After markets closed on Wednesday, GameStop, one of the stocks that introduced investors to the world of meme stocks, reported better-than-expected revenues but a wider per-share loss than forecast. The stock traded down about 8% early Thursday. Lululemon, which also reported earnings late Wednesday, beat the revenue estimate by nearly 10% and the profit estimate by more than 25%. Shares traded up more than 12% in early trading.<\/p>\n
Our last earnings preview for this week looks at one company reporting results after markets close Thursday and another reporting before markets open on Friday.<\/p>\n
Cloud security company Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ: ZS) reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 results after the closing bell on Thursday. The share price has doubled over the past 12 months, including a jump of around 40% in 2021 alone. Last December, Zscaler got a boost when research firm Gartner named the company the sole secure web gateway to make Gartner’s magic quadrant.<\/p>\n
Of 29 analysts covering the stock, 19 rate the shares a Buy or Strong Buy, and another nine rate the stock at Hold. At Tuesday’s closing price of $280.66, the stock had eclipsed its median price target of $259.50. At the high price target of $320, the upside potential for the share price was 14%.<\/p>\n
Analysts are expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $187.44 million, up 6.3% sequentially and up 49% year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast to reach $0.09, down 39% sequentially and up 80% year over year. For the full fiscal year, Zscaler is expected to post EPS of $0.47, up 97% compared to 2020, on sales of $663.78 million, 54% higher year over year.<\/p>\n
The stock trades at 597 times expected 2021 EPS, 510 times estimated 2022 earnings and 296 times expected 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $120.34 to $293.44. Zscaler does not pay a dividend.<\/p>\n
Supermarket operator Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) reports fiscal 2022 second-quarter results first thing on Friday. Shares have added just over 33% during the past 12 months, including a gain of 48% since the beginning of 2021. That 12-month share price increase is far better than Walmart’s 4.8% gain over the same period, but way short of Albertson’s 143% jump.<\/p>\n
Analysts are mostly in a wait-and-see pattern on the stock. Of 27 brokerages covering the stock, 15 rate the shares a Hold and the other 12 are evenly divided between Buy and Sell ratings. At Wednesday’s closing price of $46.29, the shares had outrun the median price target of $40. At the high target of $50, the upside potential on the stock was about 8%.<\/p>\n
Second-quarter revenue is forecast at $30.69 billion, which would be down nearly 26% sequentially and up less than 1% year over year. EPS is forecast to dip by 46% sequentially to $0.64, a drop of 12% year over year. For the full fiscal year, Kroger is expected to post EPS of $3.10, down almost 11%, on sales of $132.78 billion, up fractionally year over year.<\/p>\n
The stock trades at 14.9 times expected 2022 EPS, 15.1 times estimated 2023 earnings and 14.6 times estimated 2024 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $30.35 to $47.99. Kroger pays an annual dividend of $0.84 (yield of 1.81%). Walmart’s dividend yield is 1.49% and Albertsons’ is 1.25%.<\/p>\n
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