Top Analyst Reports for Amazon, Alibaba & Visa
Monday, July 17, 2017
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Amazon (AMZN), Alibaba (BABA) and Visa (V). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
Amazon’s shares have outperformed the broader market in the year-to-date period (the stock is up +33.6% vs. the +10% gain for the S&P 500 as a whole). The Zacks analyst likes the company’s solid loyalty system in Prime and its FBA strategy, and content addition continues to add selection to Prime memberships.
Amazon recently announced that its Prime Day ’17 was a massive hit, with sales surpassing that of last year’s Cyber Monday and Black Friday. Also, Amazon Web Services (AWS) generates much higher margins than retail, so it has a very positive impact on Amazon’s profitability. Devices and IoT is also a potential growth area. However, Prime saturation in the U.S. market and competition in online retail remains concern.
(You can read the full research report on Amazon here >>>).
Shares of Strong Buy-rated Alibaba have outperformed the broader market as well as the peer e-commerce space over the last year (it is up more than +83.7%), with the trend expected to remain in place given continued growth in its core e-commerce business and growing cloud computing services.
The Zacks analyst likes the company’s dominance in China's mobile commerce market, efforts to develop new products, international growth opportunities, strong financial position and growing cloud computing services. On the flip side, the need for continued infrastructure investments, growing competition and increasing competition from Tencent Holdings and Baidu remain major overhangs.
(You can read the full research report on Alibaba here >>>).
Buy-rated Visa’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry as well as MasterCard in the year-to-date period (Visa is up +24.4% vs. +23.2% gain for MA and +20.1% for the industry). Driving this momentum is the acknowledgement that Visa's brand, global network, and leading market share position it to be a key beneficiary of the secular global shift to electronic transactions.
Initial concerns about a changing competitive landscape, large on account of new payment options, have also started receding. The company's strong results in recent quarters reflect this favorable backdrop. On the flip side, forex volatility, increased client incentives and global economic uncertainty are some of the headwinds.
(You can read the full research report on Visa here >>>).
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Alphabet (GOOGL), Infosys (INFY) and Sprint (S).
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Mark Vickery
Senior Editor
Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>
Today's Must Read
Amazon (AMZN) Draws Strength from AWS & Third Party Sellers
Cloud Strength, Chinese Dominance Powering Alibaba (BABA)
Visa (V) Rides on its Digital Initiatives, Visa Europe Buy
Featured Reports
Plains All (PAA) Gains From Investment & Permian Acquisition
The Zacks analyst believes Plains All American's investment to expand pipeline infrastructure and strengthen its presence in Permian Basin through acquisition will boost its performance.
Liberty Interactive (QVCA) Sales Surge, Forex Risk a Concern
Per the Zacks analyst, Liberty Interactive's QVC division continues to benefit from the surge in online sales. However, persistent global economic crisis and foreign exchange risks remain concerns.
Sprint's (s) Unlimited Plan Bodes Well, Huge Debt a Concern
Per the Zacks analyst, Sprint's unlimited talk, text and data plan has received strong market traction. However, debt-laden balance sheet and decreasing cash flow have led to losses for the company.
Infosys (INFY) Rides on High Margin Business, Client Wins
Per the Zacks analyst, Infosys' new offerings under its business platforms including Edge, Panaya and Skava are helping it gain new clients, churn higher growth and achieve margin expansion.
Becton's Takeover Price Limits Upside for C. R. Bard (BCR)
The covering analyst feels C.R. Bard offers limited value to investors in the near term owing to it trading above Becton, Dickinson's takeover price.
Garmin (GRMN) New Products Drive Growth, Weak PND Market A Risk
The Zacks analyst believes that Garmin's new products in navigation and market expansion efforts will drive growth.
Fastenal's (FAST) Pathway to Profit Efforts to Spur Growth
The Zacks analyst believes that the company's cost-control initiative (Pathway to Profit) and increased vending machine installations will drive growth.
New Upgrades
BioMarin's (BMRN) Vimizim and Kuvan Drugs Enjoy Strong Demand
The Zacks analyst stresses that BioMarin's key drugs, Vimizim and Kuvan, both continue to do well, backed by strong underlying patient demand trend. Brineura's FDA and EU approval was a huge boost.
TRASM Growth, Fleet Upgrade Efforts Buoy Allegiant (ALGT)
The covering analyst likes the company's performance with respect to unit revenues. The metric's impressive performance is likely to continue. Efforts to modernize its fleet are also encouraging.
Loan Growth to Support Commerce Bancshares (CBSH) Revenues
Per the Zacks analyst, loan growth, gradual improvement in the interest rate environment and potential lesser regulations should help Commerce Bancshares' revenue improvement in the quarters ahead.
New Downgrades
Core Labs (CLB) Stung by Lack of Deepwater Drilling Orders
With the commodity price rout making a number of deepwater drilling projects uneconomical, the Zacks analyst believes that Core Labs' future growth will be stymied by the paucity of such contracts.
Alphabet (GOOGL) Hurt by Litigation, EC Slaps Record Fine
The covering analyst notes that Alphabet faces significant litigations globally due to its dominant position in search. Apart from being a drain on resources, these have earned the company a bad name.
Lowe's (LOW) Soft Comparable Sales & Margin Remain Concerns
The Zacks analyst remained concerned about Lowe's ability to improve comparable sales performance and margins in the near future. Margins have been contracting over the past few quarters.
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Visa Inc. (V) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Sprint Corporation (S) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Infosys Limited (INFY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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