Investors should be wary of stocks that are due to report next week whose lackluster earnings could send their share prices down. About 15% of companies in the S & P 500 will issue quarterly financials next week, including behemoths such as Caterpillar , Walt Disney and Eli Lilly . With more than half of S & P 500-listed firms already having reported as of Wednesday, second-quarter earnings have been strong. So far, more than 78% of companies have surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, according to FactSet. While earnings have been mostly positive this quarter, several stocks could bring bad news and trip up investors. To find these, CNBC Pro screened FactSet for companies reporting next week that have seen their earnings estimates cut by 5% or more in the past three and six months. CNBC Pro then sorted further for stocks that have buy ratings from 40% or less analysts. Here are the names to keep an eye on next week, as of current data Wednesday morning: Williams Companies is the first company on the list with earnings due for release Monday. The gas pipeline stock has seen analysts’ earnings per share estimates cut by 5.3% over the past three months and 18.6% over the past six months. Fewer than 2 out of every 5 analysts rate Williams a buy. One of them is Wells Fargo analyst Michael Blum, who last month raised his rating to overweight on expectations for multiple expansion for midstream natural gas stocks. Blum called Williams the “best way to play rising power demand in midstream” in a note to clients. Despite concerns heading into earnings, the stock is up more than 23% this year. Following this run, the typical analyst polled by FactSet anticipates less than 3% in further upside over the next year. WMB YTD mountain Williams, year to date Fertilizer maker Mosaic Company is due to report next Tuesday. Analysts have slashed their earnings per share outlook by 44% and 51% in the past three and six months, respectively. Fewer than 1 in 4 analysts rates Mosaic a buy. But the typical price target implies more than 17% upside, against the stock’s 17% decline so far in 2024. Rockwell Automation reports next Wednesday, with analysts chopping earnings per share forecasts by 34.5% in the past three months and 19.3% compared to six months ago. Only 1 in 5 analysts rate Milwaukee-based Rockwell a buy. Shares have tumbled more than 9% this year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet see little in the way of a rebound, with an average price target suggesting Rockwell may…
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