3 Stocks to Watch on Tuesday: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

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The first day of public trading with President Donald Trump in the White House began on a low note, led by a dip in energy. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite lost a fraction of a percent.

3 Stocks to Watch on Tuesday: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)Monday began what will be a thick slate of earnings for the week, and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are among a few companies on the move thanks to quarterly results. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) got another look from the analyst community.

Here’s what you should know heading into Tuesday’s trade.

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

AAPL shares were down slightly early Tuesday after yet another analyst signaled low expectations for the tech giant.

Barclays analyst Mark Moskowitz downgraded Apple stock from “Overweight” to “Equalweight” and dropped the 12-month price target from $119 to $117. While that only indicates a slight decline from current levels around $120, that’s far from encouraging.

Barclays does admit that Apple has a potential headwind in the 10th anniversary iPhone, which should come out in September as usual, and Moskowitz also likes the company’s cash position and “sticky ecosystem.”

Still, Moskowitz doesn’t like the broader picture for smartphone sales, which should weigh on AAPL. He also says Barclays is “concerned about China and India not emerging as growth catalysts in the next 12 months.”

AAPL stock was off fractionally in Tuesday’s premarket trade.

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)

VZ shares were off in Tuesday’s morning trade thanks to a miss in its fourth-quarter report.

Verizon’s fourth-quarter earnings came to 86 cents per share, 3 cents shy of analyst expectations. Revenues of $32.34 billion, however, came in above Wall Street’s bar of $32.092 billion.

Verizon’s 114.2 million retail connections represented a 1.9% year-over-year improvement. For the quarter, VZ picked up 591,000 net postpaid subscribers.

“This capped a year in which we delivered solid results and returned value to shareholders, including $9.3 billion in dividends,” said CEO Lowell McAdam. “We enter 2017 with confidence, based on our investments in next-generation networks and the new capabilities we have acquired. Our goal is to continue to earn our customers’ loyalty every day in a rapidly expanding mobile-first digital world.”

Verizon also said it would be playing off 155 people in its go90 mobile TV network division.

VZ shares were off more than 2% in morning trade.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

JNJ shares also were sliding after quarterly earnings.

Johnson & Johnson recorded a fourth-quarter beat on the earnings front, posting adjusted earnings of $1.58 per share — better than the consensus mark of $1.56 per share — on net income growth of 18%. Meanwhile, revenues inched 1.7% higher to $18.11 billion, which was shy of expectations for $18.26 billion.

The company also disappointed on the forecast front. JNJ said it would earn $6.93 to $7.08 per share on revenues of $74.1 billion to $74.8 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings of $7.11 per share on $75.07 billion in sales.

The healthcare and consumer staples company said that it was considering alternatives for several of its businesses, including Animas, Calibra Medical and Lifescan.

JNJ shares were off 1%.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/01/3-stocks-to-watch-on-tuesday-apple-inc-aapl-verizon-communications-inc-vz-and-johnson-johnson-jnj/.

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