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8 Ways to Maximize Your Job Search in the New Year

Rachel Jay

Get on track for finding your dream job this year.

Read 8 Ways to Maximize Your Job Search in the New Year from Money Talks News.

Latest Stories

  • Suze Orman says these are Americans' biggest money blunders

    Avoid making these errors and you'll enjoy a better financial life, the money guru says.

  • Tesla Accuses Employee Who Worked For Company For Less Than 2 Weeks Of Stealing Trade Secrets

    Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) on Friday sued a former employee over claims of stealing trade secrets.What Happened: The electric-vehicle maker accuses Alex Khatilov of stealing more than 6,000 files of software code. The suit was filed in a U.S. District Court in California.Khatilov is a software engineer who worked at Tesla for under two weeks at the tail end of last year and the beginning of this year. Tesla alleges that he immediately began uploading source code when he took the job.Khatilov says he uploaded files to Dropbox so he could access them on his personal computer and that he didn't know that using Dropbox was prohibited. He says he did not share the files with anyone.Why It Matters: The code is used for back-end business and automation processes that Tesla says could be used by competitors. Tesla has a track record of aggressively going after former employees on grounds of stealing trade secrets. Trade Action: Tesla shares closed at $846.64 on Friday, up 0.2%.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla Takes Legal Action Against Chinese News Outlet Over Report Of 'Sweatshop' Conditions At Shanghai Gigafactory: Global Times * Tesla Searching For Director, Staff As It Plans To Set Up Design Studio In China: Reuters(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • How Biden's student loan forgiveness could throw you a big tax bomb

    Saying goodbye to some of your student debt could come at a huge price.

  • Top Cannabis Analysts Share Why They Are Bullish on These 2 Stocks

    Joe Biden has been inaugurated as the 46th President, just two weeks after the Democrats locked down control of the Senate with wins in both Georgia Senatorial runoff elections. These events give the Dems control of both Houses of Congress and the White House. While their Congressional margins are narrow – the narrowest possible in the Senate, where new Vice President Kamala Harris will have to cast tie-breaking votes in a 50-50 chamber – the Democrats do have the votes needed to push through their legislative agenda. And part of that agenda is Federal cannabis legislation. Don’t expect it to happen right away, as Congress and President Biden will have plenty of other priorities to handle first. But Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, a leading politician of the Democrats’ progressive wing, promised state-level legalization in his State of the State address – and like California, New York tends to be a trendsetter. In addition, Biden has tapped Federal judge Merrick Garland as his choice to head the Department of Justice; Garland is generally seen as centrist, but he has a judicial record from the Federal bench of respecting state-level cannabis legalization regimes. “[With] room for equity valuations to continue moving higher, we remain bullish on US cannabis and believe 2021 will be a pivotal year for the industry… We think investors will increasingly benefit from better visibility into company-specific growth rates and operational metrics through 2021... We also look for a continuation of state-led legalization initiatives,” Cormark Securities' Jesse Pytlak noted. Bearing this in mind, we used TipRanks’ database to take a closer look at two cannabis stocks backed by top cannabis analysts. These names received enough support from the analyst community to earn a “Strong Buy” consensus rating. Aphria, Inc. (APHA) Headquartered in Leamington, Ontario, Aphria is one of the giants of Canada’s legal cannabis sector. The company boasts a market cap exceeding CA$4 billion, and reported over CA$160.5 million in its last fiscal quarter, a year-over-year gain of 33%. That figure was a company record. The company announced in December an agreement for merger and acquisition with competing firm Tilray, a move that will create the world’s largest cannabis company, with a market value of CA$5 billion. The agreement will see all Aphria shareholders receive 0.8381 shares of Tilray. The merged entity will operate under the TLRY stock ticker when the move is completed. In the meantime, investors can take comfort in Aphria’s share growth. The stock is up 124% over the past 52 weeks. A significant portion of that gain has come in the 5 weeks since announcing the Tilray deal; APHA shares have appreciated 58% in that time. Aphria has caught the eye of 5-star Cantor analyst Pablo Zunaic, who believes that the company’s prospects are “[all] about what APHA + TLRY can do in a fast-deregulating cannabis world.” Zunaic added, “The leading Canadian company (16% APHA rec share plus TLRY 4% share), with a budding international unit (exporting to Israel, Germany Poland, Malta; production in Germany/Portugal; owned German distribution), plus ancillary assets that may be useful depending on the shape of future deregulation, should deserve a premium…” In line with these comments, the analyst rates APHA an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and his CA$26 price target implies a 59% upside potential from current levels. (To watch Zunaic’s track record, click here) Zunaic isn’t the only analyst bullish on Aphria. The company has 10 recent reviews, and their breakdown is 8 Buys against 2 Holds, making the analyst consensus view a Strong Buy. However, the recent share appreciation has pushed the trading price above the CA$15.09 average price target; APHA shares are now priced at CA$16.32. (See APHA stock analysis on TipRanks) Trulieve Cannabis (TCNNF) Trulieve is a $5.23 billion medical cannabis company, operating in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The company’s headquarters are in Florida, the nation’s third-largest state by population, where it commands a 51% market share in the medical cannabis sector. The rapid growth of medical cannabis has fueled a tremendous growth in Trulieve’s share price over the past year. Trulieve shares have gained a truly impressive 296% over the past 12 months. Medical cannabis is a profitable and growing market, and Trulieve’s revenues reflect that. The company has reported a steadily increasing top line for the past two year, with the most recent quarterly report, 3Q20, showing $136.3 million, a company record and a 13% gain quarter-over-quarter. Matt McGinley, 5-star analyst from Needham, sums up a bullish case on Trulieve, noting: “While our fundamental outlook for the industry and this company have not materially changed into '21, prospects for federal reforms have improved as have prospects for funding that growth based on recent capital markets activity. As such, we believe multiples will re-rate higher to more appropriately reflect the high rate of growth of the industry.” Unsurprisingly, the analyst rates TCNNF an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and sets a price target of $60.50, suggesting that the stock will grow ~38% over the next 12 months. (To watch McGinley’s track record, click here) The Strong Buy analyst consensus rating on this stock shows that Wall Street agrees on the value of Trulieve. The rating is based on 6 unanimous Buy reviews. The average price target of $49.49 suggests an upside of ~13% from the current trading price of $43.93. (See Trulieve stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for cannabis stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

  • Microsoft Steps Closer To A Breakout; When To Buy Alibaba, Epam, Thermo Fisher

    As the uptrend continues, now is the time to build your watchlist and look for actionable ideas. Veeva Systems is the newest addition to the IBD Long-Term Leaders list.

  • Dow Jones Futures: Stock Market Rally Extended As Apple, Tesla Lead Earnings Tsunami

    The stock market is riding a bullish wave, but here comes a tsunami of earnings, led by Apple and Tesla. With the Nasdaq extended, here's what to do.

  • EVgo to go public via SPAC in bid to power EV charging expansion

    EVgo, the wholly owned subsidiary of LS Power that owns and operates public fast chargers for electric vehicles, has reached a deal to become a publicly traded company through a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corporation. The combined company, which will be listed under the new ticker symbol "EVGO" will have a market valuation of $2.6 billion. LS Power and EVgo management, which today own 100% of the company will be rolling all of its equity into the transaction.

  • What Is A Dividend? Plus The 5 Best Dividend Stocks Now

    What is a dividend and which companies have the best-yielding dividends? Read on for a primer on how best to approach this method of investing.

  • Lucid Motors prepares to go public thanks to Saudi money and SPAC mania

    California start-up Lucid Motors seeks to take advantage of market mania for electric vehicles.

  • Stock-market legend sees few weeks of ‘putting your last, desperate chips into the game’—then pop

    In an interview with Bloomberg TV's “Front Row,” the storied investor, Jeremy Grantham, who is often credited with several prescient market calls over the past two decades, insists that a steady rise in stocks, fostered by free money from the Federal Reserve and the government can't continue without consequences.

  • Top Stocks to Buy in 11 Different Sectors

    Here are the best stocks to buy in each market sector.Heading into an uncertain and potentially volatile year like 2021, one of the best ways for investors to protect their portfolios is through the power of diversification.

  • Will Carnival, Royal Caribbean Or Norwegian Stock Grow The Most By 2022?

    Every week, Benzinga conducts a survey to collect sentiment on what traders are most excited about, interested in or thinking about as they manage and build their personal portfolios.This week we posed the following question related to cruise line stocks:Over the next year, which cruise line stock will have the largest percentage gain? * Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL) * Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL) * Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NCLH)Survey Says About 38% of traders and investors back Carnival to grow the most by 2022. Carnival operates in virtually all major vacation destinations worldwide. Carnival's cruises were shut down completely for most of 2020 due to the pandemic and will likely remain shut down for at least a couple of months in 2021, as well. The stock dropped 57.2% in 2020.Next, 33% of investors believe Royal Caribbean will gain the most. Like Carnival, Royal Caribbean operates as a global cruise vacation company. The company's mainstay brands include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara and Silversea Cruises.Meeanwhile, traders and investors were the least confident in Norweigan's growth prospects over the next year, as 29% of respondents told us shares of Norweigan would grow the most in 2021.Norwegian shares dropped a nearly identical 56.2% in 2020 for nearly identical reasons that the Carnival and Royal Caribbean shares lagged.As far as other travel stocks are concerned, it can be said that low-cost ticket models in the vein of Spirit Airlines Incorporated (NYSE: SAVE), JetBlue Airlines Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) or Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE: LUV) have the potential to lead travel demand once the pandemic subsides.As the American and global economy recover, and if vacation travel were to return by summer 2021, budget-conscious travelers may first seek accommodations from the most affordable cruise lines. This survey was conducted by Benzinga in December 2020 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older.Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from over 500 adults.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Benzinga Named One Of The Top Detroit Startup, Tech Companies For 2021 * Will FuelCell, Plug Power Or Blink Charging Stock Grow The Most By 2022?(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • The Originator of ‘the 4% Rule’ Thinks It’s Off the Mark. He Says It Now Could Be Up to 4.5%.

    In 1994, William Bengen published a paper saying that retirees should start out withdrawing 4% of their assets annually, increase the distribution each year by the inflation rate and rebalance annually, and that their portfolio would last at least 30 years. Barron’s Retirement caught up with him recently to talk about his rule of thumb.

  • Trump's Loan Extension on a Manhattan Building Shows His Debt Options

    (Bloomberg) -- A recently refinanced mortgage for a building in Manhattan may show how Donald Trump is able to deal with his upcoming debt maturities, albeit at a higher cost.Investors Bank agreed to extend the mortgage on Trump Park Avenue, a condo building at the corner of 59th Street, by a year to 2021, according to his latest financial disclosure, released hours after he left office.The interest rate increased 25 basis points to 3.5%. It’s at least the second time the due date has been pushed out since the $23 million loan was originated in 2010, records show. It’s now estimated to be less than $10 million.Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and fixer, owns a unit there, and other owners have included former baseball star Alex Rodriguez. When Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner lived in the building, Rupert Murdoch and his then-wife Wendi Deng reportedly were among their neighbors, Deng said in 2010.It has since lost some of its cachet. Seven of eight units listed for sale last year on StreetEasy failed to sell. Most were then listed for rent. A one-bedroom condo on the ninth floor that was listed for $2.1 million in 2019 could be rented for $3,600 a month as of last week. The Trump Organization developed the building and still owns more than a dozen of the units, which form collateral for the mortgage.Brian Doran, general counsel at Investors Bank’s parent company, declined to comment.Doral ResortThe Trump Organization has almost $600 million of estimated debt coming due within the next four years. These include loans tied to Trump Tower in New York and the Doral Golf Resort outside Miami, where revenues dropped to $44 million last year from $77 million a year earlier.With longtime lender Deutsche Bank AG refusing to work with the former president, and corporations distancing themselves from the family business, that has raised questions over how easily the debt can be refinanced.Trump’s business would be far from alone in changing loan terms during the pandemic. There’s been a significant increase over the past year in commercial mortgage modifications, particularly in New York City, as Covid-19 wrecked property valuations, halted foreclosures and evictions, and allowed millions of people to temporarily stop paying rent.More than 10% of all commercial mortgages that have been bundled into securities have requested some kind of relief from creditors during the pandemic, said Manus Clancy, a senior managing director at data provider Trepp LLC. Most of those debtors were hotels and retail businesses, he said. Residential property owners have yet to face similar levels of distress.Representatives of the Trump Organization didn’t respond to a request for comment.The mortgage on his Park Avenue building was one of a few loans that came due during Trump’s first term. Three mortgages were paid off in 2017, while the due date on a loan for his Seven Springs estate in Mount Kisco, New York, was extended to 2029 from 2019. The rate on that mortgage increased to 4.5% from 4%.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

  • Benzinga's Weekly Bulls And Bears: Eli Lilly, Ford, GameStop, Intel, McDonald's And More

    * Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week. * The week's bullish calls included aerospace, automaker and pharmaceutical giants. * A leading semiconductor maker and a struggling retailer were among the bearish calls.In a week when much of the nation's attention was on the inauguration of the new president, the main U.S. indexes saw gains, led by the Nasdaq's more than 4% rise. The new administration came out swinging, and it seemed the markets were optimistic. One tech giant even offered to lend a hand to the administration.Meanwhile, earnings reporting season was in full swing, bringing one winner and another last week, but there were big disappointments as well.Elsewhere in corporate America, an aerospace giant scored a big win, the big automakers were positioning themselves for the future, and another video streaming option is preparing to launch.Bitcoin investors watched the cryptocurrency plunge last week as well.Through it all, Benzinga continued to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.Bulls Priya Nigam's "Berenberg Upgrades Boeing On 737 Max Prospects" discusses how the worst seems to be in the rearview mirror for the 737 Max and what that means for Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) going forward. See why cash generation should greatly improve beginning in 2022.A great week for Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) got even better on Friday when the stock got a major upgrade from a big name Wall Street bank. Read more about that in Wayne Duggan's "JPMorgan Upgrades Ford: 'Incoming Tide Of Hot New Products'." Find out what factors are working in the automaker's favor."Lilly Awash In Catalysts, Pipeline Updates, Mizuho Says In Upgrade" by Shanthi Rexaline examines why initial top-line data suggests potential for its Alzheimer's treatment to add significant upside to the Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY) story. Plus, uncertainties related to the U.S. presidential election are now in the past.In Jayson Derrick's "3 Fast-Food Stocks To Own Right Now: Coffee, Pizza And Mickey D's," see why investors seeking exposure to the restaurant space now may want to consider McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) and a couple of other masters of the fast-food experience.In "DraftKings Could Beat Revenue Estimates By 25% Over Next 4 Years: Morgan Stanley," Chris Katje is focused on what the improvement in sports betting and internet gambling means for shares of DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ: DKNG), according to the featured analyst.For additional bullish calls of the past week, also have a look at the following: * After The Hottest Year On Record, 3 Stock Ideas That Are Green For The Planet * Schaeffer's Investment Research: Top 2 Contrarian Stock Picks For 2021 * JPMorgan On Finance Stocks In 2021: Why It's Bullish On Credit Cards, Cautious On MortgagesBears Shanthi Rexaline's "8 Intel Analysts On Q4 Report: Why Some See Difficult Years Ahead For Chipmaker" shows which analysts see earnings stagnation at Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and which project it will take years for the company to set right what's wrong.In Wayne Duggan's "Citron's Andrew Left Says GameStop Is 'Pretty Much In Terminal Decline'," see why this famous short seller sees shares of struggling retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) dropping to around $20 apiece in the near future.MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) struggles with a complex corporate structure and it lags its peers in certain respects, according to "Bearish MGM Analyst Sees Less Sports Betting Upside Opportunity For Casino Giant" by Priya Nigam."Beyond Meat Analyst: Attractive Growth Story Takes Back Seat To Valuation Concerns" by Jayson Derrick makes the case that the valuation makes it difficult to justify buying Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) stock now, despite the company's long-term prospects.For more bearish takes, be sure to check out these posts: * Tesla, Bitcoin More Likely To Halve Than Double Value In 2021: Deutsche Bank Survey * UBS On Internet Stocks: Chewy, Fiverr, Peleton Downgraded To Sell, Take-Two Interactive To NeutralAt the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Barron's Picks And Pans: Exxon Mobil, GameStop, Intel, 3M, Toll Brothers And More * Notable Insider Buys Of The Past Week: Conagra Brands Plus Plenty Of Biotech Activity(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • With Biden, you could get a 'stimulus check' for health insurance

    The $1.9 trillion relief bill could slash your premiums by hundreds of dollars.

  • 3 Top Cloud Software Picks From Goldman Sachs Among 12 Initiations

    Plenty of opportunity exists in the $1-trillion global cloud software market, but investors should be careful about how they approach the space, according to Goldman Sachs. The Cloud Analyst: Kash Rangan initiated coverage of 12 cloud software stocks with the following ratings:salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM) initiated at Buy, $315 price target.Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) initiated at Buy, $285 price target.Workday Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY) initiated at Buy, $300 target.Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) initiated at Buy, $580 target.ServiceNow Inc (NYSE: NOW) initiated at Buy, $670 target.Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK) initiated at Buy, $240 target.Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) initiated at Neutral, $430 target.Snowflake Inc (NYSE: SNOW) initiated at Neutral, $310 target.Elastic NV (NYSE: ESTC) initiated at Neutral, $190 target.VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) initiated at Neutral, $150 target.Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) initiated at Sell, $270 target.Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) initiated at Sell, $60 target.Related Link: BofA Reinstates Coverage Of Cloud Stocks, Names Top Picks For 2021The Cloud Thesis: The big run in most software stocks has skewed Goldman's bullish coverage toward attractively valued, high-quality growth stocks, Rangan said in a Thursday initiation note. Salesforce, Workday and Splunk will likely see improvements in their backlogs and an acceleration of free cash flow growth due to easy year-over-year comps, the analyst said.Goldman is modeling 24% year-over-year FCF growth for Salesforce and 33% FCF growth for Workday in the second half of 2021.In addition, Rangan said the market may be underestimating the potential for Microsoft Azure revenue growth to bounce back after dipping below 50%, boosting the company's overall margins and profitability."We believe fundamentals continue to be strong as Digital Transformation catalyzes Cloud adoption and propels the sector, pandemic or not," the analyst said. The global cloud services market could be up to seven times larger than it is today in the long-term as more companies digitize their businesses, he said. Benzinga's Take: The pandemic rapidly sped up the economic digital transformation by forcing many companies to adapt to a remote working environment.Some companies will likely return to their old way of doing things once the pandemic ends, but the vast majority will not.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Here's How Much Investing ,000 In Morgan Stanley Stock 5 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today * Citron's Andrew Left Says GameStop Is 'Pretty Much In Terminal Decline'(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

  • This former Michigan State University basketball player started selling mortgages in his 20s now he's worth more than $11 billion

    The country's leader in the wholesale mortgage market is now a public company. Here's what the company's CEO Mat Ishbia told Yahoo Finance.

  • 2 “Strong Buy” FAANG Stocks to Watch Heading Into Earnings

    Big Tech has been in the news lately, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Accusations of corporate censorship have hit the headlines in recent weeks. While serious, this may have a salutary effect – the public discussion of Big Tech’s role in our digital lives is long overdue. And that discussion will get underway just as the Q4 and full-year 2020 financial numbers start coming in. Of the FAANG stocks, Netflix has already reported; the other four will release results in the next two weeks. So, the upcoming earnings will garner well-deserved attention, and Wall Street’s best analysts are already publishing their views on some of the market’s most important components. Using TipRanks’ database, we pulled up the details on two members of the FAANG club to find out how the Street thinks each will fare when they publish their fourth quarter numbers. According to the platform, both have received plenty of love from the analysts, earning a “Strong Buy” consensus rating. Facebook (FB) Let’s start with Facebook, the social media giant that has redefined our online interactions. Along with Google, Facebook has also brought us targeted digital marketing and advertising, and the mass monetization of the internet. It’s been a profitable strategy for the company. Facebook’s market cap is up to $786 billion, and in the third quarter of 2020, the company reported $21.5 billion at the top line. Looking ahead to the Q4 report, due out on January 27, analysts are forecasting revenues at or near $26.2 billion. This would be in-line with the company’s pattern, of rising quarterly performance from Q1 to Q4. At the predicted sum, revenues would rise 24% year-over-year, roughly congruent with the 22% yoy gain already seen in Q3. The key metric to watch out for will be the growth in daily active users; this metric slipped slightly from Q2 to Q3, and further decline will be taken as an ominous sign for the company’s future. As it stands now, Facebook’s daily average user number is 1.82 billion. Ahead of the print, Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein boosted his price target to $345 (from $300), while reiterating an Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating. Investors stand to pocket ~26% gain should the analyst's thesis play out. (To watch Helfstein’s track record, click here) The 5-star analyst commented, "[We] anticipate 4Q advertising revenue will handily top Street estimates. We now forecast 4Q advertising revenue +30% y/y vs. Street's +25% estimate based on a regression of US Standard Media Index Data (r-squared 0.95) and accelerating global CPM data from Gupta Media (4Q +35% y/y vs. 3Q's -12%). Additionally, we are very bullish on FB's eCommerce opportunity following conversations with our checks and our initial work conservatively estimating Shops is a $25–50B opportunity vs. current $85B revs. We believe shares currently trading at 7.1x EV/NTM sales offers the most favorable risk/ reward in internet large cap." Overall, the social media empire remains a Wall Street darling, as TipRanks analytics showcasing FB as a Strong Buy. This is based on 34 recent reviews, which break down to 30 Buy ratings, 3 Holds, and 1 Sell. Shares are priced at $276.10 and the average price target of $327.42 suggests a one-year upside of ~19%. (See FB stock analysis on TipRanks) Amazon (AMZN) Turning to e-commerce, we can’t avoid Amazon. The retail giant has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, making it one of just four publicly traded companies valued over the trillion-dollar mark. The company’s famously price is famously high, and has grown 74% since this time last year, far outpacing the broader markets. Amazon’s growth has been supported by increased online sales activity during the ‘corona year.’ Globally, online retail has grew 27% in 2020, while total retail slipped 3%. Amazon, which dominates the online retail sector, is projected to end 2020 with $380 billion in total revenue, or 34% year-over-year growth, outpacing the global e-commerce gains. Cowen analyst John Blackledge, rating 5-stars by TipRanks, covers Amazon and is bullish on the company’s prospects ahead of the earnings release. Blackledge rates the stock Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his price target, at $4,350, indicates confidence in a 31% upside on the one-year time horizon. (To watch Blackledge’s track record, click here) “We forecast 4Q20 reported revenue of $120.8BN, +38.2% y/y vs. +37.4% y/y in 3Q20 led by AWS, advertising, subscription and 3P sales [..] We estimate US Prime sub growth accelerated in 4Q20 (reaching 76MM subs in Dec '20 and ~74MM on avg in 4Q20), helped by pandemic demand, Prime Day in Oct, & elongated shopping period, as well as 1 Day delivery [...] In '21, we expect strong top-line growth to continue driven by eCommerce (helped by COVID pull forward in Grocery), adv., AWS & sub businesses," Blackledge opined. That Wall Street generally is bullish on Amazon is no secret; the company has 33 reviews on record, and 32 of them are Buys, versus 1 Hold. Shares are priced at $3,301.26 and the average price target of $3,826 implies that it will grow another 16% this year. (See AMZN stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

  • AT&T Reportedly In Talks To Sell Piece Of DirecTV To Private Equity Firm

    AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) could be about to make a move that would make income investors happy. What Happened: Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that AT&T and Texas-based private equity firm TPG are in exclusive talks over a deal for TPG to buy a minority stake in DirecTV.Reuters was not able to report what prices are being suggested, but its sources said an announcement could be coming in the weeks ahead.Why It Matters: The deal would help AT&T unload some of the nearly $150 billion in debt it has taken on in its foray into entertainment. It bought DirecTV in 2015 for $49 billion and Time Warner in 2018 for $85 billion.DirecTV has been hit hard by consumers' move to streaming services such as Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX).The Wall Street Journal reported last month that offers from prospective DirecTV buyers were in the range of $15 billion. The company also is under pressure to maintain its reputation as a "dividend aristocrat."Photo by Tdorante10/Wikimedia.See more from Benzinga * Click here for options trades from Benzinga * Tesla Accuses Employee Who Worked For Company For Less Than 2 Weeks Of Stealing Trade Secrets * Commodities May Be The Next Big Thing; Here Are 3 ETFs To Get Started(C) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.