CR Bard
Inc.
(
BCR
) is set to report its fourth-quarter 2012 results after the
market closes on Thursday, Jan 31. Let's see how things are
shaping up prior to the announcement.
In the last quarter, the medical devices maker posted a 0.61%
positive earnings surprise. The quarter generated moderate
revenue growth accompanied by higher expenses.
Factors to Consider this Past Quarter
Bard is struggling to enhance its top line mainly due to
sluggish sales in the U.S. market. Increasing competition and
pricing/volume pressure in the U.S. economy along with the
expected dilution from an expensive acquisition remain areas of
concern.
Although the company is gaining traction in emerging markets,
we remain on the sidelines due to the pertinent uncertainties in
the global economy.
However, Bard's well-diversified end markets as well as a vast
product portfolio insulate it from fluctuations in any single
therapeutic category. Meanwhile, we await more news on the
pending Gore litigation.
Earnings Whispers?
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Bard will
likely beat earnings estimates this quarter. That is because a
stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP (Read:
Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method
) as well as a Zacks Rank of #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. This
is not the case here as you will see below.
Negative Zacks Earnings ESP
: The Most Accurate estimate stands at $1.64, while the
Zacks Consensus Estimate is $1.67. This comes to a difference of
-1.80%.
Zacks Rank #3 (Hold):
Bard carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which lowers the predictive
power of ESP. This is because the Zacks Rank #3 when combined
with a negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.
Moreover, we caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks of #4 and #5
(Sell rated stocks) before going into the earnings announcement,
especially when the company is experiencing negative estimate
revisions.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies you may want to consider as our
model shows that these have the right combination of ingredients
to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Cyberonics Inc.
(
CYBX
), Earnings ESP of +2.56% and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy)
Resmed nc.
(
RMD
), Earnings ESP of +3.57% and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy)
Becton, Dickinson and Company
(
BDX
), Earnings ESP of +3.25% and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)
BARD C R INC (BCR): Free Stock Analysis
Report
BECTON DICKINSO (BDX): Free Stock Analysis
Report
CYBERONICS INC (CYBX): Free Stock Analysis
Report
RESMED INC (RMD): Free Stock Analysis Report
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