The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, Wal-Mart, Merck, Kellogg and PACCAR

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – June 13, 2017 – 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 Facebook FB, Wal-Mart WMT, Merck MRK, Kellogg K and PACCAR PCAR.

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free .

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

New Research Reports for Facebook, Wal-Mart, Merck & More

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's write-up features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Facebook FB, Wal-Mart WMT and Merck MRK.These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of today's research reports here >>>

Facebook 's shares lagged the S&P 500 index following the election, but have more than made up for that underperformance since the start of 2017 - the stock is up +29.9% in the year-to-date period vs. +8.9% gain for the index in that time period. The stock has lost ground in the last few sessions as the market has soured on the high-flying tech sector, but the Zacks analyst remains about Facebook's outlook given the social media giant's strong growth outlook. Apart from mobile and video, the potential for monetization of its Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus assets, a huge user base and room for higher engagement levels remain at the core of the company's attractive fundamentals. Longer term, Facebook's investments in augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence AI technologies also remain promising. On the flip side, while the stock isn't nose-bleed expensive on valuation grounds, it nevertheless remains vulnerable to sentiment shift if the technology rally falters.

(You can read the full research report on Facebook here >>> ) .

Wal-Mart shares have been strong performers lately, with the stock up +14.6% in the year-to-date period, handily outperforming the S&P 500's +8.9% gain in the same time period. The market's growing appreciation for the company's efforts to build e-commerce capabilities and strengthen the legacy business through improved and expanded product assortment, store cleanliness and an overall pleasant customer experience to drive traffic. The positive comps for the last 10 quarters and strong results in the last quarterly report are some of the more tangible outcomes of these efforts. The company has been making steady investments in its business, both on the brick-and-mortar side as well as in the e-commerce platform. These are necessary outlays for its long-term competitive positioning, but they nevertheless have bearing on near-term profitability. The stock's recent momentum and outperformance relative to others like Target suggest that market participants are willing to be patient with management's plans.

(You can read the full research report on Wal-Mart here >>> ) .

Merck shares have outperformed the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the last one year, gaining +14.6% versus the industry's +4.5% increase. This momentum reflects the progress it has made with product pipeline and strong recent results; the company beat estimates in Q1 and raised guidance. While generic competition for several drugs and pricing pressures as are material in the Merck story as they are for many of its peers, the Zacks analyst points out that the company's new products like Keytruda and Zepatier hold great potential. The analyst discusses all of these issues in the updated research report issued today.

(You can read the full research report on Merck here >>> ) .

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Kellogg K and PACCAR PCAR.

Zacks' 2017 IPO Watch List

Before looking into the stocks mentioned above, you may want to get a head start on potential tech IPOs that are popping up on Zacks' radar. Imagine being in the first wave of investors to jump on a company with almost unlimited growth potential? This Special Report gives you the current scoop on 5 that may go public at any time.

One has driven from 0 to a $68 billion valuation in 8 years. Four others are a little less obvious but already show jaw-dropping growth. Download this IPO Watch List today for free >>

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.

Get the full Report on FB - FREE

Get the full Report on WMT - FREE

Get the full Report on MRK - FREE

Get the full Report on K - FREE

Get the full Report on PCAR - FREE

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch

Join us on Facebook: https://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

support@zacks.com

https://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 https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.