8, payments will begin on November 1.

Nike increased its revenue by 16% in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, which was below expectations and caused a drop in the company’s share price. The indicator rose to $ 12.248 billion against $ 10.594 billion a year earlier. Excluding changes in exchange rates, it increased by 12%. Net income in June-August was $ 1.874 billion, or $ 1.16 per share, compared to $ 1.518 billion, or $ 0.95 per share in the same period last year. Market consensus assumed the company’s earnings at $ 1.12 per share on revenue of $ 12.5 billion. Online sales of the company in the last quarter increased by 28%, reaching $ 4.7 billion.

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Salesforce.com has improved its revenue forecast for fiscal 2022, which ends in January 2022. The company expects to generate revenues in the range of $ 26.25-26.35 billion, up from the expected $ 26.2-26.3 billion at the end of August. Salesforce intends to increase revenue to $ 31.65-31.8 billion in fiscal 2023 on an operating margin 3-3.5%. By comparison, in fiscal 2021, the company’s revenue grew by 24% to $ 21.25 billion. We are raising our target value for the company’s shares from $ 300 to $ 325.