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As earnings season kicks off in earnest next week, companies like Morgan Stanley and Citizens Financial Group could exceed Wall Street’s expectations and see their shares climb as a result. The first-quarter reporting season begins next week, with 28 companies in the S & P 500 — nearly 6% of the index, and four of the components in the Dow Jones Industrial Average , scheduled to report their latest results. The week will be headlined by Netflix , Johnson & Johnson and big banks such as Goldman Sachs , JPMorgan , BlackRock , Bank of America , Morgan Stanley and Citigroup . CNBC Pro screened data from Bespoke Investment Group to turn up companies that have a solid track record of surpassing analysts’ expectations and which also tend to see their shares rise on the back of these beats. The companies in the below table have beaten earnings per share estimates at least 75% of the time and average a gain of 1% or more the first day after posting their latest financials. Morgan Stanley reports earnings next Wednesday. The bank has historically topped analysts’ earnings estimates 80% of the time, and on average has risen 1% following its earnings report. On Tuesday, UBS upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. “Given the recent barrage of headlines hitting the market and bank stocks (Iran conflict, private credit, AI disruption), we think it’s an opportunity for investors to add quality stocks in their portfolios,” analyst Erika Najarian wrote. Shares of Morgan Stanley are up less than 1% this year. Najarian’s price target of $196, up from $195, implies roughly 11% upside from Wednesday’s close. Citizens Financial Group is another company reporting next week with a history of beating earnings expectations. The bank has surpassed estimates on earnings topped bottom-line estimates 80% of the time, with its stock averaging a gain of about 1.5% after its results are released. Last week, Goldman Sachs added the stock to its conviction buy list. “For CFG, Ryan Nash believes that the bank should continue to benefit from having a best-in-class return improvement story, solid organic growth from its private bank, and optionality for further [return on tangible common equity] ROTCE improvement or investing for the next leg of growth from its ‘reimagine the bank’ initiative which is targeting substantial operating savings,” the bank wrote. Shares of Citizens Financial are up 11% on the year. Goldman’s 12-month price target of $76 corresponds to an additional rally of 19%.
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