Investment Analysts’ updated eps estimates for Thursday, August 10th:
Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:AGTC) was given a $16.00 price target by analysts at HC Wainwright. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a buy rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “Shares of Alexandria outperformed the industry it belongs to, year to date. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2017 funds from operations (FFO) per share moved north over the past seven days. Notably, the company’s second-quarter 2017 adjusted FFO per share came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and was up 10.3% year over year. Results indicate solid growth in rental rate and strong leasing metrics. The company enjoys high occupancy, stemmed by elevated demand for its Class A properties in premium locations. Also, robust cash flow and solid balance sheet are its strengths. Further, in July, the company announced the creation of the Alexandria Center for AgTech – RTP. It is the initial phase of a premier multi-tenant mega campus in the Research Triangle Park, NC. However, earnings-dilutive impact of disposition, rise in rate of interest and foreign currency fluctuations remain its concerns.”
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a buy rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “Cognizant's strong growth in the second-quarter can be attributed to its significant exposure to the fast-growing verticals like Financial Services and Healthcare. The company narrowed its top-line guidance for 2017, which reflects improved visibility. Moreover, the company raised its earnings guidance. We believe that the results and the guidance indicate the company’s ability in harnessing the ongoing digital transition. The company is significantly benefiting from accretive acquisitions. Cognizant has gained deep industry expertise and knowledge of the domains through partnerships with top firms like Microsoft and SAP. Moreover, this strategy has enabled the company to deliver more value to clients and capitalize on new opportunities. However, stiff competition in the IT services market is a concern.”
CEWE Stiftung & Co KGaA (ETR:CWC) was given a €92.00 ($108.24) price target by analysts at Berenberg Bank. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.
CyberArk Software (NASDAQ:CYBR) was upgraded by analysts at Summit Redstone from a hold rating to a buy rating.
Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a buy rating. Zacks Investment Research currently has $217.00 price target on the stock. According to Zacks, “Domino's Pizza’s second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.2% and climbed 34.7% year over year (y/y) on strong sales and a lower share count. Revenues rose 14.8% y/y to $628.6 million and topped the consensus mark by 2.5%. In fact, the company has been posting positive comps in domestic and international markets over the last several quarters. However, strength in domestic markets was overshadowed by weak international comps growth, particularly in Europe, in this quarter. Nevertheless, initiatives on the digital front, focus on re-imaging and other sales boosting strategies are expected to help regain the momentum. In addition, the company’s shares outpaced the industry year to date. Yet, higher labor costs and expenses related to initiatives might dent margins. Also, soft consumer spending environment in the U.S. restaurants space and adverse forex translation remain concerns.”
DXC Technology Company. (NYSE:DXC) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a sell rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “DXC Technology reported mixed first-quarter fiscal 2018 results, where in the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while the top line missed the same. The company also provided a modest guidance for fiscal 2018. The company is a result of merger between CSC and Enterprise Services Division of HPE. We believe that the merger has opened new avenues of growth for the combined company. Going ahead, following the footsteps of Computer Sciences, DXC Technology may be seen making strategic acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio, which should drive growth over the long run. Additionally, the company’s traction in the cloud and partnerships with HCL, AT&T, VMware and Microsoft are expected to drive growth, going forward. Nonetheless, rising interest expenses due to increased debt burden may dampen its profitability. Additionally, a challenging macroeconomic situation and uncertain IT spending environment remain other headwinds.”
E.On Se (FRA:EOAN) was given a €10.00 ($11.76) price target by analysts at S&P Global. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.
Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a sell rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “Foot Locker, which has underperformed the industry in the past three months, has been witnessing a downtrend in estimates. This is due to dismal first quarter performance and a not so encouraging outlook for the second quarter and fiscal 2017. Delay in tax refunds broke the positive earnings surprise streak of Foot Locker, as earnings missed the estimate in the first quarter. We further noticed that total sales and comps grew marginally in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, which is in sharp contrast to the company’s performance in fiscal 2016. Nevertheless, management is working on all aspects to attain mid-single digit earnings per share growth in fiscal 2017 backed by effective implementation of operational and financial initiatives. We believe that continuous exploitation of opportunities such as children’s business, shop-in-shop expansion, store banner.com business, store refurbishment and enhancement of assortments, bode well.”
Fuchs Petrolub SE (FRA:FPE) was given a €46.00 ($54.12) price target by analysts at Nord/LB. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.
Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JUNO) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a sell rating. According to Zacks, “Juno reported wider-than-expected loss in second-quarter 2017 with revenue beating estimates. The company suffered a huge setback with discontinuation of the development of cancer candidate, JCAR015, due to the toxicity witnessed in a phase II ROCKET study. Also, increased competition in the immunotherapy space is a matter of concern for the company as several companies are looking to bring these treatments to the market. Juno’s pipeline candidates are still a few steps away from approval and hence, any setback would weigh heavily on the stock. Shares of the company have also underperformed the industry in the last one year. However, the company remains on track with its pipeline and continues to pursue acquisitions and licensing agreements. The company’s deal with Celgene for global development and commercialization of immunotherapies is encouraging.”
Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a buy rating. They currently have $53.00 target price on the stock. According to Zacks, “Nordstrom’s shares have outperformed the broader industry in the last three months, as it has been gaining from focus on enhancing customer experience and productivity. Driven by these efforts, the company posted solid first-quarter fiscal 2017 earnings, which marked its fourth consecutive beat. The company is gaining from solid inventory management and operational efficiencies, along with sales growth in Nordstrom Rack and strong eCommerce performance. Further, recent contemplation of the Nordstrom family to buyout the company and going private, have aided share prices. However, the company’s top-line missed prediction while comps dipped in the fiscal first quarter. Moreover, volatile consumer behavior, sluggish store traffic and a tough retail environment remain concerns. Nonetheless, we commend Nordstrom’s strong brand image, cost saving initiatives, store expansion efforts and progress on 2020 strategy.”
LEG Immobilien AG (FRA:LEG) was given a €95.00 ($111.76) price target by analysts at Berenberg Bank. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.
Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a buy rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “In the past six months, shares of Pacific Biosciences underperformed the broader industry in terms of price. The company posted an unimpressive second quarter of fiscal 2017, registering wider-than-expected loss. Of the other concerns, the DNA sequencing market is highly competitive owing to the presence of several established players. Cutthroat competition in the niche space is a headwind in our view. On the brighter side, solid contribution from the Instrument and Consumable revenue platforms is a significant positive. We are also upbeat about the higher margin sales of the SequelTM System. However, headwinds related to the limited availability of SMRT cells (Single Molecule, Real-Time) for the Sequel system and higher non-cash operating expenses are expected to mar prospects over the long haul. Meanwhile, the company witnessed significant strength in China. Notably, it has placed numerous system orders in the region with both new and existing customers.”
The Providence Service Corporation (NASDAQ:PRSC) had its price target boosted by Barrington Research from $55.00 to $60.00. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NASDAQ:RRGB) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Investment Research from a sell rating to a hold rating. According to Zacks, “Red Robin’s second-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of $0.61 per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 19.6% but fell 18.7% year over year due to lower margins. Revenues rose 3.3% year over year to $315.8 million and topped the consensus mark by 0.3%. Additionally, initiatives undertaken to improve sales and regain market share as the year progresses, bode well. Also, efforts to strengthen the brand via menu innovation, focus on increasing service speed, effective marketing strategy, remodeling programs and continued focus on off-premise, online ordering business are encouraging. Yet, a slowdown in company’s 2017 unit growth plan could weigh on its revenues while higher labor costs and increased investments in initiatives are likely to hurt profits. Moreover, a challenging retail environment in the U.S. restaurants space could harm revenue growth. Notably, shares of the company have also underperformed the industry year to date.”
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (NYSE:SMI) was downgraded by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a market perform rating to an underperform rating.
Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE:VG) was downgraded by analysts at FBN Securities from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating.
XOMA Corporation (NASDAQ:XOMA) had its buy rating reissued by analysts at HC Wainwright. HC Wainwright currently has a $15.00 price target on the stock.
Zalando Se (NASDAQ:ZLDSF) had its neutral rating reissued by analysts at DZ Bank AG.
