For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 25, 2016 – Zacks Equity Research highlights definitely Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN –Free Report) as the Bull of the DayBoston Beer (NYSE:SAM – Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST –Free Report) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX – Free Report).

Here is a synopsis of all four stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report) is just about to report earnings. It was a little more than a year ago that I played some calls for a huge gain following the first prime day, this year I bought even more stuff. Let's take a look at the fundamentals of this stock and explore why it is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and the Bull of the Day.

Why I Like It

This is a large-cap stock is a market leader.

A good earnings history when compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

From March to October there were consistent monthly increases in the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 and 2017.

Revenue diversification from AWS bolsters the retailing business and the company looks to attack other verticals as well.

Follow Brian Bolan on twitter at @BBolan1 and on StockTwits at the same address.

The Recent Numbers

I like to do a review of the most recent quarter for stocks that I highlight as Bulls of the Day. AMZN reported the June 2016 quarter back in late July, so we are only weeks away from the company reporting the September quarter.

The most recent quarter was a beat on bottom. The company posted EPS of $1.78 when the Zacks Consensus Estimate was calling for $1.14. That translates into a positive earnings surprise of 56%.

Revenue came in $670M ahead of expectations for a 2.25% positive revenue surprise. As a result, the stock was bid up by more than 3% in the session following the report.

Description

Amazon.com sells consumer products and Web Services worldwide. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Earnings History

The company has a strong history of beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. There has only been one miss in the last six reports. The rest of the reports were all beats.

Estimates

The estimate picture looks really good, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 moving from $4.50 in March to $5.86 in October.

The 2017 number moved from $8.07 in March to the current reading of $10.72.

Valuation

The value investors hate this stock. The growth oriented investors love this stock. The metrics always seem high for AMZN, as trailing twelve months PE was 203x compared to an industry average of 32x. The forward multiple of 140x is many multiples of the 26.5x industry average. Price to book comes in at 23x while the industry average comes it at 6x. Price to sales is almost in line, with a multiple of 3.2x for the AMZN vs the 2x industry average.

Bear of the Day :

Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM – Free Report) has only missed the Zacks Consensus Estimates in two of the last seven quarters. It is now a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and is the Bear of the Day. Let's take a look at why this is the case.

Description

Boston Beer is the maker of the Same Adams beer that is solid throughout the world. There are approximately 60 different beer that carry the Samuel or Sam Adams name but the company also makes and sells ciders and other beverages.

Recent Earnings

SAM missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.54 by $0.06 for a negative earnings surprise of 2.4%. Revenue came in at $271M while the Zacks Consensus Estimate was looking for $291M.

Estimates

The Zacks Consensus Estimate has been falling over the last few months. The FY16 estimate stood at $7.84 in March and then fell to $6.45 in September. The estimate currently states at $6.37.

Next year has also seen a move lower in estimates with the 2017 Zacks Consensus Estimate moving from $8.50 to $6.76 over the same time period.

The decline in estimates is the main reason this is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and the Bear of the Day.

Chart

Zacks has developed a chart that helps investors see how earnings estimates have impacted the price of the stock over the last several years. We call this chart the price and consensus chart, and each color-coded lines represents analyst estimates over a designated year. As estimates increase, the stock tends to follow. The Zacks Rank is impacted by earnings estimate increases, beats and incorporates the idea of analyst agreement and magnitude. As a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) we see that estimates are moving higher.

Additional content:

Q3 Earnings Train on the Tracks

In the Global Week Ahead, a formidable batch of quarterly earnings updates, 4 Fed speakers plus ECB President Mario Draghi, and the latest Q3 U.S. GDP reading should act as major trading catalysts.

Think of it as a train, with the locomotive being the earnings reports.

To start off, we will see a massive week for quarterly earnings updates. 179 S&P 500 companies report.

Some provide guidance on consumer spending (P&G, GM, VISA), while others opine on big-ticket capital goods spending (Caterpillar, Whirlpool, 3M).

Second, the FOMC will go into its usual communications blackout ahead of next week’s NOV Fed rate decision. Just before the NOV communications blackout, we hear from four Fed speakers. Three speak on Monday.

· The NY Fed’s Dudley (always voting) speaks about the changing structure of the U.S. Treasury market.

· St. Louis Fed President Bullard (voting) speaks on the U.S. economy.

· Chicago Fed President Evans (who starts voting in January) speaks on current economic conditions and monetary policy.

· Atlanta Fed President Lockhart speaks on community development on Tuesday.

• Also, ECB President Draghi speaks in Berlin on Tuesday.

Finishing things up, the latest U.S. Q3 real GDP growth rate hits the ticker tape on Friday. Around +2.5% annualized growth is where the latest WSJ consensus has formed. That GDP print should be good enough for the Fed to vote in a 25 basis point hike at its December meeting.

The Atlanta Fed GDPNow estimate shows +2.0% growth in Q3. This nowcast measure started at +3.75% growth. It has lost almost half its early tracking.

Fed fund futures markets have less than 20% odds of a hike after the November meeting. About 70% odds on a December rate hike are in play.

November won’t happen.

Top Zacks Rank stocks—

(1) Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST – Free Report) is a U.S. retail discounter. The stock got a Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) rating and holds a Zacks VGM score of B.

(2) Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX – Free Report) is a semiconductor equipment-wafer fabrication outfit. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. Lam is recognized as a leading supplier of front-end wafer processing equipment to the worldwide semiconductor industry. The stock has a Zacks #1 Rank and a Zacks VGM score of A.

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About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

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 analyst 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.

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 >>.

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AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
BOSTON BEER INC (SAM): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
ROSS STORES (ROST): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
LAM RESEARCH (LRCX): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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