The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: HP, NVIDIA, Agilent Technologies, Pure Storage and Cisco Systems

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – May 10, 2021 – 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: HP Inc. HPQ, NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, Agilent Technologies, Inc. A, Pure Storage, Inc. PSTG and Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO.

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

5 Prominent Tech Stocks Displaying Earnings Beat Potential

The technology sector's first-quarter performance, so far, has been dominated by gains from robust demand for tech-ridden digitization solutions, courtesy of the ongoing momentum in coronavirus crisis-induced work-from-home and learn-from-home trends.

Solid uptick in cloud-computing solutions and Internet services, increasing demand for high-compute capabilities' processors, and growing proliferation of AI and machine learning have been benefiting the technology sector, which has been extremely resilient to the impact of COVID-19-induced disruptions.

Moreover, the work-and-learn-from-home necessity has fueled demand for PCs, notebooks, peripheral accessories and cloud storage as reflected in improving trend in PC shipments.

Incidentally, a strong PC market highlights the need for advanced processors in sleek enterprise laptops, which bodes well for the semiconductor companies. Also, short supply of chips has opened up new avenues in this space.

In fact, according to data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), worldwide sales of semiconductors hit $123.1 billion during first-quarter 2021, up 3.6% sequentially and 17.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Per John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO, as stated on Mar 1, "Global semiconductor production is on the rise to meet increasing demand and ease the ongoing chip shortage affecting the auto sector and others, and annual sales are projected to increase in 2021."

Further, continuing work-from-home and online learning waves kept demand for remote-working tech, including advanced technology-based virtual meetings and conference tools, cloud services and cybersecurity solutions high in the quarter under review.

Besides strengthening user penetration for online payment and delivery services, the increasing proliferation of IoT and growing clout of cloud-based applications have been driving the sector of late. All of these, in turn, are fueling growth for high-speed Internet services.

Likewise, an e-commerce boom prompted by changing consumer behavior is expected to have contributed to top-line growth. Further, a rebound in the automotive space and uptick in manufacturing amid accelerated deployment of 5G worldwide have been acting as tailwinds.

How to Decisively Make the Right Pick?

As of May 4, 79.5% of the technology sector's market capitalization in the S&P 500 index had reported first-quarter results. Total earnings for these Tech companies are up +56.7% from the same period last year on +23.3% higher revenues, with 95.3% of the companies beating EPS estimates and 93.0% beating revenue estimates.

Meanwhile, 343 S&P 500 members or 69% of the index's total membership had reported first-quarter results as of May 4. Total earnings (or aggregate net income) for these 343 companies are up +49.2% on +10.6% higher revenues, with 87.5% beating EPS estimates and 78.1% beating revenue estimates.

It makes sense to invest in the alluring technology sector, which is outperforming the broader market on the heels of demand strength and expanding growth avenues.

With the majority of industry players having released earnings, investors now looking to make the most of this reporting cycle are awaiting the results from companies which usually report after the busy period of the earnings season.

However, in the backdrop of captivating prospects, finding the technology stocks having the potential to beat earnings estimates can be daunting. Our proprietary methodology, however, makes it fairly simple.

You could narrow down the list of choices by looking at stocks that have the combination of a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) and a positive Earnings ESP. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP is our proprietary methodology for determining stocks, which have the best chances to surprise with their next earnings announcement. It is the percentage difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Our research shows that for stocks with this apt combination of ingredients, the odds of a positive earnings surprise are as high as 70%.

Best Stocks Worth Considering

Given below are five technology stocks that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle:

Domiciled in Palo Alto, CA, HP has an Earnings ESP of +4.49% and a Zacks Rank #2, currently. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company is slated to report second-quarter fiscal 2021 results on May 27. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has been revised upward by a penny to 89 cents per share in the past 30 days.

Santa Clara, CA-headquartered NVIDIA Corp. has an Earnings ESP of +2.51% and a Zacks Rank #2, at present.

The company is scheduled to release first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on May 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings has moved north by 4 cents to $3.26 per share over the past 30 days.

Santa Clara, CA-based Agilent Technologies has an Earnings ESP of +1.57% and a Zacks Rank #2, currently.

The company is slated to report second-quarter fiscal 2021 results on May 25. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has been revised upward by a penny to 82 cents per share in the past 30 days.

Based in Mountain View, CA, Pure Storage has an Earnings ESP of +10.81% and a Zacks Rank #2, at present.

The company is scheduled to release first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on May 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the bottom line has remained steady at a loss of 7 cents over the past 30 days.

Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Cisco Systems has an Earnings ESP of +0.52% and a Zacks Rank #3, at present.

The company is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2021 results on May 19. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings has remained steady at 82 cents per share over the past 30 days.

+1,500% Growth: One of 2021's Most Exciting Investment Opportunities

In addition to the stocks you read about above, would you like to see Zacks' top picks to capitalize on the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is one of the fastest-growing technologies in history, with an estimated 77 billion devices to be connected by 2025. That works out to 127 new devices per second.

Zacks has released a special report to help you capitalize on the Internet of Things's exponential growth. It reveals 4 under-the-radar stocks that could be some of the most profitable holdings in your portfolio in 2021 and beyond.

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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 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/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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HP Inc. (HPQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Agilent Technologies, Inc. (A) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Pure Storage, Inc. (PSTG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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