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Chicago, IL – February 20, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Nebius Group (NBIS) as the Bull of the Day and Parsons PSN as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on —Verisk Analytics, Inc. VRSK, Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp SHIP and Vulcan Materials Company VMC.
Here is a synopsis of all three stocks:
Nebius Group is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that has a F for Value and a C for Growth. This company is an AI centric cloud infrastructure concern. The company has grown from 7 data centers to 16 in a little over a year and a half and has a few interesting private company investments as well. Let’s learn more about why this stock is the Bull of the Day.
Nebius Group NV is a technology company that provides infrastructure and services to AI builders worldwide. It offers Nebius AI, an AI-centric cloud platform provides full-stack infrastructure, including large-scale GPU clusters, cloud services, and developer tools. The company also operates through specialized brands: Toloka AI, which partners in data for generative AI development; TripleTen, an edtech platform focused on re-skilling individuals for tech careers; and Avride, which develops autonomous driving technology. Nebius Group was founded by Elena Kolmanovskaya, Ilya Segalovich, Mikhail Fadeev, and Arkady Volozh in 1989 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number. This tells me right away where the market’s expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market. A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved. That is what you want to see.
Nebius Group has reported two times when there was a Zacks Consensus Estimate. Two quarters ago the company posted a loss of 39 cents when a loss of 52 cents was expected. That 13 cent beat translates into a positive earnings surprise of 25%.
The company recently reported earnings of a loss of 69 cents when the Zacks Consensus Estimate was calling for a loss of 44 cents and that 25 cent miss translates to a negative earnings surprise of -56%.
The key ideas on the most recent earnings print is that the company is now at an annual revenue run rate of $1.25B and also gave some interesting CapEx guidance.
The company expects to spend between $16B - $20B this year, but at least 60% of that will be funded from operations. The consensus revenues estimate is at $8.7B, so we should expect that at least one of its private company investments might be spun out.
One of their investments is in AVRIDE, an autonomous vehicle service. I was in an AVRIDE uber when in Dallas the other month and having owned a Tesla for the last 6 years I can say there is a significant difference between the two. The AVRIDE system was more appropriately aggressive when it needed to be as compared to the Tesla autopilot. You can view a snip of my ride here ( https://www.instagram.com/p/DTrIHCKkczp/).
Earnings estimate revisions is what the Zacks Rank is all about.
Estimates for 2026 are moving higher for Nebius Group.
The current fiscal year 2026 has increased from a loss of $3.06 to a loss of $2.12 over the last 60 days.
Fiscal 2027 has increased from a loss of $1.28 to a loss of $0.84 over the last 60 days.
The valuation for Nebius Group is interesting given the growth prospects. 2026 is expected to see sales of $3.25B which would be good for 508% topline growth. That is not a typo, 508% revenue growth this year. Analysts have projected revenue of $8.7 for 2026 and that would be good for 167% growth.
The price to book comes in at 5.5x and despite being a little more than value investors would be willing to pay, it shows how there can be growth and value at the same time… but don’t expect that to be the case for a long time. Price to sales is at 48x right now, but given the massive topline growth that metric will shrink considerably this year.
Given the large CapEx guidance I felt it was important to highlight the private company investments that NBIS has.
ClickHouse is an open source database platform focused on AI and has a valuation of around $15B. NBIS holds a 28% stake in the company.
AVRIDE is the autonomous driving technology company of which NBIS holds 83% of. A recent funding round placed the valuation just shy of $3B.
Toloka is a data labeling and AI development services platform and is controlled by NBIS. Estimates for the valuation range between $500M - $850M and recently raised $72M from the likes of Bezos Expeditions and the CTO of Shopify Mikhail Parakhin.
TripleTen is an edtech platform for re-skilling in technology careers and is controlled by NBIS. Estimates for the valuation of the company range wildly, with a low of around $50M to a high of $800M. The company grew revenue by 88% in 2025 with revenue of around $41M.
Parsons is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) after recently missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The stock has a Zacks Style Score for Value of C and a B for Growth. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.
Parsons Corporation 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 Corporation is based in Centreville, United States.
When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number. This tells me right away where the market’s expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market. A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved. That is what you want to see.
In the case of Parsons I see the company has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn’t make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.
The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.
The most recent earnings report from PSN saw the company post $0.75 in EPS when the Zacks Consensus Estimate was calling for $0.80. That 5 cent miss translates to a 6.25% negative earnings surprise.
The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower. For Parsons I see annual estimates for next year moving lower of late.
The current fiscal year consensus number has slid from $3.51 to $3.33 over the last 60 days.
The next fiscal year has also dropped from $3.95 to $3.70 over the last 60 days.
Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
It should be noted that a lot of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions. That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Wall Street has remained volatile for most of 2026, with major indexes giving up their previous gains. Tech stocks, which have driven the market rally over the past few years, have lately been taking a beating. Also, high inflation and uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s rate cut outlook have been making markets volatile.
Given the uncertainty, cautious investors looking for steady income and ways to protect their capital may consider holding or investing in dividend-paying stocks.
Such stocks provide steady earnings through regular dividend payouts and can help mitigate the effects of market volatility. Three such stocks are: Verisk Analytics, Inc., Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp and Vulcan Materials Company.
Tech stocks have lately been suffering, which has been weighing on the broader market. Tech stocks have been largely responsible for the broader market rally over the past few years, thanks to the enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI.
However, concerns started growing earlier this year over the profitability of the AI stocks, given the massive investments being made by the tech companies. This led to an initial tech selloff, eroding much of this year’s gain made by the three major indexes.
These fears were somewhat alleviated, but fresh AI disruptions have been rattling tech stocks. Investors are now concerned that advances in AI could disrupt some business models, leading not only to a massive tech selloff but also to financial, transportation and logistics stocks.
Also, inflation, despite easing over the past few months, is still far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged in its current range of 3.5% to 3.75% after cutting interest rates by 75 basis points last year.
Investors now remain uncertain about the Fed’s monetary policy outlook. Also, growing tensions between the United States and Iran have flared up fresh fears of a conflict between the two nations.
Verisk Analytics, Inc. is one of the leading data analytics providers serving customers in the insurance, energy, financial services and specialized markets. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze data, VRSK draws on unique data assets and deep domain expertise to provide innovations that are integrated into customer workflows. Verisk Analytics has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
On Feb. 13, Verisk Analytics announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.50 a share on March 31. VRSK has a dividend yield of 1.02%. Over the past five years, Verisk Analytics has increased its dividend six times, and its payout ratio presently sits at 26% of earnings. Check Verisk Analytics’ dividend history here.
Seanergy Maritime Holdings is a prominent pure-play Capesize ship-owner, which provides marine dry bulk transportation services through a modern fleet of Capesize vessels. SHIP has a Zacks Rank #1.
On Feb. 13, Seanergy Maritime declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.20 a share on April 10. SHIP has a dividend yield of 4.11%. Over the past five years, Seanergy Maritime Holdingshas increased its dividend seven times, and its payout ratio presently sits at 28% of earnings. Check Seanergy Maritime Holdings’dividend history here.
Vulcan Materials operates primarily in the United States as the nation's largest supplier of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel) and a major producer of aggregates-intensive downstream products like asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete. VMC has a Zacks Rank #3.
On Feb. 13, Vulcan Materials Company announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.52 a share on March 23. VMC has a dividend yield of 0.65%. Over the past five years, Vulcan Materials Company has increased its dividend six times, and its payout ratio presently sits at 23% of earnings. Check Vulcan Materials Company’s dividend history here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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