Nasdaq AMZN Amazon

In this Weekly Insights we provide thoughts on the macro backdrop. 

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) released second-quarter earnings last week, and Wall Street partied like it was 2021. The stock surged by double digits, and some analysts rushed to increase price targets. Given the price action and glowing endorsements, would you believe me if I told you A

Online retailer Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) recently announced that it was going to acquire primary care company 1Life Healthcare (NASDAQ: ONEM), which is also known as One Medical, for $3.9 billion. It's not Amazon's first venture into healthcare, as it acquired online pharmacy PillPa

Investors have different risk tolerances, time horizons, and sector preferences. But chances are, you have a particular stock or two that you've owned for a while or plan on owning for a while.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are their own.)

Roku's (NASDAQ: ROKU) stock sank 23% to its lowest level in over three years after its second-quarter earnings report on July 29. The streaming device and software company's revenue rose 18% year over year to $764 million but missed analysts' estimates by $40 million. It also pos

U.S. companies are reporting mostly upbeat news this earnings season, surprising investors who had been bracing for a gloomier outlook on both businesses and the economy.

The Engine No. 1 Transform 500 ETF (VOTE) was launched on 06/22/2021, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Launched on 09/25/2003, the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF (ONEQ) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

In 2019, global e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) placed an order to purchase 100,000 electric utility vehicles from Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) to help fulfill its goal to have an entirely green energy-powered delivery fleet by 2030. Along with the order, Amazon accumu

Competition in the streaming industry is fierce, with content at the center of the fight to the top. Many of the biggest names in streaming have content libraries that span decades. However, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is playing catch-up after entering original content production in

In this episode of Motley Fool Money, Motley Fool Senior Analyst Bill Mann discusses:

There's no sugarcoating it: Wall Street has had a miserable year. Since hitting a record-closing high during the first week of January, the widely followed S&P 500 has lost as much as 24% of its value and tumbled into bear market territory.

Soaring inflation and rising interest rates have weighed on the stock market this year. In fact, the S&P 500 had its worst first half since 1970, falling more than 20% between January and June. But that hasn't stopped the spread of stock-split mania.

Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting U.S. businesses.

E-commerce giant Amazon’s (AMZN) mixed results for the second quarter did not deter investors from scooping up its shares. Despite facing setbacks due to inflation in Q2, Amazon seems to have strong and unavoidable upsides.

Following the result, Amazon enjoyed a slew of Buy ratings from Wall Street, leading to a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 39 Buys and one Hold. Among the Amazon bulls is Deutsche Bank analyst Lee Horowitz, who reiterated a Buy on AMZN and raised the price target to $175 from $155.

Operating Metrics Hold Promise

Horowitz was keenly interested in the operating income (OI) situation of the company. In Q2, Amazon surpassed OI expectations and provided an upbeat OI outlook for Q3 as well. This made investors start to believe that the double whammy of high costs and aggressive investments might be easing.

Nonetheless, Horowitz noted that he still maintains a cautious outlook for Q3 OI, given the rampant headwinds that Amazon has still left to fight.

The analyst expects Amazon’s free cash flows, along with the OI, to improve significantly over the next two years, as capital expenditure across the e-commerce business, particularly toward fulfillment and transportation infrastructure, moderates.

A Few Other Key Upsides

Amazon’s clear focus on slashing three of its additional cost buckets should boost investor confidence and move share prices northward.

Moreover, Amazon surprised the analyst with a slower deceleration than expected in AWS (Amazon Web Services) growth. The guidance for Q3 AWS revenues also gave Horowitz more reason to rejoice, as it “continues to point to revenue reacceleration in the 2H driven by improving delivery times and Amazon's ability to successfully pass along cost inflation.”

“Amazon's expectation for revenue growth to accelerate by 11.5 points in the 3Q at the high end of guidance on a FXN basis represents arguably the most impressive revenue growth at scale across our coverage in a hyper-challenging operating environment,” noted Horowitz.

Bottom Line

Overall, Amazon’s Q2 results commentary managed to impress investors and analysts alike, even as its peers are struggling to handle the storm. Despite being cautious with his Q3 outlook, the sheer expertise with which Amazon held up and performed in Q2, and plans to steadily and practically combat the headwinds, kept Horowitz optimistic.

According to TipRanks’ hedge fund trading activity tool, hedge funds added 1.5 million shares in the last quarter, which is also encouraging. Moreover, the price target for AMZN currently stands at $176.04, which indicates a 31.21% upside to Tuesday’s price levels.

Disclosure

U.S. companies are reporting mostly upbeat news this earnings season, surprising investors who had been bracing for a gloomier outlook on both businesses and the economy.

What Happened Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) bounced back in July, as its stock price rose 21.1% in the month, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. It bested both the S&P 500, up 9.1% in July, and the Nasdaq Composite, up 12.4% for the month. Synchrony is still d

Horror author Stephen King said in testimony on Tuesday in a trial to determine if Penguin Random House will be allowed to merge with Simon & Schuster that consolidation in the book industry is bad for competition.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) surged higher by 10% following its second-quarter earnings report, but it might be the conditions of that gain that make the surge so notable. Amazon did not rise because of its earnings; it reported a quarterly loss and fell short of estimates on a key metr