As usual, even in a week when 1,500 U.S.-listed companies are reporting quarterly results, Friday afternoon hits the pause button. However, next Monday picks up right where this week left off with another 1,500 or so companies reporting results.

Looking at companies reporting earnings following Thursday’s closing bell, we have previewed AMC, DraftKings, Nikola, Peloton and Square. Our preview did not mention Peloton’s decision to recall its treadmills following a Consumer Products Safety Commission warning that cost investors $16 a share (15%) at Wednesday’s closing bell.
[in-text-ad]
The four companies previewed in this story are scheduled to report earnings before Monday’s opening bell.

BioNTech

BioNTech S.E. (NASDAQ: BNTX), the Germany-based co-developer with Pfizer of a COVID-19 vaccine, has seen an increase of nearly 235% to its share price over the past 12 months. More than half that increase came after its vaccine was accepted for use in the United States.

The company’s stock suffered a huge setback on Wednesday, however, when the Biden administration reversed course and said it would be willing to waive patent protections for coronavirus vaccines. While such a waiver could be a long way off, investors fled BioNTech and Moderna shares.

Analysts had been cautious on the stock, even before Wednesday’s bloodbath. Only half of 10 analysts rate the firm a Buy or Strong Buy. The trading price, even after the news, continues to be around $155.70, well above the consensus price target of $138.98. At the high target of $213.02, the implied upside on the stock is nearly 37%.

BioNTech is expected to report quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.72 on revenue of $1.78 billion, nearly 13 times larger than a loss of $0.29 in the year-ago quarter and more than 50 times prior-year revenue. For the full year, analysts have forecast EPS of $30.59 and sales of $11.95 billion, massively higher than in 2020.

At the current price, shares are trading at 18.7 times expected 2021 EPS, 7.7 times estimated 2022 earnings and 13.0 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $45.08 to $213.15. BioNTech does not pay a dividend, and the average daily trading volume is around 2.5 million shares.

Coty

Cosmetics giant Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) experienced a drop of 37% to its share price in 2020. Shares are up about 39% so far in 2021, but over the past 24 months, the stock has dropped by more than 10%. Last month, the company announced several initiatives to put Coty back on a path to sustainable and profitable growth. The announcement included a reaffirmation of its 2021 revenue target of $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $750 million.

While brokerage firms welcomed the announcement, it did not change a lot of minds. Of 17 firms covering the stock, 10 rate Coty a Hold and two say the stock is no better than Underperform. At the current price of around $9.75, upside potential is just 4.2% to a consensus price target of $10.16. At the high target of $15, upside potential is about 54%.

For the March quarter, analysts expect EPS of $0.01 on sales of $1.03 billion, a drop of nearly a third year over year. For the full year, EPS is forecast at $0.09 on sales of $4.57 billion, compared with a year-ago per-share loss of $0.25 and sales of $6.74 billion.

Coty stock trades at 90.6 times expected 2021 EPS, 44.2 times estimated 2022 EPS and 34.8 times estimated 2023 EPS. Shares have traded between $2.65 and $10.49 in the past 52 weeks. Coty does not pay a dividend. The average daily trading volume is about 11 million shares.
[in-text-ad]

Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) is the country’s second-largest regulated electricity provider, with a market cap of more than $75 billion. The company also sells electricity and natural gas at wholesale to local providers. Over the past 12 months, Duke’s share price has increased by about 25%. Last week the company said that it plans to triple its renewable generation to 23% of its total by 2030. Like most big utilities, however, investors are most impressed by the company’s yields.

Just three of 17 brokers covering the company rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, compared to 12 that rate the shares a Hold. At a current price of around $99.50, the potential upside to the consensus price target is 3.7%. At the high target of $112, upside potential is about 12.6%.

Analysts expect Duke to report EPS of $1.20 on sales of $6.19 billion, increases of 5.3% in EPS and 4.1% in revenue compared with the March quarter of 2020. For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $5.18, up 1.2% year over year, on sales of $25.8 billion, or 8.1% higher.

Shares trade at 19.2 times expected 2021 EPS, 18.3 times estimated 2022 earnings and 17.3 times estimated 2023 earnings. The 52-week range is $77.58 to $101.90, and Duke pays an annual dividend of $3.86 (yield of 3.88%). The average daily trading volume is 3.5 million shares.

Workhorse

In early February, shares of electric vehicle (EV) maker Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS) reached a 12-month high at nearly 1,200% above its price in early May of 2020. By March 1, the stock had given back about two-thirds of that increase after the U.S. Postal Service announced that it had awarded a contract for thousands of new delivery vans to another company. The stock has continued trending down and, for the past 12 months, has posted a gain of around 226%, Still, not too shabby.

At the end of April, only three of seven brokers covering the stock rated it a Buy or Strong Buy. Shares traded Thursday at around $10.35, indicating upside potential of almost 85% to the consensus price target of $19.17. At the high target of $29, upside potential is 180%.

Workhorse is expected to report a loss per share of $0.17, compared to EPS of $0.06 in the same quarter last year. Revenue is forecast to rise by 3,000% to $2.61 million. For the full year, analysts expect the company to post a loss per share of $0.58 on sales of $110.5 million.

The company is not expected to post a profit in 2021, 2022 or 2023. The 52-week trading range is $2.27 to $42.96, and the average daily trading volume is about 17.5 million shares.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.