Eli Lilly (LLY: $88)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $88
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $76
Earnings Date: Tuesday, 9:00 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $5.5 billion
EPS: $1.03
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $5.2 billion
EPS: $0.88
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Eli Lilly is expected to report a 17% increase in earnings per share and a 5% increase in revenues for 3Q17. This moderate growth in revenues accompanied by a strong growth in EPS indicates a reduction of the firm’s costs. Although Lilly has only beaten analyst estimates in two of the past four quarters, the stock still trades up 12% since this time last year. By cutting costs in SG&A Eli Lilly has freed up capital for R&D, which will help drive future sales and contribute to the company’s prolonged growth.
Our Target has been reached, so we hereby raise it to $96.
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Equity Residential (EQR: $66)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $85
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $55
Earnings Date: Tuesday, 4:00 PM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $620 million
EPS: $0.33
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $605 million
EPS: $0.56
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Analysts expect Equity Residential to report a 2% increase in revenues and a 41% decrease in earnings per share for 3Q17. The stock has beaten estimates in each of the past four quarters, and has still managed to appreciate 8% over the past year. This is most likely a result of the shrinking of the company’s earnings over the past two years. The stock is currently trading 4% off its 52-week high and has been trading with lower volume than it did in the beginning of the year, indicating it could be oversold.
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Visa (V: $107)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $110
Bull Market Report Sell Price: We would not sell Visa
Earnings Date: Wednesday, 8:00 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $4.6 billion
EPS: $0.85
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $4.2 billion
EPS: $0.78
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Analysts estimate Visa will report a 9% increase in revenues and a 9% increase in earnings per share for 3Q17. Visa has surpassed estimates in each of the past four quarters, contributing to the stock’s 30% appreciation since this time last year. Visa has seen significant increase in sales over the past few years and we expect this growth to continue as consumers shift from cash to online and credit card payments.
How’s this for a nice looking chart over the past five years? Where would you say it is headed?
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United Parcel Service (UPS: $120)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $125
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $106
Earnings Date: Thursday, 8:00 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $15.6 billion
EPS: $1.45
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $15.0 billion
EPS: $1.44
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
UPS is expected to report a 4% increase in revenues and no change in earnings per share for 3Q17. Despite only having beaten estimates in two of the past four quarters, the stock has still managed to climb 10% since this time last year and is currently trading 16% above its 52-week low. Companies like UPS and FedEx are perfectly positioned to benefit from the growing trend of online shopping. Growth in e-commerce has been accelerating over the past few years, up 16% from 2016 alone, and shows no signs of slowing down. The stock currently yields 2.75% making it a good investment for investors who are seeking both growth and income.
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Celgene (CELG: $123)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $150
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $125
Earnings Date: Thursday, 9:00 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $3.4 billion
EPS: $1.87
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $3.0 billion
EPS: $1.58
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Celgene is expected to report a 13% increase in sales and a 18% increase in earnings per share for 3Q17. The stock has beaten analyst estimates in each of the past four quarters and was up nearly 50% this year until recent weeks when it announced that it would not continue to phase 3 trials for its Crohn’s disease drug. The stock pulled back 17% on the announcement and opened a window of opportunity for investors who felt the stock was overbought at its previous levels. Celgene continues to invest heavily in R&D and we expect it will continue to produce growing sales with the rest of its pipeline.
The stock is below our Sell Price and we covered Celgene in our report that went out Sunday evening the 22nd. Please review for our thoughts on the stock.
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Bristol-Meyers Squibb (BMY: $64)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $77
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $51
Earnings Date: Thursday, 10:30 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $5.2 billion
EPS: $0.77
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $5.0 billion
EPS: $0.77
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Analysts estimate that Bristol Meyers will report a slight 4% increase in sales and no change in earnings per share for 3Q17. Bristol has beaten estimates in three of the past four quarters, contributing to the stock’s 30% gain over the past year. The company generates about 30% of its revenues from oncology related drugs, and we expect the stock to continue growing as it gains more market share.
We hereby raise our Sell Price from $51 to $59.
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Alphabet (GOOG: $978)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $1100
Bull Market Report Sell Price: We would not sell Alphabet
Earnings Date: Thursday, 4:30 PM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $27 billion
EPS: $8.33
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $22 billion
EPS: $9.06
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Analysts estimate that Alphabet will report a 22% increase in revenues and an 8% decrease in earnings per share for 3Q17. The stock is up 21% over the past, which has been driven by its ability to beat analyst estimates in three of the past four quarters and to grow revenues and earnings. Alphabet’s institutional owners have been increasing their positions in the company over the past six months by 3%, indicating they believe in the long-term success of the business. Alphabet has recently released new products that have put pressure on some of the largest tech companies like Apple and Samsung.
Our Price Target is $1000, but we think somehow that has been an uncorrected error and we believe it was and should be $1100. Thus we hereby make the change. The all-time high is $997 set just last week, and if the stock market remains stable, we expect to see the stock blow through $1000 and move significantly higher by the end of the year.
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First Solar (FSLR: $49)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $55
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $39
Earnings Date: Thursday, 4:30 PM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $800 million
EPS: $0.85
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $ 690 million
EPS: $1.22
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
While First Solar is expected to increase its revenues by 15%, analysts estimate that earnings per share will decrease by 30% for 3Q17. The stock has beaten earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters. We expect First Solar to continue with its positive performance as the year ends and on into 2018 as well.
This has been a long slog with this firm. We have been patient and have stuck with it and now the stock is moving up to where it belongs. This is a great company management is on the right path and the firm is certainly in the right business.
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Amazon (AMZN: $972)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $1,100
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $900
Earnings Date: Thursday, 5:30 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $42 billion
EPS: $0.52
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $33 billion
EPS: $0.03
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Amazon is expected to report a 27% increase in sales and a 94% decrease in earnings per share for 3Q17. We expect this large reduction in EPS is from the company’s increased spending on R&D, which should pay off with large revenue increases down the road. Despite having only beaten estimates in two of the past four quarters, the stock is still up 17% since last year. In each of the two quarters it missed, the stock pulled back no more than 5% and provided investors with an entry opportunity. With the firm’s continued domination of e-commerce, we remain bullish on Amazon here at The Bull Market Report.
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Microsoft (MSFT: $79)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $84
Bull Market Report Sell Price: We would not sell Microsoft
Earnings Date: Thursday, 5:30 PM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $23 billion
EPS: $0.72
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $22 billion
EPS: $0.72
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Analysts expect that Microsoft will report a 4.5% increase in sales and no change in earnings per share for 3Q17. The stock has climbed 30% over the past year, especially having beaten estimates in each of the past four quarters. Microsoft is another great investment for those seeking both growth and income. The stock has appreciated 180% over the past five years while paying out a 2% dividend. In addition to improving product sales, Microsoft has made a number of upgrades on its Windows operating system, driving growth over the years.
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Ventas (VTR: $63)
Bull Market Report Target Price: $82
Bull Market Report Sell Price: $61
Earnings Date: Friday, 8:00 AM ET
Consensus: 3Q17
Revenues: $880 million
EPS: $0.45
Year Ago Quarter Results
Revenues: $865 million
EPS: $0.42
Key Things to Watch For in the Quarter
Ventas is expected to report a slight 2% increase in revenues and a 7% increase in earnings per share for 3Q17. Despite having beaten estimates in three of the past four quarters, the stock is down 8% since last year. With most of its properties focused in senior housing and healthcare facilities, Ventas’s long-term growth looks very positive. Ventas owns a highly diversified portfolio of nearly 1,300 seniors housing and healthcare properties in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The underperformance of the stock has given investors the opportunity to enter into this high dividend yielding (5%) growth stock.