The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Advanced Micro Devices, Ambarella, NRG Energy and Entergy

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 30, 2019 – 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: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD, Ambarella Inc. AMBA, NRG Energy, Inc. NRG, and Entergy Corp. ETR

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

S&P 500 at All-Time High on Hopes of Trade Progress, Rate Cut

Washington and Beijing are looking to settle the tariff war that has been roiling the global economy for more than a year. Notably, the phase-one negotiation is progressing well and analysts are expecting the countries to resolve more knotty issues in phase two.

In addition to trade optimism, hopes for a third Fed rate cut since July have propelled stocks higher. While the S&P 500 recently hit an all-time high mark, Nasdaq closed just below its record.

Promising Progress on Phase-One Trade Deal

The United States and China have made promising progress so far on the phase-one trade agreement and the big economies are expecting to nail down the deal next month. After a high-level telephonic conversation on Friday, the countries stated that they are very close to finalizing some sections of the accord.

Per the consensus reached by both the sides, Washington will be importing cooked poultry and catfish products from Beijing, while the world’s second-largest economy will remove restrictions on American poultry, said the Commerce Ministry of China.

Market is not expecting any hindrance for the phase one deal. This is because China has already commenced the purchase of more agricultural products from the United States, courtesy of the countries’ initial step, taken on Oct 11, to dial down hostilities on the trade front. Precisely, China had agreed to purchase $40 billion to $50 billion of agricultural products from America and open up its financial markets to encourage foreign investments. In exchange, the United States had foregone its planned tariff increase, which was scheduled on Oct 15, on $250 billion in Chinese goods.

Possible October Rate Cut

Apart from promising progress in the phase one trade deal, the Federal Reserve’ possible rate cut in Oct 29-30 meeting is also aiding the Wall Street. Earlier in October, the market witnessed a series of weak economic data which investors believe will convince the Fed to lower its benchmark rate for the third time in 2019.  Importantly, markets are betting heavily on a federal funds rate cut of 25 basis points this time around so that the benchmark rate will lie in the band of 1.50% to 1.75%, per CME's FedWatch tool.

It is to be noted that while lending growth of the country’s biggest banks like Bank of America and Citigroup has slowed in third-quarter 2019 as compared to the prior quarter, JPMorgan has witnessed a drop in lending. Thus, the Federal Reserve's recent interest rate cuts, aimed at encouraging consumers to spend more by borrowing, unfortunately was a failed attempt to boost the economy.

Moreover, retail sales in the United States declined 0.3% in September from August. This marked the first monthly decline since February, paving the way for another rate cut by the Fed.

Stocks to Make the Most

It is a good time to invest in trade-sensitive tech stocks since investors are betting high on a phase-one trade deal next month. Moreover, if the Fed cuts rates, it will favor utility firms since their businesses require significant debt financing. In order to deliver gas, electricity and water, utility companies are required to build power plants and maintain massive infrastructure.

We have shortlisted four such stocks carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Santa Clara, CA-based Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is a leading semiconductor company with significant China revenue exposure. In 2019, the Zacks #2 Ranked company is likely to see promising earnings growth of 37%.

Ambarella Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, is a semiconductor design company with considerable sales exposure to China. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Rank #2 company has seen significant positive earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2020.

NRG Energy, Inc., headquartered in Princeton, NJ, is involved in generating electricity to serve commercial and residential customers. The company, with a Zacks Rank of 1, is likely to see earnings growth of 63% and 40% in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Based in New Orleans, LA, Entergy Corp. is mainly engaged in generating and distributing electricity. The company, with a Zacks Rank of 2, has an average positive earnings surprise of 10.8% for the past four quarters. In the next five years, the stock is likely to see earnings growth of 7%, marginally outperforming the industry’s 6.7%.

Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit Potential

The biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.

Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +98%, +119% and +164% in as little as 1 month. The stocks in this report could perform even better.

See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>

Media Contact

Zacks Investment Research

800-767-3771 ext. 9339

support@zacks.com                    

https://www.zacks.com

 

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 identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of 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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Entergy Corporation (ETR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Ambarella, Inc. (AMBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.