Investing

Earnings Previews: Barrick Gold, BioNTech, Workhorse and 2 Cathie Wood Picks

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Earnings reports released Thursday morning showed about a two-to-one edge for stocks beating estimates. That performance enhances the already heavily positive earnings surprises from companies that have reported June-quarter results.

After markets close on Thursday, four firms we covered in an earlier preview (Clean Energy, Fisker, Plug Power and Virgin Galactic) are due to report results. Before markets open on Friday, Canopy Growth, Cinemark, DraftKings and Norwegian Cruise Line will release their latest results.
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There are no earnings reports scheduled for Friday afternoon, but here are five firms set to report quarterly results first thing Monday morning.

Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: GOLD) has had a share price decline of 26% over the past 12 months. For the year to date, the decline is about 4.2%. Futures prices peaked in January, about 7.7% higher than the current trading price. A new report from the World Gold Council sees commodity prices rising next month, so that could be good news for Barrick going forward. But keeping costs under control is almost as important to investors because that plays a big role in gold miners’ dividends.

Analysts are bullish on the stock, with 20 of 24 surveyed rating the shares at Buy or Strong Buy. Three more rate the stock at Hold. Shares were trading at around $21.50, implying a potential upside of nearly 31% to the median price target of $28.14. At the high price target of $35, the upside potential for the shares is almost 63%.

For the company’s second quarter, analysts are forecasting revenue will dip by about 1.2% sequentially to $2.92 billion. That’s about 6.5% higher than revenue in the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at $0.26, down three cents sequentially but up three cents year over year. For the full year, analysts expect Barrick to post EPS of $1.23, up 7% year over year, on sales of $12.29 billion, down about 2.4% from 2020 revenue.

Barrick’s stock trades at 17.6 times expected 2021 EPS, 16.7 times estimated 2022 earnings and 18.5 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $18.64 to $31.22. Barrick pays an annual dividend of $0.92 (yield of 4.26%).


BioNTech

Germany-based BioNTech S.E. (NASDAQ: BNTX) is the co-developer (with Pfizer) of one of the COVID-19 vaccines. Over the past 12 months, the stock is up about 370%, and for the year to date, shares are 380%. The stock jumped about 9% on Wednesday following a report that the FDA would soon approve the vaccine, removing the emergency use authorization under which it has been distributed since late last year.
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Another vaccine maker, Moderna, reported better-than-expected results Thursday morning and announced a $1 billion share buyback. Investors are never happy: the stock traded down about 2% afterward.

Analyst sentiment on BioNTech is decidedly cool. Of 12 brokerages covering the stock, eight have a Hold rating and the other four are evenly split between Buy and Sell ratings. The stock trades at around $392.50, more than double the median price target of $184.11 and just $6 (1.5%) below the high price target of $398.44.

For the second quarter, analysts expect BioNTech to report revenue of $3.88 billion, up 61.4% sequentially and 91% above the same period a year ago. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $8.96, up 74% sequentially. In the second quarter of 2020, the company posted a loss per share of $0.38. For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $35.95, compared with a year-ago total of $0.07.

The stock trades at 9.8 times expected 2021 EPS, 10.8 times estimated 2022 earnings and 18.4 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $54.10 to $433.90. BioNTech does not pay a dividend.

Dicerna

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: DRNA) is developing RNA interference (RNAi) drugs to treat liver disease. Cathie Wood’s ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKG) holds about 315,300 shares of Dicerna stock valued at around $11.8 million, or about 0.14% of the total value of the fund. Dicerna’s share price has increased by about 68% over the past 12 months, including a 71% jump so far in 2021.

Of 11 brokerages covering the stock, all have Buy (eight) or Strong Buy (three) ratings on the shares. At a trading price of around $37.80, the implied upside to the median price target of $42 is 11%. At the high target of $54, the upside potential is almost 43%.

Second-quarter revenue is forecast to come in at $91.29 million, up nearly 92% sequentially and more than double the $40.45 million posted in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $0.35, up from a loss per share of $0.39 in the prior quarter and a loss of $0.43 per share in the same quarter last year. For the full year, analysts expect a loss per share of $0.76, exactly half the size of last year’s $1.52 per share loss. Revenue for the year is forecast to rise by more than 49% to $245.25 million.

Analysts do not expect Dicerna to post a profit in 2021, 2022 or 2023. The enterprise value-to-sales multiple for 2021 is 9.6, for 2022 is 12.4 and for 2023 is 14.3. The stock’s 52-week range is $16.50 to $40.14. The company does not pay a dividend.

Trade Desk

Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ: TTD) has posted a share price gain of around 77% in the past 12 months. For the year to date, the shares are up more than 6%. Cathie Wood’s ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKW) holds about 1.36 million shares of Trade Desk stock, valued at around $117.4 million, or about 1.98% of the total value of the fund.
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Of 18 analysts covering the stock, 12 rate the shares a Buy or Strong Buy, and another five have a Hold rating on the stock. At a price of around $85, Trade Desk stock has outrun its median price target of $75.15. At the high price target of $100, the upside potential is about 18%.

The consensus revenue estimate for the second quarter is $262.82 million, up nearly 20% sequentially and up about 89% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.13, a penny less than reported in the prior quarter, but 44% higher than in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, analysts are expecting EPS of $0.62, a decline of about 8.9% from 2020, and revenue of $1.14 billion, up 36.6%.

The stock trades at 133.3 expected 2021 EPS, 113.8 estimated 2022 earnings and 90.6 estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $40.85 to $97.28. Trade Desk does not pay a dividend.

Workhorse

EV maker Workhorse Group (NASDAQ: WKHS) has suffered a share price decline of more than 38% over the past 12 months, a period that includes a spike to a 140% increase in the stock price. The decline began from the peak in early February, and by the end of the month the shares were trading down about 6% for the first two months of 2021. Retail investors keep trying to boost the share price, but to little avail.

Analysts have spent little time on the stock. Just six brokerages have coverage, and four rate the stock at Hold. The other two have given Workhorse a Buy rating. At a price of around $10.50, the stock trades above its median price target of $8.50. At the high price target of $20, the stock’s upside potential is about 110%.

Analysts expect Workhorse to post second-quarter revenue of $5.42 million, nearly 10 times first-quarter sales of $520 million. The company reported sales of $90,000 in the second quarter of last year. The consensus loss per share for the quarter is $0.20, up from a loss of $0.13 per share in the first quarter and a loss of $0.12 in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, analysts are expecting a loss per share of $1.22 compared with a loss of $1.89 per share last year. Revenue is expected to jump from $1.39 million in 2020 to $64.45 million in 2021.

Workhorse is not expected to post a profit in 2021, 2022 or 2023. The enterprise value-to-sales multiple for 2021 is 17.1, for 2022 is 4.9 and for 2023 is 2.8. The stock’s 52-week range is $7.07 to $42.96. Workhorse does not pay a dividend.

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