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Regeneron, Nuance Communications, Waste Management, Waste Connections and Republic Services highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – May 17, 2017 –Zacks Equity Research Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN – Free Report ) as the Bull of the Day, Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN – Free Report ) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM – Free Report ), Waste Connections Inc. (NYSE: WCN – Free Report ) and Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG – Free Report ).

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day :

Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN – Free Report ) is a $48 billion biotechnology company based in Tarrytown, New York that develops drug therapies for a range of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, pain, cancer and infectious diseases.

The company is probably best known for Eylea, its treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration. Since launching in 2011, Eylea surpassed $5 billion in global sales in 2016 as the drug continues to expand into additional therapeutic indications.

The Regeneron Story

REGN was a sub-$50 stock for most of its two decades as a public company until the launch of Eylea grabbed Wall Street's attention. They now boast 5,550 employees of which 730 possess an MD, PhD or PharmD degree.

Regeneron utilizes its discovery platform to create fully human monoclonal antibodies and their nearly 3 decades of science R&D has resulted in five FDA-approved medicines and numerous product candidates, including 15 antibodies currently in clinical trials across multiple therapeutic areas.

REGN's platform technologies include Targeted GenomicsTM, FunctionomicsTM, and Designer Protein TherapeuticsTM. Regeneron has drugs in clinical and preclinical development for the potential treatment of obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, allergies, asthma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, constipating conditions, ischemia, and other diseases and disorders.

Regeneron's platform VelociSuite technology has helped generate a broad array of promising human monoclonal antibodies, including the recently launched Praluent and Dupixent, and yields one of biotech's most full pipelines.

Why the Vault from $366 to $454?

The company delivered their quarterly report on May 4 and despite an earnings miss, the outlook for sales of their recently approved and launched dermatitis drug Dupixent sent Wall Street analysts and investors scrambling to raise estimates and buy more shares.

The Zacks EPS consensus for this year moved up from $10.16 to $10.52, representing 27% growth. And full-year 2018 estimates jumped from $10.90 to $12.10 for 15% growth.

Revenues are expected to hit $5.45 billion this year and $6.22 billion next year, for 12% and 14% sales growth respectively.

But it's the early prescription data for Dupixent that has investors really excited. I bought shares of REGN on April 27 for my new Zacks Healthcare Innovators portfolio, inspired by what I thought was an irresistible dip to $360. Here's what I told my subscribers on Friday May 12...

Once again, another week where REGN needs no explaining as the stock poked its nose over $450 at one point today, generating an open gain over 23%. Our timing was very fortuitous as we caught a great asset near the bottom of expectations and the height of uncertainty. Now she's firing on all cylinders as sales ramp up for Dupixent as a first line systemic treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) patients.

The drug was launched at a WAC (wholesale acquisition cost) price of $37,000 annually and based on recent commentary from management and partner Sanofi, analysts believe that market access for the drug is progressing well, with coverage for several major payers/PBMs secured. More than 1,800 healthcare providers have already written more than 3,500 prescriptions thus far.

Since that is only about 25% of physicians targeted, second quarter prescriptions are expected to hit 6,500 with about 4,000 patients on the drug. If we multiply 4K X $37K we get $148 million for the year, divided by 4 for the quarter would equate to roughly $37 million in revenue. But these rough projections are based on the full price of $37K. Obviously, there will be discounts, etc.

Bear of the Day :

Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN – Free Report ) has been Bear of the Day many times in the past few years. I know because I wrote several of those reports from 2013 through 2015 when it seemed like shares could never get very far from $15.

And despite its intriguing Dragon voice technology and notable ownership over the years by smart hedge fund titans like Carl Icahn, the single dynamic that continues to make NUAN a Zacks #5 Rank keeps cropping up, or rather, down.

I'm talking about earnings estimates of course. While 2016 looked promising as estimates headed back up over $1 for full-year EPS, May of 2017 has brought an end to that party for the $5.5 billion NUAN.

In the past week, the Zacks EPS consensus for the fiscal year ending in September has dropped from $1.06 to $0.78.

And analyst moves for fiscal year 2018 have seen the consensus profit projection also fall about 27% from $1.13 to $0.82.

Drifting Sales, Sailing Whales

The sales picture tells part of the story as revenues appear to flat-line near $2 billion annually.

This year's haul is expected to be $2.04 billion, only a 4% increase over last year. And next year's $2.11 billion top line will only represent 3.66% growth.

Plus, these sales estimates may fall further too if analysts have not updated us yet fully on that component.

And one investor who is not waiting around to find out anymore is Carl Icahn. In SEC quarterly filings this week it was revealed that he has now given up and liquidated his stake. In short, this investment "whale" has turned tail and sailed away.

With $2 billion in annual sales, it's hard to say that this is a company you should give up on. But with a forward P/E ratio near 25X and the "E" once again falling faster than the "P," it's probably best to stay on the sidelines at this time with NUAN.

The Zacks Rank will let you know when the Dragon is safe again.

Additional content:

3 Waste Removal Stocks in Focus as Clean Power Plan Pauses

As the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted a freeze on the ongoing litigation over the Clean Power Plan for 60 days, waste removal stocks largely gained prominence. Critics allege that the ‘stay order’ on the court proceedings will likely help President Trump to either revise the plan or undo it completely.

The Clean Power Plan was introduced in Aug 2015 by former President Obama to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity by 32% through 2030 compared to 2005 levels. It was estimated that power plants accounted for nearly 40% of the harmful carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and a significant reduction in this pollutant was necessary to improve the quality of air.

The law encouraged higher investments in renewable energy, natural gas and nuclear power to shift from coal-fired power. However, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the plan in Feb 2016, pending judicial review by a federal appeals court.

With Obama’s environmental policies taking a backseat and Trump’s pro-growth agenda with regulatory rollbacks gaining cynosure, waste removal stocks have been in the spotlight. Let’s have an overview of three such stocks in the industry that are likely to gain in the near term.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WM – Free Report ): Headquartered in Houston, TX, Waste Management is the largest provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. The company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, as well as disposal services to nearly 20 million residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the U.S.

Waste Management currently has a Value Growth Momentum Score ( VGM Score) of ‘A’ and a healthy long-term growth expectation of 9.5%. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of ‘A’ or ‘B,' when combined a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy), offer the best investment opportunities for investors. Waste Management carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .

Waste Connections Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Free Report ): It is an integrated solid waste services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services across the U.S. and Canada. The company also offers non-hazardous oilfield waste treatment, recovery and disposal services in various active natural resource producing areas in the country through its R360 Environmental Solutions subsidiary. It carries a Zacks Rank #3. The stock has outperformed the Zacks categorized Waste Removal Services industry in the past three months with an average return of 12.0% compared with 4.4% gain for the latter.

Waste Connections has a healthy long-term growth expectation of 15.8%. The stock has a VGM Score of ‘B’ and a Zacks Rank #2.

Republic Services Inc. (NYSE:RSG – Free Report ): This Zacks Rank #2 stock is the second largest domestic non-hazardous solid waste company in the U.S. It provides non-hazardous solid waste disposal services for commercial, industrial, municipal and residential applications across the country and Puerto Rico.

Republic Services has a modest long-term growth expectation of 9.2%. The stock yielded an average return of 6.5% during the past three months.

Moving Forward

Waste removal space is highly lucrative at the moment with the several factors working in its favor. Investors should watch out for the future proceedings in this space to capitalize on potential investment opportunities that could give them a solid return on investment.

5 Trades Could Profit "Big-League" from Trump Policies

If the stocks above spark your interest, wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington's changing course.

Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals, tariffs, lower taxes, higher interest rates, and spending surges in defense and infrastructure. See these buy recommendations now >>

Get today’s Zacks #1 Stock of the Day with your free subscription to Profit from the Pros newsletter:

About the Bull and Bear of the Day

Every day, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research select two stocks that are likely to outperform (Bull) or underperform (Bear) the markets over the next 3-6 months.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous analyst coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NUAN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Waste Management, Inc. (WM): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Republic Services, Inc. (RSG): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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