The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights:Tesla Motors, Oracle, Nissan Motor, General Motors and LinkedIn

News provided by

Jul 31, 2013, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, July 31, 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 Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA-Free Report), Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL-Free Report), Nissan Motor (OTC:NSANY-Free Report), General Motors (NYSE:GM-Free Report) and LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE:LNKD-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 Tuesday's Analyst Blog:

Tesla Motors Rises Despite BMW i3 Launch

The recent launch of BMW's new i3 battery electric car in New York, London and Beijing does not seem to endanger the popularity of Tesla Motors Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA-Free Report) and its Model S electric car.

Shares of Tesla rose to the 52-week high of $135.37 and closed at $134.62 yesterday, up 4.0%, despite the i3 launch, which proves that the Palo Alto, Calif.-based automaker still reigns the electric car market.

Although BMW i3 is launched with a lower price tag ($41,000) compared with Model S, it lags behind Tesla's car in terms of driving range. The i3 delivers 100 miles per battery charge, which is less than half of Model S.

According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Model S can travel up to 265 miles on a single charge of its 85-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack. It is for this reason and other factors the car has received the highest rating from the popular Consumer Reports magazine.

Shares of TSLA more than tripled this year. The stock debuted in the NASDAQ-100 Index and the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index on Jul 15, replacing technology giant Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL-Free Report).

Tesla Motors, named after the renowned physicist and inventor Nikola Tesla, posted its first-ever quarterly profit of $15.4 million, or 12 cents per share, on an adjusted basis, in the first quarter of 2013. This indicated a whopping positive earnings surprise of 271.4% given the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 7 cents for the quarter.

Revenues jumped manifold to $561.8 million from $30.2 million in the first quarter of 2012, thanks to the impressive 5,000 units of Model S electric car sales during the quarter. For full year 2013, the company expects to deliver 21,000 Model S cars globally, up 5% from its prior guidance of 20,000 units.

In May, TSLA also paid off the remaining $465 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan much earlier than expected. The electric carmaker received the loan in Jan 2010 and agreed on a 10-year repayment program. However, the company repaid the full outstanding amount of the loan in the second installment itself.

Electric cars have always been criticized for limited driving range leading to their weak demand. This led to limited sales of vehicles such as Nissan Motor's (OTC:NSANY-Free Report) Leaf and General Motors' (NYSE:GM-Free Report) Volt. However, Tesla's innovative ideas about making electric cars much more affordable and driver-friendly give it a competitive edge over rival automakers.

The revelations of Tesla's innovative ideas and mounting stock price pose a threat to the prominent automaker General Motors, so much so that the Detroit automaker revealed that it has recently assigned a team to study the challenges faced by the Calif.-based automaker in electric vehicle technology.

We expect TSLA to beat estimates when it reports 2013 second quarter results before the opening bell on Aug 7 due to the combination of the stock's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and +16.7% ESP (Read: Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method).

Will LinkedIn (LNKD) Beat Earnings?

LinkedIn Corp. (NYSE:LNKD-Free Report) is slated to report its second-quarter 2013 results on Aug 1, 2013. In the last quarter, it posted 340.0% positive surprise. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Growth Factors This Past Quarter

LinkedIn delivered decent first-quarter 2013 results, with earnings per share of 22 cents comprehensively beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents. The company also witnessed substantial increase in revenues, with all business segments contributing meaningfully and operating income increasing significantly from the year-ago quarter.

LinkedIn is mostly benefiting from the Talent Solution and Premium Subscription businesses. The company has gained customers over the years and has grown steadily.

However, operating costs increased in the reported quarter but the operating profitability increased due to higher revenue. Apart from this, the company faces stiff competition in the professional networking space.

Earnings Whispers?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter stands at 4 cents per share while that for fiscal 2013 stands at 34 cents.

LinkedIn missed estimates in the year-ago quarter, but beat in the last three quarters, which resulted in an average positive surprise of 350.0% in the preceding four quarters.

Looking ahead to the upcoming quarter, as well as the fiscal year, we see no estimate revisions in the last 30 days. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both periods have remained unchanged during this time period. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

We caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and #5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions momentum.

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 TSLA - FREE

Get the full Report on ORCL - FREE

Get the full Report on NSANY - FREE

Get the full Report on GM - FREE

Get the full Report on LNKD - FREE

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
[email protected]
http://www.zacks.com

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.