Dental Stocks' Earnings Roster For Nov 3: BDX, VWR, ACET

The current week is set to see a plethora of earnings releases as many bigwigs are lined up to report their quarterly numbers. Notably, the third-quarter earnings season is projected to be the first quarter to see positive earnings growth after five consecutive quarters of decline, courtesy of improving growth trends, a string of positive surprises and stability in current-quarter estimates.

A glimpse at the earnings scorecard reveals that 332 S&P 500 members have already reported their quarterly figures, which accounted for 74.1% of the index’s total market capitalization as of Nov 1. As per the latest Earnings Outlook, reported earnings increased 1.9% year over year on a 1.3% surge in revenues, with the beat ratio being 72.9% for earnings and 55.4% for revenues.

Coming to the Medical universe, medical is one of the major broader sectors among the 16 Zacks sectors in the S&P 500 cohort that is expected to report earnings growth in the third quarter. The sector is likely to report earnings growth of 6% on revenue improvement of 7.3%. Dental is an important component of this sector and is expected follow the same earnings growth trajectory in the quarter. Here, we take a sneak peek into three Dental stocks set to report their quarterly figures on Nov 3:

Based in Franklin Lakes, NJ, Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) , commonly known as BD, is a medical technology company engaged principally in the development, manufacture and sale of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents.

BD is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 earnings. Last quarter, the company reported earnings of $2.35 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.19. Notably, BD’s results compared favorably with the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, resulting in an average beat of 6.25%.

An unfavorable foreign exchange rate is anticipated to remain a headwind for the coming quarters for BD. Additionally, tough year-over-year comparisons in the fiscal fourth quarter also pose as concerns. However, on the brighter note, BD's innovative product line, number of regulatory approvals both in the U.S. and international markets and strategic partnerships are likely to boost BD’s trajectory (read more: Becton, Dickinson Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?).

As per our model, a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to beat earnings.

Thus, the company is not likely to beat earnings, given the combination of an earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Headquartered in Radnor, PA, VWR Corporation (NASDAQ:VWR) , also known as VWR, is an independent worldwide provider of products, services and solutions to laboratory and production facilities.

VWR is scheduled to release its third-quarter 2016 financial results before the market opens. In the last quarter, the company reported adjusted earnings per share of 42 cents, reflecting a 23.5% rise from the year-ago quarter, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Based on a series of initiatives adopted of late, VWR has showed balanced growth in the Americas and EMEA-APAC organically. Additionally, VWR has successfully maintained a diverse and stable customer base, which is a key positive in our view. However, headwinds like margin pressure, strengthening of domestic currency and competitive landscape are major downsides.

Nevertheless, our proven model does not conclusively show that the company is likely to beat earnings, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 and earnings ESP of 0.00%. Please check our Earnings ESP Filter that enables you to find stocks that are expected to come out with earnings surprises.

Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, ACETO Corporation (NASDAQ:ACET) is an international company engaged in the development, marketing, sales and distribution of Human Health products, Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Performance Chemicals.

ACETO is scheduled to report first-quarter fiscal 2017 financial results after the closing bell. Last quarter, the company posted adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share, missing the estimate mark by 2 cents.

We are upbeat about the new launches of Fluocinolone Acetonide Body Oil and Fluocinolone Acetonide Scalp Oil by ACETO’s subsidiary Rising Pharmaceuticals in the quarter.

However, our proven model does not conclusively show that the company is likely to beat earnings, given the combination of a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

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