Zacks Analyst Blog Spotlights NVIDIA, Walmart, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Motorola and Bank of America

deleciousfood | June 24, 2024 | BBQ | No Comments

For immediate release

Chicago, IL – June 24, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the analyst blog. Every day, Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and financial markets. Stocks recently featured on the blog include: NVIDIA Corp. NVDA, Walmart Inc. WMT, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CMG, Motorola Solutions Inc. MSI and Bank of America Corp. BAC.

Here are highlights from Friday’s analyst blog:

5 Must-See S&P 500 Stocks at 52-Week High with Room to Maneuver

US stock markets continued their northward journey in the first half of 2024 after an impressive 2023. The three main stock indexes – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – gained 3.8%, 15.4% and 20% respectively over one year to reach 1.2%, 4.7% to date. and 5.9% since the beginning of the month.

On June 20, Wall Street’s broad index – the S&P 500 – took a step beyond the key technical barrier of 5,500 for the first time in history. The benchmark index recorded an all-time high of 5,505.35, before closing at 5,473.17. The S&P 500 Index has hit 32 records so far this year.

Favorable macroeconomic scenario

After showing rigidity in the first quarter, various measures of inflation have again shown favorable data in recent months. Peak inflation is far behind us. The labor market remains resilient.

The global supply chain system has been slowly recovering since last year as US corporate giants reschedule their supply chain system to bypass China. The fundamentals of the US economy remain strong despite record inflation and interest rates.

On June 12, in his post-FOMC meeting statement, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated a rate cut of 25 basis points this year and a total decline of 1% in 2025. Sector performance at high growth like technology and interest rates are inversely related. . So, a low interest rate regime will boost this sector.

Meanwhile, several S&P 500 stocks are currently at 52-week highs. Investing in these stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank is expected to be successful in the near future.

Our top picks

We narrowed our selection to five S&P 500 stocks that are currently trading at 52-week highs. Despite a decent recovery, these stocks still have more room to grow through the remainder of 2024. These stocks have seen positive earnings estimate revisions over the past 30 days. Finally, each of our picks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NVIDIA Corp. reported blockbuster first-quarter fiscal 2025 revenue of $26.04 billion, up 262% year-over-year, and marking the third consecutive quarter of growth above 200%. Adjusted earnings per share were $6.12, up from $1.09 a year ago. NVDA expects revenue of $28 billion in the fiscal second quarter, higher than the current consensus estimate of $26.6 billion.

NVDA expects its next-generation AI chip, called Blackwell, to be its next driver. These chips will be available in data centers in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. On June 2, NVDA unveiled its new AI chip architecture called “Rubin.”

The Rubin architecture will have new GPUs to launch AI systems, processors and network chips. It will also have new features such as a central processor called “Vera”. Rubin is expected to be introduced in 2026.

Zacks Rank #1 NVIDIA has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 92.6% and over 100%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 1.1% over the past 30 days.

Walmart Inc. benefited from its highly diversified operations with contributions from various segments, channels and formats. WMT benefited from increased traffic in-store and across digital channels thanks to its strong omnichannel initiatives. Store delivery sales jumped 50% in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Walmart’s strategic focus on improving delivery services has also been rewarding, as evidenced by the steady increase in grocery market share. Such benefits, along with growing advertising business, fueled WMT’s first-quarter results and led to an encouraging outlook for fiscal 2025.

Zacks Rank #2 Walmart has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 4.2% and 9%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2025). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 2.5% over the past 30 days.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. benefits from its digital efforts, Chipotlane add-ons and marketing initiatives. This, combined with strength in digital sales and new restaurant openings, has motivated CMG. Additionally, strong comparable restaurant sales growth bodes well.

For 2024, CMG forecasts compensation growth in the mid-to-high single-digit range, driven by its transaction growth and strong compensation growth trends. CMG intends to focus on the milestone process and leverage digital programs to expand access and convenience.

Zacks Rank #2 Chipotle Mexican Grill has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 15% and 23.3%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.1% over the past 30 days.

Motorola Solutions Inc. expects to see strong demand in the areas of security and video services, land mobile radio products and related software, while benefiting from a solid foundation. Additionally, MSI is expected to benefit from a record order backlog, further illustrating the strength of its portfolio.

MSI expects healthy growth momentum in the near term due to strong demand trends. Therefore, MSI raised its previous guidance for 2024 with improvement in both operating segments.

Zacks Rank #2 Motorola Solutions has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 7.1% and 9.5%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the past 30 days.

Bank of America Corp.The net interest income (NII) of . will likely be positively impacted by the current high rate regime. We expect NII to decline slightly in 2024 and then increase in 2025 and 2026. BAC’s opening of financial centers in new and existing markets and improved digital capabilities will support its revenue.

We expect BAC’s total revenues to increase by 2.3% this year. Although activity in capital markets has recently improved, the difficult macroeconomic environment could once again weigh on investment banking activities.

Zacks Rank #2 Bank of America has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 2.8% and 9.4%, respectively, for next year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year’s earnings has improved 0.3% over the past 30 days.

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Past performance does not guarantee future results. The potential for loss is inherent in any investment.. This material is provided for informational purposes only and nothing contained herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. No recommendation or advice is given as to whether any investment is suitable for any particular investor. It should not be assumed that investments in any securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date hereof 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 in securities. These returns come from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with a Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with no transaction fees. These are not the returns of real stock portfolios. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for more information on the performance figures displayed in this press release.

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