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BANK OF AMERICA: These 16 stocks are primed to smash investor expectations and beat the market as we enter the most crucial stretch of earnings season

Oct 22, 2018, 21:28 IST

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on October 7, 2013 in New York City. As the impasse continues between the Republicans and Democrats in Washington, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all dropped by nearly 1% Monday.Spencer Platt/Getty

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  • A third of all S&P 500 companies are set to report third-quarter earnings during the weeks of Oct. 22 and Oct. 29.
  • These two busy weeks are the most important for stock pickers looking for opportunities to beat their benchmarks, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
  • The firm's analysts compiled a list of buy-rated stocks reporting during these two crucial weeks, which they expect to outperform the market's expectations.

We're officially in the most important two weeks of earnings season, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

They're the two busiest periods during which S&P 500 companies will update investors on their third-quarter performance, and when many will provide guidance for the months ahead.

By BofAML's calculation, 33% of earnings are on tap this week and next.

The firm's analysts went a step further to identify the stocks that are poised to deliver the biggest earnings surprises. For stock pickers, these post-earnings rallies could mean returns bigger than what the broader market is offering.

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"Alpha opportunity should be high: our work suggests that stock differentiation is heightened during earnings season, particularly the busiest reporting days, which fall this week on Oct. 23-25 and next week on Oct 30-Nov 1," a team led by Savita Subramanian said in a note on Monday.

The list below showcases stocks that BofAML has handpicked as most likely to beat earnings expectations. They are all buy-rated, and are scheduled to report third-quarter results during the earnings-season peak that Subramanian specified.

They are ranked in ascending order of the number of standard deviations between BofAML's earnings-per-share estimates and the consensus. A higher Z-score implies that the firm's analysts are more bullish than their peers.

16. Torchmark

Ticker: TMK

Sector: Financials

Expected report date: Oct. 24

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 151.6

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

15. Zimmer Biomet Holdings

Ticker: ZBH

Sector: Healthcare

Expected report date: Oct. 26

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 1.5

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

14. Illumina

Ticker: ILMN

Sector: Healthcare

Expected report date: Oct. 30

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.3

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

13. UPS

Ticker: UPS

Sector: Industrials

Expected report date: Oct. 24

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.5

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

12. TE Connectivity

Ticker: TEL

Sector: Industrials

Expected report date: Oct. 24

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.5

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

11. F5 Networks

Ticker: FFIV

Sector: Information Technology

Expected report date: Oct. 24

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.2

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 1.4

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

10. Global Payments

Ticker: GPN

Sector: Information Technology

Expected report date: Nov. 1

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.4

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.2

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

9. SVB Financial Group

Ticker: SIVB

Sector: Financials

Expected report date: Oct. 25

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.6

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.2

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

8. Eaton Corp.

Ticker: ETN

Sector: Industrials

Expected report date: Oct. 30

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 0.9

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.2

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

7. Starbucks

Ticker: SBUX

Sector: Consumer Discretionary

Expected report date: Nov. 1

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 1.3

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

6. Chubb

Ticker: CB

Sector: Financials

Expected report date: Oct. 23

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 5.3

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

5. Apple

Ticker: AAPL

Sector: Information Technology

Expected report date: Nov. 1

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1.1

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 2.3

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

4. Verisk Analytics

Ticker: VRSK

Sector: Industrials

Expected report date: Oct. 30

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1.3

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.4

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

3. Align Technology

Ticker: ALGN

Sector: Healthcare

Expected report date: Oct. 24

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1.4

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 1.8

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

2. Flowserve

Ticker: FLS

Sector: Industrials

Expected report date: Oct. 25

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1.4

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.3

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

1. PulteGroup

Ticker: PHM

Sector: Consumer Discretionary

Expected report date: Oct. 23

BofAML vs. consensus EPS (Z-Score): 1.7

BofAML vs. consensus sales (Z-Score): 0.9

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

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