More than 900 publicly traded companies are scheduled to report March quarter earnings next week, with heavy representation from energy exploration and production companies. Other top brands, like Google, Ferrari, Pfizer and T-Mobile, are on deck as well.

Looking ahead to companies reporting earnings before Monday’s opening bell, we have previewed Enterprise Products and Estée Lauder.
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The companies previewed in this story include two scheduled to report earnings after Monday’s closing bell and three others set to report before Tuesday’s open.

Ballard Power

Hydrogen fuel-cell maker Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP) added more than 225% to its share price in 2020. Since the start of 2021, though, the stock has dipped by more than 5%. In March alone, the stock dumped about 18% of its value, following a less-than-glamorous fourth-quarter earnings report. Part of the problem is that the rush into alternative energy stocks last year outran these companies’ prospects. Ballard Power is among those that ended up either fully valued or overvalued, depending on one’s point of view.

Ten of 14 analysts have Buy or Strong Buy ratings on the shares and the others rate the stock a Hold. The consensus price target on the stock is $31.92, implying a potential gain of nearly 44% to a current price near $22.20. At the high target of $42.10, the upside potential is 90%.

Ballard Power is expected to report a first-quarter loss of $0.04 after markets close Monday. That’s 50% better than the six-cent loss per share in the first quarter of last year. Revenue rose 7.1% to $25.73 million year over year. For the full year, analysts are forecasting a loss per share of $0.17 on sales of $121.87 million. That’s an improvement of four cents per share year over year and 17.3% in revenue.

The company is not expected to post a profit in either 2022 or 2023. The stock’s 52-week range is $8.87 to $42.28, and Ballard Power does not pay a dividend.

SolarEdge

Israel-based SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG) also is scheduled to report March quarter results after markets close Monday. The maker of inverters and other products for solar energy installations saw its share price rise by about 200% in early January, although the 12-month gain currently sits at around 120%. Like most tech-focused firms, the stock has not had a good start to the year, with share prices down more than 15% for the year to date.

Of 18 brokerages covering the firm, seven have a Hold rating on the stock, while nine have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. The stock currently trades near $269.00, implying upside potential of 14.5% relative to the consensus price target. At the high target of $435, upside potential is almost 62%.

SolarEdge is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) of $0.99 for the first quarter, a four-cent increase year over year. Revenue is forecast at $396.21 million, down 8.1% compared with the year-ago quarter. For the full fiscal year, analysts are looking for EPS of $4.85, a year-over-year increase of 18%, on sales of $1.85 billion, up 27.1% year over year.

At the current price, SolarEdge shares trade at 55.2 times expected 2021 earnings, 42.0 times estimated 2022 earnings and 33.2 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock trades in a 52-week range of $101.19 to $377.00. The company does not pay a dividend.

CVS

Pharmacy and health plan services giant CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) is scheduled to report quarterly earnings before Tuesday’s opening bell. Shares dropped more than 5% last year, largely as a result of stay-at-home orders and lockdowns. Shares have risen more than 13% so far this year, yielding a 16-month share price gain of around 7.5%.
Most brokerages (15 of 24) rate CVS stock as a Buy or Strong Buy, with a 12-month consensus price target of $87.25. At about $76.35 per share, the upside potential on the stock about 14.3%. At the high target of $102, upside potential is nearly 34%.

Analysts have forecast first-quarter EPS of $1.71, down about 10.5% compared with the year-ago quarter. Revenue is expected to increase by 2.4% to $68.39 billion. For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $7.51 on sales of $280.09 billion. In 2020, CVS reported EPS of $7.50 and sales of $268.71 billion.
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CVS stock trades at 10.1 times expected 2021 EPS, 9.4 times estimated 2022 earnings and 8.7 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $55.36 to $77.44, and CVS pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share (yield of 2.62%).

Pfizer

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) is scheduled to report first-quarter results before markets open on Tuesday. The stock added just over 3% to its value last year, including a jump that lifted the shares by 20% after the company’s jointly developed vaccine against COVID-19 was approved for use. The stock has added another 6% since the beginning of the year. A ban prohibiting the company from exporting any of the vaccine expired on March 31, and the company has begun shipping doses to Mexico.

Recent analyst ratings tilt slightly to Buy or Strong Buy (12 of 22). The consensus price target on the stock is $40.69, implying an upside potential of 5.4% at a recent price of $38.59. At the high target of $53, potential upside is around 37%.

Pfizer is expected to report first-quarter EPS of $0.78 (down two cents year over year) on revenue of $13.64 billion, an increase of 13.4% year over year. For the full fiscal year, Pfizer is expected to post EPS of $3.38 (up 52% year over year) on sales of $63.23 billion (up nearly 51%).

Pfizer stock trades at 11.6 times expected 2021 EPS, 12.5 times estimated 2022 earnings and 12.1 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $29.99 to $43.08. The Dow Jones industrial average component pays an annual dividend of $1.56 (yield of 4.04%).

Under Armour

Athletic apparel maker Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UAA) saw its share price sink by more than 20% in 2020, due largely to a sharp downturn in sports participation during the pandemic lockdowns. The company’s share price finally broke above the flat line in late September, and the stock has gained more than 123% since then. Improved revenue is down to the direct-to-consumer and e-commerce businesses.

Analysts have chosen a wait-and-see attitude on the stock, though, with 19 of 33 brokers rating the stock a Hold. Only four rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, and 10 rate the shares at Underperform or Sell. The stock’s current price of around $24.60 is more than a dollar above its consensus price target. At the high target of $30, upside potential is around 22%.

For the March quarter, Under Armour is expected to report EPS of $0.03, up 37 cents compared to the year-ago quarter. Revenue is forecast to rise by 21% to $1.13 billion. For the full fiscal year, Under Armour is forecast to post EPS of $0.20, compared to a loss per share of $0.26 last year. Revenue is expected to climb by about 10% to $4.92 billion.

Under Armour stock trades at 120.1 times expected 2021 EPS, 68.7 times estimated 2022 earnings and 44.5 times expected 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $7.15 to $24.75, and the high was posted Friday morning. The company does not pay a dividend.

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