Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day Highlights: Alexion Pharmaceuticals, CSN, CBS, News Corporation and Comcast
CHICAGO, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights: Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) as the Bull of the Day and CSN (NYSE: SID) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS), News Corporation (Nasdaq: NWSA) and Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA).
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Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
We are upgrading Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation grounds; we believe that there is significant upside scope from current levels. Alexion performed very well in the final quarter of 2011, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.07 thanks to strong Soliris sales.
We are also impressed by the label expansion of Soliris in the US and EU for the aHUS indication, which has boosted the sales potential of the drug. We expect Soliris to continue performing well in 2012.
Consequently, we have increased our revenue estimate for 2012 and expect Soliris sales to exceed $1 billion in 2012. Management, too, gave a bright outlook for 2012. Our long-term recommendation is in line with the Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy rating) carried by the stock in the short run. Our target price is $106.00.
Brazilian steel company Companhia Siderurgica Nacional or CSN (NYSE: SID) posted satisfactory fourth quarter results with EPADR of roughly 31 cents per share, much above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents per share. Despite a few positives, there are a few irrefutable downsides pertaining to the stock of the company at present.
These downsides include rising costs of goods sold, presence of serious competition and foreign market fluctuations, which are adversely affecting sales of the company in the clouded fiscal scenario. Earnings estimates for 2012 have decreased on a year over year basis.
Thus, we are downgrading shares to an Underperform recommendation from a previous sideline view on the stock at present. Our target price on the stock is $8.50, based on a 2012 P/E multiple of 8.6x.
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CBS Expands in Gaming & eSports
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) is always eager to add diverse revenue streams to hedge against economic cycles. One such move is the company's expansion into the fastest growing live gaming and eSports market.
The company through one of its divisions, CBS Interactive, has entered into a partnership with TwitchTV, a leading video game broadcasting network and Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's most renowned eSports league.
CBS remains well positioned to boost revenues in the coming quarters through its strategic initiatives and operating efficiencies. Management remains optimistic and expects growth momentum to continue in fiscal 2012 based on strong political advertising, reverse compensation from affiliates, strong demand of its content and streaming and retransmission consent.
Moreover, CBS is likely to benefit from an increase in political ad spending as it owns more TV stations than its competitors News Corporation's (Nasdaq: NWSA) Fox and Comcast Corporation's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBC.
The company expects strong political TV advertising revenues in the current fiscal year, which in turn, is anticipated to enhance its profitability. According to the company's Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves, profits are expected to rise by $180 million primarily due to political ads, which surpassed the profits of the presidential election last year.
We believe that CBS Corporation's long-term agreements with the NFL, the NCAA, the SEC and the Grammys will generate stream of positive cash flows for the company in the long run.
Currently, we have a long-term Outperform rating on the stock. Moreover, CBS Corp. holds a Zacks # 1 Rank, which translates into a short-term Strong Buy rating.
Get the full analysis of all these stocks by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=2649.
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