More than 1,500 publicly traded companies are scheduled to report March quarter earnings this 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 at companies reporting earnings following Monday’s closing bell and before markets open again Tuesday morning, we have previewed CVS, Pfizer, Under Armour and more. We also have taken a look at some stocks that report results after markets close Tuesday: Activision Blizzard, Devon Energy, Lyft, Skillz and more.

The five companies previewed in this story are scheduled to report earnings before Wednesday’s opening bell.

Barrick

Gold miner Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: GOLD) added 24% to its share price last year, but that was a bit disappointing considering the shares were up about 65% in early September. The yellow metal had reached a three-year high of more than $2,000 an ounce in early August but has been trending downward ever since. Whether gold retains its status as a hedge against inflation could be tested as cryptocurrencies gain increasing acceptance as a store of value.

Analysts are bullish on Barrick, with 19 of 23 rating the stock a Buy or Strong Buy. At a recent price of around $22.00, shares are trading with a potential upside of 34% to the consensus price target of $29.57 and a potential upside of  66% to the high target of $36.50.

Barrick is expected to post March quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27, a year-over-year increase of nearly 69%. Revenue is expected to rise by 10.6% to $3.01 billion. For the full year, EPS is forecast at $1.22, up by 5.7% year over year on sales of $12.48, down nearly 1% from 2020 sales.

At the current price, Barrick stock trades at 19.4 times expected 2021 EPS, 18.2 times estimated 2022 earnings and 17.0 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $18.64 to $31.22. The company pays an annual dividend of $0.36 (yield of 1.69%), and the average daily trading volume is 18.3 million shares.

Exelon

Regulated electricity and natural gas supplier Exelon Corp. (NYSE: EXC) saw its share price dip by nearly 4% last year. For the year to date, the stock is up about 8.4%, and over the past 12 months, shares have gained nearly 32%. The company is the second-largest diversified utility in the country and the most actively traded of the U.S. stocks. Its share price growth and relatively high dividend stand out among the firms in this sector.

Analysts are upbeat on Exelon, with 14 of 17 firms rating the shares a Buy or Strong Buy. At a price of around $45.30, the upside potential is nearly 9% at the consensus price target of $49.27 and around 22% at the high target of $59.

For the March quarter, Exelon is expected to report EPS of $0.36, down nearly 59% year over year, on revenue of $8.38 billion, down 4.2% for the quarter. For the full fiscal year, analysts have forecast EPS of $2.79, 13% lower year over year, on revenue of $31.24 billion, down about 5.4%.

Exelon stock trades at 14.4 times expected 2021 EPS, 16.1 times estimated 2022 earnings and 15.1 times estimated 2023 earnings. The stock’s 52-week range is $33.97 to $46.37. The company pays an annual dividend of $1.53 (yield of 3.4%), and the average daily trading volume is about 5.2 million shares.

General Motors

Automaker General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) had a pretty good year in 2020. Its share price rose by more than 15% as demand for new vehicles soared along with federal stimulus payments. Despite an expected shortage of computer chips for most of this year, the shares have added nearly 37% to their value since January. Many investors see continuing strong demand for new vehicles, giving GM and other automakers solid pricing power.