Investing

Earnings Previews: Cloudflare, Livent, Occidental Petroleum

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More than 1,500 companies are expected to report quarterly earnings this week. Of three in our watch list for Tuesday afternoon, two (Activision Blizzard and Lyft) beat on both revenue and profits while the other (T-Mobile) missed on revenue. Three companies we previewed that reported early Wednesday (Cenovus Energy, Discovery and Norwegian Cruise Lines) posted mixed results.

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Tuesday, we previewed five companies set to report results after markets close Wednesday (Albemarle, Fisker, MGM Resorts, Qualcomm and Skillz) and three more set to report results before markets open Thursday (Barrick Gold, Moderna and Nikola).

Earlier in the morning, we previewed four stocks set to report results after markets close on Thursday: Airbnb, Peloton, Square and Uber. Here’s a look at three more companies scheduled to report results after markets close on Thursday. On Thursday, we’ll post our look at two firms reporting Friday morning.

Cloudflare

Over the past 12 months, shares of Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE: NET) have added 272%. The cloud security provider has adopted a zero-trust strategy that treats all requests for access as threats until those requests are proven to be secure. The company also supplies edge services that bring internet content closer to users, driving quicker response times. The company has guided a revenue jump of 45% year over year, the lingering effects of the pandemic notwithstanding.

There are no Sell or Strong Sell ratings on Cloudflare stock. Of 18 brokerages covering the company, nine have a Hold rating and the other nine have assigned Buy or Strong Buy ratings. At a recent price of around $193.90, the shares trade above the median price target of $135 and have an upside potential of 3.1% to a high price target of $200.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $165.65 million, which would be up 8.7% sequentially and 45% higher year over year. Analysts expect the company to post a loss per share of $0.04 in the quarter, compared to a loss of $0.02 in the prior quarter. For the full year, Cloudfare is expected to report a loss per share of $0.12, flat year over year, on sales of $631.97 million, up 46.6%.

The company is not expected to post a profit in 2021, 2022 or 2023. The stock trades at an enterprise value-to-sales multiple of 95.1 for 2021, 71.0 for 2022 and 54.8 for 2023. The stock’s 52-week range is $54.30 to $196.80. Cloudflare does not pay a dividend.

Livent

Lithium producer Livent Corp. (NYSE: LTHM) has seen its share price rise by nearly 170% over the past 12 months. The stock posted its 12-month low early in January and its all-time high on Tuesday. The stock reached another new all-time high Wednesday morning.

The growing demand for lithium-based batteries has sent lithium prices higher and share prices of lithium miners to new highs. As we noted last month, Livent could choose to bid for a chance to extract lithium from Chile’s massive deposits (in addition to its operations in Argentina) but it will need to dress up its balance sheet.

Of 16 analysts covering the stock, seven have a Hold rating on the shares and another seven rate the stock as a Buy or Strong Buy. At a price of around $30.40, the stock has outrun its median price target of $26 and its high price target of $30.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $96 million, down 6% sequentially but up 24.4% year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at $0.04, flat sequentially and up from a loss of $0.02 per share year over year. For full fiscal 2021, EPS are forecast at $0.14, up from a loss last year of $0.05 per share, on revenue of $386.36 million, up 34%.

Livent stock trades at 202.8 times expected 2021 EPS, 78.1 times estimated 2022 earnings and 47.1 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $10.52 to $30.68. Livent does not pay a dividend.

Occidental Petroleum

High crude oil prices have worked wonders for Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY). Shares are up more than 250% over the past 12 months. In 2020, the shares lost more than 56%, on top of a 28% drop in 2019, the year the company paid $38 billion for Anadarko. For the entire period, the company’s share price has dropped by nearly 47%.

The company recently announced the sale of some $750 million in noncore assets offshore of Ghana, meeting its divestiture goal of $10 billion. Its long-term debt is still going to be above $30 billion.

High crude prices also raise analysts’ hopes. Of 26 brokerages covering the stock, 11 rate the shares a Hold and 12 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on the stock. At a price of around $33.90, the upside potential based on a median price target of $39.50 is 16.5%. At the high price target of $55, the upside potential is 62.2%.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $6.57, up 9.3% sequentially and double the year-ago total. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $0.67, up 108% sequentially and up from a loss per share of $0.84 last year. For the full fiscal year, analysts expect to see EPS of $1.60, compared to a loss per share last year of $3.91. Revenue is forecast at $25.03 billion, or nearly 54% higher.

The stock trades at 21.8 times expected 2021 EPS, 15.8 times estimated 2022 earnings and 23.7 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $9.32 to $35.75. Occidental pays an annual dividend of $0.04 (yield of 0.11%).

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