Nasdaq AMZN Amazon

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – March 23, 2023 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in

At this point, it's no secret: E-commerce platform company Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) wants to go toe-to-toe with top competitor Amazon. And to do this, it needs to enhance its shipping capabilities. So on one hand, it's obvious why Shopify is investing tons of money in logistics.

Apple Inc is considering bidding for streaming rights of a range of English football games, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Indian salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group is considering injecting another $2 billion into its super app venture to bolster its digital business, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Character.AI has raised $150 million in a new funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz that valued the AI chatbot startup at $1 billion, and it's in talks with cloud providers for more strategic investment, the company told Reuters.

Poker players must continually evaluate their risks versus potential rewards. They adjust their bets based on the strength of the cards they're dealt. When they have an especially strong hand, they put more chips on the table.

FAANG stocks (Meta Platforms ( NASDAQ:META ), previously called Facebook, Amazon ( NASDAQ:AMZN ), Apple ( NASDAQ:AAPL ), Netflix ( NASDAQ:NFLX ), and Google’s parent company Alphabet ( NASDAQ:GOOGL , GOOG )) shed significant value last year. However, except for Netflix, the remaining four stocks have fared better than the S&P 500 ( SPX ) year-to-date, with META shares posting the highest gain. We used TipRanks’ Stock Comparison Tool to place Amazon, Apple, and Netflix against each other to pick Wall Street’s favorite FAANG stock at current levels. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) The impact of macro pressures on consumer spending and the reopening of physical stores impacted Amazon’s retail business. Additionally, moderation in IT spending due to fears of an impending recession slowed down the growth rate of the company’s cloud computing Amazon Web Services (AWS) business. Amazon is improving its cost structure to navigate a tough environment. The company recently announced 9,000 additional job cuts following an earlier round of 18,000 layoffs. The latest round impacted AWS, advertising, human resources, and Twitch units. Overall, Amazon is taking initiatives to make its structure leaner and more profitable. Is Amazon a Buy, Hold, or Sell? Reacting to Amazon’s cost-cutting measures, William Blair analyst Dylan Carden said, “Assuming the Street is close on its revenue assumptions, which we believe are relatively conservative, we find that there is combined upside to total company operating income of close to 40% over the next two years as cost items move back toward relatively consistent historical patterns.” Further, Carden is bullish about the company’s Prime offering and AWS business. He believes that AMZN stock offers compelling value ahead of a possible “reacceleration” in AWS coupled with the “ultimate profitability” of its retail business. The analyst projects acceleration in the AWS business later this year, driven by new customer adoption. Wall Street’s Strong Buy consensus rating for Amazon is backed by 37 Buys and one Hold. The average price target of $136.86 suggests about 39% upside potential. Shares have advanced over 17% since the start of the year. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Often considered one of the most innovative companies in the world, Apple has delivered significant returns for shareholders over the past decade. Last month, the company reported a decline in its December quarter revenue, citing production disruptions in China, currency headwinds, and macroeconomic challenges.   Apple expects its March quarter revenue performance to be similar to the December quarter. While the impact of near-term pressures can’t be ignored, Apple’s strong fundamentals, its solid product portfolio, and growing services business continue to make it an attractive stock for several analysts. Is Apple Stock a Buy? Earlier this month, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives raised the price target for Apple stock to $190 from $180 and reiterated a Buy rating, as checks by his firm revealed that the demand for iPhones in China has been growing. Ives stated that iPhone supply was steady in January and February, in contrast to the December quarter, which was impacted by supply constraints stemming from China’s zero COVID policy. Additionally, early indications in March indicate that conditions continue to improve. Ives added that Apple is winning market share in China and demand in the U.S. and Europe is also faring well. Also, he believes that the new iPhone users added to the company’s ecosystem over the past year will result in a reacceleration of Apple’s services business in the upcoming quarters. Overall, Apple’s Moderate Buy consensus rating is based on 24 Buys, six Holds, and one Sell. At $170.18, the average AAPL stock price target implies nearly 8% upside. Shares have risen more than 21% year-to-date.     Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) After losing subscribers in the first two quarters of 2022, streaming giant Netflix bounced back well in the second half of 2022. The company reported 7.66 million paid net subscriber additions for the fourth quarter of 2022, smashing Wall Street’s expectations of 4.58 million subscribers. The company is trying to boost its revenue through various initiatives, including better content, an ad-supported subscription plan, and a paid sharing plan. That said, the path ahead is not easy, given the intense competition from not just other streaming players but also other channels of entertainment like YouTube and short-form entertainment like TikTok.    What is the Price Target for NFLX Stock? Last week, Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein reiterated a Buy rating on Netflix stock with a price target of $415. Helfstein noted that NFLX shares initially advanced following the Q4 2022 results but then started to decline due to fears that the company’s crackdown on password sharing might lead to a higher churn. Shares were also impacted by the slower launch of the ad-supported tier by the company and macro troubles. “We believe nothing has changed from our original thesis: advertising increases the total addressable market, content competition is easing, and paid account sharing will be a long-term tailwind,” said Helfstein. The Street’s Moderate Buy consensus rating for Netflix is based on 17 Buys, 16 Holds, and two Sells. The average price target of $356.20 indicates upside potential of 21.2%. Shares are flat on a year-to-date basis.    Conclusion Macro pressures are expected to impact the near-term performance of Amazon, Apple, and Netflix. Wall Street is more bullish about Amazon and is confident about its long-term potential, thanks to its e-commerce leadership, the dominant position of AWS in cloud computing, and the growing advertising business. As per TipRanks’ Smart Score System, Amazon earns a nine out of 10, which implies that the stock is capable of generating market-beating returns over the long term. Disclosure

What happened Shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) rose on Wednesday, as investors applauded the chipmaker's recent moves to bolster its position in the booming artificial intelligence (AI) market. By the close of trading, Nvidia's stock price was up more than 1% after rising over 5%

U.S.-based job search platform Indeed said on Wednesday it will cut about 2,200 jobs, or 15% of its workforce, joining a host of companies rationalizing their labor force following a pandemic-fueled hiring boom.

Netflix NFLX recently announced that Brazilian actor Gabriel Leone would play the protagonist of three-time F1 champion Aryton Senna da Silva in its miniseries Senna. The series will be shot in English and Brazilian Portuguese and is expected to be available in 2024.The s

We don't know when the next bull market will arrive. And right now, with the market in the doldrums, it may feel very far away. But don't despair. Throughout time, bear markets always have led to bull markets. The best thing you can do right now is prepare for those better times.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023The 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.com, Inc. (AMZN), Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) and QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM). Th

Microsoft MSFT has rolled out its new image creation tool for its browser Edge and search engine, Bing. This new tool is created by OpenAI’s DALL-E to generate pictures based on texts.The tool, Bing Image Creator, will be available in the latest versions of Edge and Bing.

Oracle ORCL recently announced the release of Java 20, the latest version of the world’s number-one development platform and programming language.Java 20, also known as Oracle JDK 20, includes seven JDK Enhancement Proposals. These enhancements include improving the Java

The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday its staff is seeking information on cloud computing companies business practices including details on their market power, competition and potential security issues.

Sometimes the facts can get in the way of an ETF narrative. I think that’s what is occurring with the recent outflows to the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU). The largest ESG ETF had a $4 billion net outflow on March 20, which pushed its one-year outflows to $6 billion, per data on [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) sure is looking for game-changing opportunities in the artificial intelligence (AI) market. This week, the company spilled the beans about a few of its recent success stories in this field. It's enough to drive a nervous man distracted. I mean, Nvidia is nai

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday raised the minimum starting pay for its employees at the UK operations to between 11 pounds ($13.50) and 12 pounds per hour.

The pandemic fueled Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) stock to all-time highs of $169 in 2021. However, the combination of a reopening economy and a bear market proved to be a toxic concoction that dropped the stock back to pre-pandemic levels. If you missed the bottom, you might be wondering

Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday announced a pay rise for its employees at the UK operations, increasing the minimum starting pay to between 11 pounds ($13.50) and 12 pounds per hour.