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SoundHound and Century Communities have been highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 6, 2023 – Zacks Equity Research shares SoundHound SOUN as the Bull of the Day and Century Communities CCS as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Swatch Group AG SWGAY, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co RS and National Grid Transco NGG.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks.

Bull of the Day:

SoundHound is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and it sports an F for Value and a D for Growth. This stock soared 43% on Friday as investors embraced a bevy of AI stocks. Let’s explore more about this company in this Bull of The Day article.

Description

SoundHound Inc. is an innovator of conversational intelligence, offers an independent voice AI platform which enables businesses across industries to deliver conversational experiences. SoundHound Inc., formerly known as Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners Co., is based in New York.

AI Names Moon On Friday

I am just like the rest of you. I searched the internet for some of those really bad articles that highlighted 5 AI stocks. I was wondering how they could include names like Nvidia or Microsoft. Those are not the names that I am looking for. I want to see the stocks that the “apes” are going to be chasing for the rest of the month.

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 SoundHound, I see two 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).

Earnings Estimates Revisions

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher.

Over the last 60 days, earning estimates have moved up for SOUN.

This quarter has held still at a loss of $0.17.

Next quarter has seen a move higher by a penny from a loss of $0.15 to a loss of $0.14.

The full fiscal year 2023 has increased from a loss of $0.51 to a loss of $0.41 over the last 60 days.

Positive movement in earnings helped move this stock to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Valuation

The valuation for this name is rather difficult to articulate.  The Zacks Financial Overview page is filled with “NA’s” as there has only been 3 quarters of reporting data.  The company is also running a loss so a lot of traditional metrics like PE and forward PE are not there for us to lean on.  That said, the craze that ChatGPT launched has many investors throwing old school valuation metrics out the window.

SOUN has a bookings backlog of $302M and revenues of $11.2M in the most recent quarter.  The stock closed at $2.82 on Friday for a market capitalization of $560M.  The stock saw heavy volume of 45M shares, so this is a stock that you need to keep on your radar screen.

Bear of the Day:

Century Communities is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) saw earnings estimates slip despite beating the number recently. Estimates for this quarter, next quarter and the full year all dropped as analysts lowered expectations for this stock. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.

Description

Century Communities, Inc. is a home building and construction company. Its activities comprise land acquisition, development, and entitlements; and the acquisition, development, construction, marketing, and sale of various single-family detached and attached residential home projects. The company operates in major metropolitan markets in Colorado, Texas and Nevada. Century Communities, Inc. is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

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 CCS, I see four straight beats and of the  Zacks Consensus Estimate. 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 Century, I see annual estimates moving lower of late.

The current fiscal year consensus number moved lower from $8.51 to $6.13 over the last 60 days.

The next year has moved from $12.44 to $7.84. That move lower is probably the biggest deciding factor for this stock to be a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

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:

An Update on "Fair Value": Zacks February Market Strategy

The following is an excerpt from Zacks Chief Strategist John Blank’s full Feb Market Strategy report . To access the full PDF, click here.

I. The Latest on S&P 500 Earnings Data

YTD to Jan 31st, 2023 the narrow DJIA index was up +1.72%, the broader S&P 500 index was up +4.64%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up +8.86%.

Across 2022, the S&P 500 loss was -19.4%. The Nasdaq 100 was down -34.8%.

All three prior years recorded well above average annual S&P 500 returns.

  • In 2021, the annual S&P 500 share gain was +26.9%

  • In 2020, the gain was +18.4%

  • In 2019, the gain was +28.9%


The historical expected annual return (using data from 1930 to 2021)? This is +7.9%.

2023 can continue to bring a durable index share recovery. It all depends on recession narratives.

II. Zacks February Sector/Industry/Company Telescope

The message from the latest late JAN 2023 Zacks Industry Ranks: Consumer Staples firmly leads at Very Attractive. Food price inflation is an assist.

Next in line, the Industrials, Utilities and the Materials sectors get notable upgrades.

Energy and Financials stay at Market Weights. Domestic Drillers, the Major Banks and the Insurers look great. That is a reassuring domestic mix.

Health Care rose to a Market Weight sector. Communication Services rose to Market Weight.

Info Tech is at the back at Unattractive. The hangover from excess COVID spending.

(1) Consumer Staples stays Very Attractive. Soaps & Cosmetics, Beverages & Food are best.

Top Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stock: Swatch Group AG

(2) Industrials rose to Very Attractive from Market Weigh. Metal Fabricating, Machinery, Industrial Products/Services, and Machinery look the best.

Top Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stock: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co

(3) Utilities rise to Very Attractive from Unattractive. Utilities-Telephone and Utilities Gas Distribution are clear leaders. It is the heart of winter.

Top Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) Stock: National Grid Transco

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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.

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Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

National Grid Transco, PLC (NGG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Century Communities, Inc. (CCS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Swatch Group AG (SWGAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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