The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Mastec, Parsons and MACOM

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – December 17, 2024 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Mastec MTZ, Parsons PSN and MACOM Technology Solutions MTSI.Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:The Last Fed Meeting of 2024: Global Week AheadIn the Global Week Ahead? The end of 2024 is almost in sight for stock traders.Yet, this last mile will be anything but slow:·        Central banks in the U.S.A., the U.K., and Japan meet this week, and·        Germany holds a vote of “no confidence” in its governmentNext are Reuters’ five world market themes, re-ordered for equity traders—(1) On Wednesday, a two-day Fed meeting in the USA wraps.The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to continue monetary easing with a 25 basis- point (bps) rate cut on Wednesday, in what would be its 3rd straight reduction, with the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising in line with economists' estimates.Investors have curtailed expectations for how much the Fed will cut next year.Traders expect rates to fall to about 3.7% by end-2025 from the current 4.5%-4.75% range, roughly 90 basis points higher than what was priced in back in September.That puts the focus on the Fed's own rate projections and on any insight from Chair Jerome Powell about his expectations for future easing.Chair Powell has said the economy is stronger now than the Fed had anticipated in September, and appeared to signal his support for a slower pace of rate cuts ahead.(2) On Thursday, the Bank of England should keep its policy rate steady.When it comes to rate cuts, the Bank of England (BoE) has been driving in the slow lane.Traders expect the BoE to hold rates at 4.75% on Thursday, just 50 bps below a previous 16-year peak, and to resist a third 25 bps cut until February.Employer tax hikes in the Labour government's October budget motivated big businesses to warn of price rises, fueling inflation concerns and helping propel sterling to 2-1/2 year highs against the euro as the ECB eases policy more rapidly than the BoE.But bond markets are querying this divergence, with two-year gilt yields, which move on rate forecasts, dropping to about 4.38% from more than 4.5% a month ago.U.K. employment growth is slowing as tax rises deter hiring plans and consumer confidence is weak. Sterling bulls should watch out for the BoE shifting gears.(3) On Thursday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) also makes monetary policy decisions.The pendulum of BoJ policy expectations has swung widely in the last two weeks, tying traders in knots.But as the Dec. 19th decision looms, the signal is becoming clearer — even if the outcome is still uncertain.Reuters reported on Thursday that policymakers are leaning towards a pause, waiting for further data on wages and clarity on President-elect Trump's policies before raising rates for a third time.A day earlier, Bloomberg reported that BoJ officials see "little cost" from delaying additional tightening.No doubt the BoJ decision is live, meaning market volatility could be high.One mooted risk is that the Fed surprises by not cutting rates on Dec. 18th, triggering a jump in dollar/yen.But analysts note it would be very rare for the Fed to go against the grain when market conviction for a cut is so strong.(4) December Purchasing Manager Indices (PMIs) come out.Once-robust services sectors across big economies are faltering, bringing a divergence with sluggish manufacturing activity to an end.That was the takeaway from November PMIs.December numbers, out across the globe next week, should show if the slowdown is getting deeper.The November Eurozone composite PMI, seen as a good gauge of overall economic health, sank to 48.3 from October's 50.0.Britain's all-sector PMI fell to its lowest in a year at 50.9 — just above the marker that separates contraction from expansion.Even U.S. services sector activity slowed.U.S. tariff worries, and French and German political ructions, have the potential to hurt business activity.For some observers, the PMI data paints too pessimistic a picture of underlying activity, with falling interest rates helping to bolster sentiment.Zacks #1 Rank (STRONG BUY) StocksHere are three large-cap stocks that showed impressive price momentum in 2024.(1) Mastec: This is a $137 a share stock in the Building Products-Heavy Construction industry. The market cap is $10.9B. I see a Zacks Value score of C, a Zacks Growth score of A and a Zacks Momentum score of C.MasTec is a leading infrastructure construction company.It engages in the engineering, building, installation, maintenance & upgrade of energy, communication & utility and other infrastructure.·        Its Communications unit performs engineering, construction & maintenance of communications infrastructure mainly related to wireless & wireline communications & install-to-the-home.·        The Oil & Gas unit performs engineering, construction & maintenance services on oil & natural gas pipelines & processing facilities for the energy & utilities industries.·        The Electrical Transmission unit primarily serves the energy & utility industries through the engineering, construction & maintenance of electrical transmission lines & substations.·        The Clean Energy & Infrastructure unit primarily serves the energy & utility end-markets & other end-markets through the installation & construction of conventional & renewable power plants, related electrical transmission infrastructure, ethanol facilities & various types of industrial infrastructure.(2) Parsons: This is a $97 a share stock in the Technology Services industry. The market cap is $10.1B. I see a Zacks Value score of C, a Zacks Growth score of A and a Zacks Momentum score of B.Parsons is a provider of technology-driven solutions.It is focused on the defense, intelligence and critical infrastructure markets.The company offers technical design and engineering services and software which consists of cybersecurity, intelligence, defense, military training, connected communities, physical infrastructure and mobility solutions.Parsons is based in Centreville, Virginia.(3) MACOM Technology Solutions: This is a $136 a share stock in the Semiconductor-Analog and Mixed industry. The market cap is $10.0B. I see a Zacks Value score of F, a Zacks Growth score of C and a Zacks Momentum score of A.MACOM Technology Solutions is a provider of power analog semiconductor solutions to varied markets.The company develops and produces analog radio frequency (RF), microwave and millimeter wave semiconductor devices, and components for applications in optical, wireless and satellite networks.The company, based in Lowell, MA, primarily serves three markets, namely, data center, industrial & defense and telecom.·        The Data Center market demands for complete chip-set solutions. MACOM offers modulator drivers, lasers, silicon photonics and many more in this market. It contributed 27.1% of total revenues in fiscal 2024.·        The Industrial and Defense (I&D) market requires military and commercial radar, RF jammers, electronic countermeasures and communication data links. It accounted for 48.2% of total revenues in fiscal 2024.·        The Telecom market leverages the power of the company's opto-electronic products such as optical post amplifiers, laser clock, modulator drivers, transmitter and receiver applications. This market accounted for 24.7% of total revenues in fiscal 2024.Geographically, in fiscal 2024, 44.9% of revenues came from the United States, 24.4% from China, 12.2% from Asia-Pacific (excluding China) and 18.5% from other countries.In fiscal 2023, sales to the top 25 direct customers accounted for an aggregate of 51.5% of the total revenues. However, no direct customer individually accounted for 10% or more of our revenue.MACOM competes with both customers' internal design resources as well as other high-performance analog semiconductor suppliers.A few of its competitors include Analog Devices, NXP Semiconductors, Inphi Corp., Broadcom, Semtech Solutions, Cobham, Microsemi Corp. and Qorvo, among others.Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.0 average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +44.9%, +48.4% and +55.2% per year.Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.See Stocks Free >>Media ContactZacks Investment Research800-767-3771 ext. 9339support@zacks.comhttps://www.zacks.comPast performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.Zacks Naming Top 10 Stocks for 2025Want to be tipped off early to our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2025?History suggests their performance could be sensational.From 2012 (when our Director of Research Sheraz Mian assumed responsibility for the portfolio) through November, 2024, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,112.6%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +475.6%. Now Sheraz is combing through 4,400 companies to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold in 2025. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 2.Be First to New Top 10 Stocks >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MasTec, Inc. (MTZ): Free Stock Analysis Report MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (MTSI): Free Stock Analysis Report Parsons Corporation (PSN): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks