CHICAGO, Nov. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 the JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS-Free Report), Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM-Free Report), The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS-Free Report), Nike (NYSE:NKE-Free Report) and Unilever (NYSE:UL-Free Report).
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:
Strong Buy on JinkoSolar
On Nov 21, Zacks Investment Research upgraded JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE:JKS-Free Report) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Why the Upgrade?
This solar cell manufacturer has delivered positive earnings surprises in the last 2 quarters with an average beat of 594.3%. The strong performance has driven the company's earnings estimates higher.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 increased 295.6% in the last 7 days to 91 cents per share, reflecting estimated year-over-year growth of 108.9%. For 2014, the consensus increased 248.9% over the same time period to $1.71 per share, reflecting projected growth of 87.91%.
The company reported third quarter 2013 results with adjusted earnings per American Depositary Share ("ADS") of $1.36, much ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents. The results reflect a diversified customer base and improvement in operational efficiency in a rapidly changing solar power environment.
JinkoSolar's string of large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) supply orders from countries like Australia, South Africa and the U.K., effective project execution skills as well as favorable renewable policy adoption by the Chinese government have elevated its position in the market.
Gradually, the company has transformed its operations from a traditional manufacturer to a one-stop energy solution provider. This will definitely enlarge the company's customer base and market reach. In addition, the high quality cells and reasonable price attract customers from across the globe.
Salesforce Brings Out Cloud Platform
Enterprise cloud computing solutions provider, Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM-Free Report), has introduced Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud platform, which enables marketers to target and provide relevant information to their customers through email, mobile, social network and the web. The new cloud platform is part of the Salesforce1 Customer Platform.
Leveraging ExactTarget's digital marketing apps and platform and Salesforce's social marketing tools (Buddy Media, Radian6 and Social.com.), marketers can acquire customer data from various sources, connect with them and provide personalized and relevant product information.
Leading brands such as CareerBuilder, The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS-Free Report), Nike (NYSE:NKE-Free Report) and Unilever (NYSE:UL-Free Report) are using the latest platform from Salesforce to better reach their customers.
Notably, Salesforce completed the ExactTarget acquisition in Jul 2013 for $2.5 billion. The acquisition has enhanced Salesforce's digital marketing capabilities across email, social networking and the web.
According to Gartner, the marketing segment within CRM grew 21% in 2012 and is expected to grow 21% through 2017. Thus, the ExactTarget acquisition will be beneficial for Salesforce in the long term. More so, as the acquisition has also positively impacted the company's top line in the last reported quarter. Buoyed by robust contribution from ExactTarget, Salesforce reported 36.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
Additionally, the company has recently announced a strategic alliance with Hewlett-Packard to offer customer relationship management services on HP's Converged Infrastructure. This new offering —Salesforce Superpod — is ideal for companies that have an extensive IT infrastructure, which requires a certain level of compliance and enterprise integration.
Therefore, the company's diverse cloud offerings and the stronger spending projection by Gartner are positives going forward. Salesforce's strategic acquisitions and related synergies are expected to remain long-term positives.
While the company's growth has not been too bad, its prospects have been rationalized somewhat by the renewed efforts of other tech giants, such as International Business Machines.
However, continued weakness in Europe, currency headwinds and increase in investments could pose challenges going forward.
Salesforce has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Get the full Report on JKS - FREE
Get the full Report on CRM - FREE
Get the full Report on GPS - FREE
Get the full Report on NKE - FREE
Get the full Report on UL - FREE
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
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 http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
Share this article