Goldman Sachs' updated view on some of the biggest energy giants is shifting shareholder opinion during midday trading on Monday.
Shares of Chevron (CVX) were rising by nearly 1.3% after Goldman upgraded its rating to Buy from Neutral on the shares and added the stock to its Conviction Buy List. The analyst team with Goldman sees a "series of positive catalysts over the 12 months" for the company. They believe Chevron will tell a strong volume improvement story given the growth of several projects, including the Permian in the U.S. Furthermore, when oil prices improve to $50 to $60 a barrel, they forecast "a robust free cash flow improvement, more than covering the dividend yield of 4.2%."
Meanwhile, action by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch had some shareholders on the run from Nike (NKE) . The firm downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral and lowered its price target by $9 to $46. The BofA/Merrill Lynch analysts believe Nike's market share loss to Adidas (ADDYY) and Under Amour (UA) will continue through 2017 as "manufacturers and competitors indicated a potential narrowing of the innovation gap for Nike's pipeline relative to the competition compared to historical levels." The analysts added that Nike's international futures will slow in coming months as competition in key markets becomes more difficult.
"Nike's not right here, it's expensive," said TheStreet's Jim Cramer on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" Monday morning. Cramer noted that the firm said it could be a full year before Nike has something new.
Shares of Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) were taking a hit during the trading session Monday, down more than 13%, after the company trimmed its guidance for the full year. The medical-device maker lowered its 2016 revenue outlook to between $7.63 billion and $7.65 billion, compared to its prior forecast of $7.68 billion and $7.72 billion. The company also expects full-year earnings between $7.90 and $7.95 per share, lowering the high end of its previous outlook.
For the third quarter, Zimmer Biomet reported earnings of $1.79 per share, which was in line with Wall Street's expectations. But revenue of $1.83 billion for the period was slightly below estimates.
Finally, Loews (L) shares were rising by nearly 6% during midday trading after its third-quarter results beat estimates. The commercial property and casualty insurance company reported earnings of $0.97 per share, soundly surpassing analysts' forecasts of $0.72. Loews posted revenue of $3.29 billion for the period.
