Earnings Previews: FedEx, Luminar, Nike, Celsion

Wednesday afternoon’s and Thursday morning’s noteworthy earnings reports were included in our Tuesday preview covering scheduled reports from electric pickup maker Lordstown Motors, cannabis producers Sundial Growers and Hexo, and discount retailer Dollar General.

Here’s a look at four stocks scheduled to report quarterly results after markets close Thursday or before they open Friday morning.

FedEx

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) posted a share price gain of nearly 75% in 2020, sharply higher than the nearly 50% gain posted by rival UPS. Of course, UPS’s market cap is just over double that of FedEx, and both companies prospered from higher demand for delivery services as more Americans stayed away from brick-and-mortar stores and demand soared for residential service and health care shipments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. FedEx reports results Thursday afternoon.

Consensus estimates call for fiscal third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $3.22, up 128% compared with the same period in fiscal 2020. Revenue is forecast to rise by 14% to nearly $20 billion. For the full fiscal year ending in May, analysts currently estimate EPS of $17.41, a year-over-year jump of 83%. Revenue is pegged at $79.7 billion, up 15% year over year.

Some three-quarters of the 28 analysts covering the stock rate it at Strong Buy (eight) or Buy (13), and the other seven rate FedEx as a Hold. The consensus price target is $323.51, implying a potential upside of around 24% to the current price of around $261.20. At the high target of $386, the potential upside is a whopping 48%.

The stock’s 52-week trading range is $89.80 to $305.66, and FedEx pays an annual dividend of $2.60 (yield of 0.96%). At the current share price, the stock trades at about 15 times expected fiscal 2021 earnings, 14 times expected 2022 EPS and 13 times expected 2023 earnings.

Nike

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), which also reports after markets close Thursday, has posted a year-to-date price gain of 41% in the 2020 calendar year. Digital sales in each of the past two quarters have been more than 80% higher than sales in the same periods a year ago.

At least one analyst said Wednesday morning that he expects Nike’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) business to increase by 24% year over year in the third fiscal quarter. In the first fiscal quarter (ended in August), DTC sales accounted for 35% of the company’s total sales. CEO John Donahoe, who came to Nike from eBay, has focused on DTC sales as critical to Nike’s long-term profitability.

Analysts are looking for fiscal third-quarter EPS to rise by around 43% year over year to $0.76 on revenue of $11.04 billion, up 9% year over year. For the full fiscal year ending in May, the consensus estimates call for EPS of $3.03, a year-over-year jump of 150%, on a sales increase of nearly 15% to $43.3 billion.

Analysts seem a bit wary of Nike stock, with 17 of 37 giving the shares a Hold rating while 12 have a Buy rating and another seven have a Strong Buy rating (down from 10 in February). The consensus price target of $163.75 implies a potential gain of about 13%, based on a current trading price of $145.00. At the high target of $185, the potential upside on the stock is nearly 28%.

The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $60.00 to $147.95, and Nike pays an annual dividend of $1.10 (yield of 0.78%). The stock currently trades at multiples of 49 to expected 2021 earnings, 37 to estimated 2022 EPS and nearly 32 to estimated 2023 earnings.

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