Earnings Previews: AstraZeneca, Bakkt, Hyzon

The number of companies reporting quarterly earnings this week has swelled to more than 1,000 as more companies confirm their plans. Of the four firms we recently previewed, two (Coinbase and Plug Power) missed both earnings and revenue estimates while Nio beat the consensus revenue estimate but missed on profits. 23andMe delayed its report to Wednesday afternoon.

After markets close, Affirm, Disney, Progenity and SoFi are expected to report quarterly results. Two more companies, ArcelorMittal and Hut 8, are on deck for Thursday morning.

Earlier in the day, we previewed five companies, including several meme stocks, set to report results after markets close Thursday: Blink, Lordstown Motors, Phunware, Sundial and TMC.

Here are previews of three reports due out before markets open on Friday.

AstraZeneca

Drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ: AZN) has added more than 20% to its share price over the past 12 months. The company’s COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been approved for use in the United States, but trials are continuing.

In early October, the company applied for emergency use authorization of its monoclonal antibody treatment for the disease. That application has not yet been approved. The antibody treatment may be AstraZeneca’s best hope for approval in the United States, but emergency use has been approved in many countries and full approval has been granted in Brazil. The United States has an order of 700,000 doses of the antibody treatment pending approval of the drug by the FDA.

It should be no surprise that of 27 analysts covering the stock, 23 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. Another three have a Hold rating on the shares. At a recent price of around $63.30, the upside potential based on a median price target of $68.70 is 8.5%. At the high target of $74, the upside potential is 23%.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $9.52 billion, which would be up nearly 16% sequentially and about 45% higher year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at $0.62, up 40% sequentially and 32% year over year. For the full year, EPS is expected to come in at $3.27, up 63%, on revenue of $35.98 billion, up 2.2%.

The stock’s multiple based on expected 2021 earnings is 37. Based on estimates of 2022 and 2023 earnings, the multiples are 28.6 and 22.1, respectively. AstraZeneca’s 52-week range is $46.48 to $64.21, and the company pays an annual dividend of $1.40 (yield of 2.23%).

Bakkt

Digital asset marketplace Bakkt Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) came public through a SPAC merger in mid-October has added more than 225% to its share price since then. The jump was primarily due to an announced deal with Mastercard and Fiserv to act as the custody holder for the two firms’ digital assets. That announcement sent the stock nearly 450% above the IPO price, but the price has dwindled since reaching that peak on October 29.

No analysts have rated or placed price targets on the stock, nor are there any revenue or earnings estimates. Likewise, no trends are available.

The stock’s 52-week range (including the SPAC’s tenure as a standalone company) is $8.00 to $50.80. The average daily trading volume is around 34.4 million shares.

Hyzon

Since a SPAC IPO in mid-July, shares of Hyzon Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: HYZN) have dropped by nearly 20%. That’s after the SPAC shares spiked up by nearly 80% following the February announcement of the planned combination. Hyzon is developing hydrogen fuel cell-powered heavy-duty commercial vehicles, including long-haul trucks, urban buses and long-distance coaches and delivery vans.

The company said in February that it had contracts or memoranda of understanding totaling $40 million in sales for 2021 and has contracted or sees a “high probability” of income in 2022 of more than $200 million. Just ahead of the IPO, Hyzon raised its orders and memoranda of understanding total for this year to $86 million.

The only analyst covering Hyzon rates the stock at Buy with a price target of $19.50. At a price of around $6, the upside potential is 225%.

Hyzon is not expected to post any revenue in the third quarter and is expected to lose $0.08 per share in the quarter. For the 2021 fiscal year, the loss per share is expected to come in at $0.25 on sales of $33.5 million, a lowball estimate if ever there was one.

The estimated enterprise value-to-sales multiple for 2021 is 19.1. For 2022 and 2023, the multiples are 3.6 and 1.1, respectively. The stock’s 52-week range is $5.09 to $19.95. Hyzon does not pay a dividend.

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