The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Alphabet, Procter & Gamble, Linde, Comcast and Elevance Health

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 24, 2023 – 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: Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, The Procter & Gamble Co. PG, Linde plc LIN, Comcast Corporation CMCSA and Elevance Health, Inc. ELV.

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Top Analyst Reports for Alphabet, Procter & Gamble and Linde

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 Alphabet Inc., The Procter & Gamble Co. and Linde plc. 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 >>>

Alphabets shares have outperformed the broader market this year (+36.3% vs. +18.9% for the S&P 500 index), though they have performed essentially in-line with the Zacks Tech sector. The company’s strong cloud division is aiding substantial revenue growth. Moreover, expanding data centers will continue to bolster its presence in the cloud space. Further, major updates in its search segment are enhancing the search results.

Also, a strong focus on innovation of AI techniques and the home automation space should help business growth in the long term. Further, its deepening focus on wearables category remains a tailwind. Also, Alphabet’s expanding presence in the autonomous driving space is contributing well. Its growing efforts to gain foothold in the healthcare industry are other positives. We expect to hear more about the company’s AI efforts on the Q2 earnings call on July 25th.

However, the sluggishness in the company’s advertisement business remains a major headwind. Also, its growing litigation issues and increasing expenses are concerns.

(You can read the full research report on Alphabet here >>>)

Shares of Procter & Gamble have modestly outperformed the Zacks Soap and Cleaning Materials industry over the past six months (+8.1% vs. +7.2%). The company continued its robust top and bottom-line surprise trend for the third consecutive quarter in third-quarter fiscal 2023. Also, sales and earnings grew year over year.

The company’s organic sales grew, driven by robust pricing and a favorable mix, along with strength across segments. It has been focused on productivity and cost-saving plans to boost margins. Consequently, it raised the sales view to 1% growth compared to our estimate of a 1.1% rise for fiscal 2023.

However, the company has been witnessing supply-chain issues, higher transportation costs, geopolitical challenges, currency headwinds and rising inflation. As a result, the company retained its drab earnings view for fiscal 2023. Also, an unfavorable currency has been a concern.

(You can read the full research report on Procter & Gamble here >>>)

Linde shares have outperformed the Zacks Chemical – Specialty industry over the past year (+35.6% vs. +14.9%). The company is making the world more productive by the day with a wide range of applications for its industrial gases. Linde’s primary product in industrial gases includes oxygen, which is used as life support in hospitals.

Linde has long-term contracts with on-site customers backed by minimum purchase requirements, thereby securing stable cash flows. In the profitable industrial gas market, the merger of Praxair and Linde has created an efficient player with considerable size advantages.

However, declining free cash flow is a concern, reflecting weakness in operating activities. Moreover, the company is extremely vulnerable to uncertainties associated with the slowdown of economic growth, as this could hurt the demand for its industrial gases.

(You can read the full research report on Linde here >>>)

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Comcast Corporation and Elevance Health, Inc.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets were identified and described or would be profitable. All information is current as of the date herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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