Nova Measuring Instruments and Burlington Stores have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 17, 2022 – Zacks Equity Research shares Nova Measuring Instruments NVMI as the Bull of the Day and Burlington Stores BURL as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Sony Corp. SONY, Cadence Design Systems CDNS and Badger Meter BMI.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Nova Measuring Instruments (NVMI) is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and sports an F for Value and a D for Growth.  This company helps the chip company keep their products to meet the exacting standards of the end customers. Let's explore more about this company in this Bull of The Day article.

Description

NOVA LTD is a provider of metrology solutions for advanced process control used in semiconductor manufacturing. The company's product portfolio combines hardware and cutting-edge software. NOVA LTD, formerly known as NOVA MEASURING, is based in REHOVOT, Israel.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number.  This tells me right away where the market's expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market.  A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved.  That is what you want to see.

For NVMI, I see four straight beats of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.  That is great to see, but by itself that is not enough to make the company a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The average positive earnings surprise over the course of the last year works out to be 15%.

Most Recent Quarter

The most recent quarter saw EPS come in at $1.24 and that was $0.07 more than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.17.  That translates in to a 6% positive earning surprise.

Earnings Estimates Revisions

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher.  For NVMI, I see annual estimates moving higher.

Over the last 30 days, I see a few increases.

The full fiscal year 2022 has moved from $4.65 to $4.84.

Next fiscal year has also increased from $4.53 to $4.75.

Positive movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Valuation

The valuation for NVMI is attractive with a 22x forward earnings multiple.  The company.  The company posted year over year sales of more than 45% in the most recent quarter. Margins  have increased from 25.5% to 26.8% over the last few quarters.

Bear of the Day:

Burlington Stores is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and is slated to report before the close on August 25. Many retails names struggled in the last few months, but estimates have dropped for this stock.  The current Earnings ESP is -25%. This article Let's look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) in this Bear of the Day article.

Description

Founded in 1972, and headquartered in New Jersey, Burlington Stores, Inc. functions as a retailer of branded apparel products and is also a Fortune 500 company. It operates in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company offers products such as ladies sportswear, menswear, youth apparel, baby furniture, accessories, home décor and gifts, and coats.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number.  This tells me right away where the market's expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market.  A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved.  That is what you want to see.

In the case of BURL, I see two beats of the  Zacks Consensus Estimate and two misses.  This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn't make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.

The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.

Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower.  For BURL see annual estimates moving lower.

The current fiscal year 2023 consensus number has dropped from $6.60 to $6.01 over the last 60 days.

The next year has dropped from $9.03 to $8.09 over the same time period.

Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

It should be noted that a majority of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions.  That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Additional content:

SONY Rolls Out New Software Update for Xperia Smartphones

Sony Corp. has announced a software update for all Xperia PRO and Xperia PRO-I smartphones, allowing the device to connect with an external monitor.

The update was rolled out on Aug 12, 2022, through a push notification to all existing customers. Xperia PRO and Xperia PRO-I smartphones are priced at $1999.99 and $1199.99, respectively.

Sony Corporation price-consensus-chart | Sony Corporation Quote

The external monitor feature will have Livestreaming, False Color and Wave Form functionalities.

Also, the Xperia PRO model will allow users to activate Rec/Stop through a USB-C cable and display status information on the screen, such as the REC status, shutter speed, F-number, ISO and EV Indication. Customers can connect their Sony Alpha camera to livestream through this update. This will allow users to livestream at improved quality, per company reports.

The Wave Form monitor function verifies RGB balance and exposure, whereas the False Color helps with iris setting options by emphasizing specific exposure aspects.

Sony designs, manufactures and sells several consumer and industrial electronic equipment. The company invests heavily in research and development to launch new products and enhance the existing product line.

The company reported first-quarter fiscal 2022 net income per share (on a GAAP basis) of ¥175.21 per share, increasing from ¥169.22 reported in the year-ago quarter.

Quarterly total revenues inched up 2.4% year over year to ¥2,311.5 billion ($17842.4 million). Imaging & Sensing Solutions sales were up 9% year over year to ¥237.8 billion. Sales from the segment were driven by favorable forex movement.

Sony has provided the outlook for the fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2023. It now expects sales of ¥11,500 billion, up 16% year over year compared with ¥11,400 billion guided earlier. The top-line performance is likely to be driven by improvement in GN&S, Music, Pictures and ET&S segment sales.

It currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The stock has lost 13.3% in the past year compared with the industry's fall of 16.5%

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader technology space are Cadence Design Systems and Badger Meter. Each sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CDNS 2022 earnings is pegged at $4.11 per share, rising 5.7% in the past 60 days. The long-term earnings growth rate is anticipated to be 17.7%.

Cadence's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, the average being 9.8%. Shares of CDNS have jumped 27.2% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMI's 2022 earnings is pegged at $2.30 per share, up 7% in the past 60 days.

Badger Meter's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters, with the average being 12.6%. Shares of BMI have lost 4.1% of their value in the past year.

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Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Nova Ltd. (NVMI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Sony Corporation (SONY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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