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☆ Wall Street analysts become even more bullish on Meta after its latest earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Meta has had a breakout year in 2023 — and Wall Street analysts think the stock has even further room to grow after company's latest quarterly report. The new target price implies more than 25% upside from Wednesday's close. Bank of America analyst Justin Post also increased his price target on Meta shares to $375 from $350. META YTD mountain Meta shares in 2023 Meanwhile, UBS hiked its price target to $400 from $335, implying 34% further upside. He reiterated his overweight rating while lifting his price target to $425 from $300, one of the highest on the Street.

Persons: Meta, Morgan Stanley, Brian Novak, Novak, Justin Post, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, Wells, Ken Gawrelski, Gawrelski, Stephen Ju, Ju, UBS's Lloyd Walmsley, Walmsley, Doug Anmuth, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Wall Street, Meta, Bank of America, Citi, Reality Labs, UBS, Credit Suisse Locations: opex

☆ Meta stock up 6% after earnings as 'year of efficiency' pays off
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company on Wednesday reported earnings per share of $2.98, which was higher than the $2.91 per share expected by a survey of Refinitiv analysts. Revenue jumped 11% year over year to $32 billion, surpassing the $31.12 billion average analyst estimate, according to Refinitiv. For the third quarter, the Facebook parent company forecast revenue of $32 billion to $34.5 billion. Bank of America analyst Justin Post upped his price target on Meta shares to $375 from $350 and reiterated his buy rating on the stock. "Meta is hitting its stride again with a renovated tech stack and Reels strategy, gaining share in the industry," Post wrote in a Thursday report.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg's, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Justin Post, Post, CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Revenue, Facebook, Meta, Bank of America, Labs Locations: opex

☆ Alphabet shares jump on beat and strong cloud growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google LLC, speaks during the Google Cloud Next '19 event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Shares of Alphabet rose nearly 5.5% at the start of trading Wednesday, driven by stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and marked year-over-year growth in cloud computing revenue. But it was strong growth in cloud computing that stood out the most, with the company reporting $8.03 billion in Google Cloud sales, compared to a StreetAccount consensus of $7.87 billion. Google Cloud competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The company also announced Wednesday that chief financial officer Ruth Porat would assume a newly created president and chief investment officer position.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Ruth Porat, Porat, — CNBC's Jennifer Elias Organizations: Google LLC, Google, Revenue, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Wall Street Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S

☆ Wall Street analysts cheer Alphabet earnings, see more gains ahead for tech giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Google-parent Alphabet posted strong second-quarter numbers that had many Wall Street analysts gushing. Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan reaffirmed a buy rating on Alphabet stock, with his $152 price target implying more than 24% upside. Citi's Ronald Josey maintained a buy rating on with a higher $153 price target, which amounts to more than 25% upside for Alphabet stock. "As revenue growth reaccelerates on an improving online advertising environment and management's greater focus on operating efficiencies, we look for margins to expand going forward as revenue growth consistently outpaces opex growth," Josey said. Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski reiterated an equal weight rating on Alphabet stock on Wednesday, although with an increased $121 per share price target.

Persons: Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak, Nowak, Bard, OpenAI, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, Bank of America's Justin Post, Citi's Ronald Josey, Josey, Wells, Ken Gawrelski, Michael Bloom Organizations: Google, Refinitiv, GOOGL, Microsoft, Bank of America's, Citi, Google Cloud Services, DOJ

☆ What Alphabet and Microsoft are saying about A.I. on their earnings calls
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Second-quarter earnings season brought heavyweight technology giants and artificial intelligence frontrunners Alphabet and Microsoft head-to-head in an all-too-familiar matchup. Alphabet shares rose 6% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and 28% year-over-year growth in cloud revenue, while Microsoft lost 4% on disappointing revenue guidance and a delayed AI rollout . GOOGL YTD mountain Alphabet shares in 2023 Both Alphabet and Microsoft have spearheaded the effort, facing off with competing chatbots early in the year. Alphabet Alphabet rolled out its Bard chatbot worldwide during the second quarter, removed a testing waitlist and added a host of new capabilities. Microsoft Despite confidence in Microsoft's long-term capabilities, some investors and analysts seemed disappointed by the seemingly delayed rollout of many of its AI products.

Persons: Bard, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Ruth Porat, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Amy Hood, Karl Keirstead, Satya Nadella, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Wall, UBS

☆ Goldman Sachs says this underperforming e-commerce stock can rally more than 30% going forward
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors should buy shares of underperforming Chewy as the pandemic-driven consumer base matures and the company's earnings outlook improves, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Eric Sheridan upgraded pet supplies e-commerce stock Chewy to buy from neutral and raised his price target by $8 to $50. With this target, Sheridan thinks the stock can rally 31.6% over the next year from where it ended Friday. The stock has underperformed the S & P 500 this year, up just 2.5%. Margins should also get a boost as the company improves its supply chain and increases automation at fulfillment centers.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, Chewy, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Locations: Monday's premarket

☆ Goldman Sachs says Yelp shares are worth buying, can rally more than 20%
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs is optimistic on Yelp as investors weigh the outlook for the digital advertising industry in the second half of 2023. Analyst Eric Sheridan upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and raised his price target by $9 to $47. Sheridan's new target implies shares could rally 23.3% from Friday's close. And Yelp is one stock in the space with a risk-reward skew that has turned more positive, Sheridan said. Despite the stock's rally, he said shares are still considered cheap when comparing price and earnings.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Yelp Locations: Friday's

☆ Goldman says buy call options on these stocks that will report better-than-expected earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs says it's a good time for investors to eye single stock options ahead of a slate of quarterly results. The firm compiled a list of stocks Goldman labels as "out-of-consensus opportunities" for put and call options ahead of each company's quarterly earnings report date. Goldman sees 3% upside to earnings consensus for the current quarter and 4% upside for the next four quarters. Goldman Sachs retail analyst Kate McShane is forecasting 34% upside for the stock over the next 12 months. Ahead of upcoming results, Goldman recommends buying call options for a $37.50 strike price, expiring in August.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, it's, John Marshall, Goldman, Toshiya Hari, NVDA, Kate McShane, BBWI, Eric Sheridan, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Goldman, CNBC Pro, Nvidia, Body, eBay, EBAY

☆ Goldman Sachs issues its verdict on generative A.I. and names top stocks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Goldman Sachs says the recent surge in artificial intelligence stocks is not just hype but is driven by genuine potential in the new technology. Goldman's analysts dismissed some of those concerns and said companies like Nvidia and Microsoft are still trading at reasonable multiples. Stocks exposed to A.I. The analysts also highlighted stocks exposed to the AI trend, including Microsoft , Alphabet , and Amazon , leveraging their vast computing infrastructures to commercialize AI on a grand scale. According to Goldman Sachs, companies like Meta Platforms, Salesforce, Adobe, ServiceNow, Intuit, Capgemini, Pearson, London Stock Exchange Group, and Relay Therapeutics were also exposed to the AI theme.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, ChatGPT, Kash Rangan, Bubbles, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, Stocks, Pearson Organizations: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Street, upstarts, Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, Wall, Marvell Technology, TSMC, Unimicron Technology, Adobe, Intuit, Capgemini, London Stock Exchange Group, Therapeutics

Goldman Sachs has a slightly more optimistic outlook on Netflix now. Analyst Eric Sheridan upgraded shares to neutral from sell. Sheridan noted that Netflix shares have popped 135% since Goldman added Netflix to its sell list in June 2022. NFLX YTD mountain NFLX in 2023 Netflix is scheduled to announce its most recent quarterly earnings report July 19. Goldman anticipates Netflix's subscriber performance to top Wall Street's estimates.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Sheridan, Goldman, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Netflix Locations: Monday's

Goldman Sachs released its list of high conviction stocks — with a new twist. What makes this list unique from the typical top picks list is that members of Goldman's Investment Review Committee were the ones choosing the names, adding a second layer of analysis. Take a look at some of the names that made the list, and where Goldman sees them going forward. Goldman expects shares to have 42% upside over the next 12 months. The tech giant's scale, platform breadth, category diversification and end-market exposure will further fuel its upside opportunity in the years ahead, according to Sheridan.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Steven Kron, Goldman, Kate McShane, Chris Shibutani, Eric Sheridan, Brett Feldman, Max —, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Goldman's Investment, Pharmaceutical, Merck, Goldman, Amazon, Services, Warner Bros, HBO Max Locations: Sheridan, WarnerMedia

☆ Wall Street analysts say Amazon is still a buy, but investors should ‘stay patient’ on AWS
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is still a buy after its latest earnings results, even with some weakness in Amazon Web Services, according to Wall Street analysts. The online retail stock initially jumped Thursday night after Amazon reported better-than-expected revenue in its first quarter . Amazon shares were last down about 1% in the premarket. AMZN 1D mountain Amazon shares 1-day However, analysts stayed bullish long term on Amazon, citing continued upside in retail, but they urged investors to "stay patient" on AWS and look toward the long-term opportunity in cloud services. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs' Eric Sheridan reiterated his buy rating on Amazon, and raised his 12-month price target to $165 from $145.

☆ Pinterest's guidance is disappointing, but its Amazon partnership shows promise, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wall Street analysts were mixed on Pinterest after its latest earnings results, saying the near-term outlook appears murky, though an Amazon partnership seems promising. While the image-sharing company beat expectations on the top and bottom lines in its first quarter, it issued second-quarter revenue growth expectations that were disappointing. Along with its results Thursday, Pinterest said Amazon will be its first partner for third-party ads. Bank of America's Justin Post reiterated a neutral rating, calling Pinterest a "near-term disappointment, long-term opportunity." Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs' Eric Sheridan maintained a buy rating, saying the engagement trends are pointing in the right direction.

☆ Analysts see even more gains ahead for Meta Platforms after latest earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Analysts liked what they saw from Meta Platform 's latest earnings report. The company projects revenue between $29.5 billion and $32 billion, while analysts expected sales of $29.5 billion, per Refinitiv. Goldman's Eric Sheridan also hiked his price target to $300, noting Meta maintained its momentum from the fourth quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, Bank of America's Justin Post noted that Meta's revenue recovery can drive the next leg higher for the stock. He also hiked his price target on Meta shares to $305 from $270, implying upside of 45.6%.

☆ Analysts see more improvement ahead for Alphabet after latest earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts are upbeat after better than expected quarterly results from Google parent company Alphabet . Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment that has caused companies to pull back advertising, Alphabet also beat analyst expectations on ad revenue. Alphabet stock gained more than 3% in extended trading after the earnings beat. GOOGL YTD mountain Shares of Alphabet gained after a quarterly earnings beat on Wednesday. "We expect GOOGL shares to continue to build its short-term momentum as company specific events (Google I/O, Google Marketing Live, etc.)

☆ Analysts say Netflix's password crackdown could reaccelerate growth, though concerns linger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Netflix's mixed quarterly results had something for the bulls and the bears, as analysts weighed their outlook on the streaming service against a delay in the password sharing crackdown and lackluster guidance. Hodulik upgraded Netflix to buy from neutral, saying he expects growth will inflect with double-digit profit growth and rising free cash flow. What's more, he said restricting password sharing could become "meaningfully accretive" for Netflix as soon as the third quarter. Netflix turned to an ad-supported plan, and a password sharing crackdown, after reporting its first subscriber loss last year. He cited mixed subscriber growth, light guidance, and uncertainty around the delayed rollout in the password sharing crackdown.

☆ Traders wait to see if Netflix can keep its streak of subscriber surprises going
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Netflix reports earnings after the bell Tuesday and traders know that pretty much all that matters to the stock is how many subscribers did the streamer add for the prior period. Netflix's recent streak of subscriber surprises come after the streaming giant struggled to add subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2021 and glaringly missed consensus expectations in the following quarterly period. But Netflix has doubled off its 52-week low as it got its subscriber mojo back. Here's a look at recent quarters' subscriber additions vs. Wall Street estimates and the subsequent stock reaction, according to Goldman Sachs data. Although ad-supported subscribers represent 1% of Netflix's U.S. subscriber base, Goldman analysts expect this plan to attract additional members.

☆ Goldman picks 4 stocks to play a $5 trillion e-commerce opportunity — including one with 70% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

E-commerce growth may have slowed post-pandemic, but Goldman Sachs remains bullish on the sector and thinks there is more growth ahead. Stocks to play it Goldman has named a number of e-commerce stock picks, including three that made the bank's global conviction list — a compilation of the bank's top buy-rated picks. Goldman also said China was the world's largest e-commerce market, with an estimated $1.5 trillion in e-commerce sales in 2022, or about 43% of total sales globally. The e-commerce market grew in 2020 as consumers stayed home during pandemic lockdowns. Goldman estimates that global e-commerce penetration jumped by about 6 percentage points in 2020, double the growth rate of the pre-pandemic era.

☆ Goldman's technology team names a clear top pick for the rest of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs has highlighted several opportunities for investors to play an uncertain environment now that the fourth quarter earnings season is over. With that in mind, Goldman highlighted Amazon as its top pick for the remainder of the year, among several other large cap, buy-rated stocks. Here are some of Goldman's other tech picks: The firm has a $145 price target on Amazon, which implies upside of about 54% from Monday's closing price. In gaming, Goldman names Take-Two Interactive its top pick. Goldman has a $155 price target on Take-Two, which is almost 34% above where it closed Monday.

☆ Analysts like Airbnb's latest earnings but still see risks for the short-term rental stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Airbnb 's latest quarterly earnings outperformed expectations, but most analysts are still concerned about the stock going forward. Several analysts covering the stock reiterated their neutral or sell ratings on Airbnb a day after the company reported its calendar fourth-quarter results, citing ongoing risks for the short-term rental name. The analyst has a price target of $160 per share, implying upside of 32.3%. JPMorgan's Doug Anmuth also reiterated a neutral rating on the stock, noting that online travel is growing more competitive. Sheridan raised his price target on the stock to $98 per share from $87.

☆ Goldman Sachs likes Pinterest even after Q4 revenue miss, says long-term catalysts still in place
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The company's long-term revenue outlook is also promising for investors, according to the analyst. The analyst also noted that management's "focus on reprioritizing investments" could help Pinterest grow margins and long-term profitability. Sheridan maintained his price target of $30 per share on Pinterest, implying a 9.2% upside from the stock's closing price of $27.48 as of Monday. He reiterated his neutral rating on Pinterest shares and issued a price target of $26 per share, implying downside of 5.4%. JPMorgan lowered its price target to $27 from $28 and maintained its neutral rating for the stock.

☆ Analysts say buy Amazon for the long term, despite recession concerns and slowing AWS growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But even with these near-term headwinds, analysts remain confident in the long-term thesis for the e-commerce giant and its growth trajectory. The results from Amazon come on the heels of a difficult 2022 that saw the e-commerce bellwether shed roughly half its value and post its slowest year of growth . At the same time, revenue for its Amazon Web Services division fell short of Wall Street's estimates and showed slowing sales growth as business spending dwindles. Moderating growth within the company's cloud unit marked one of the biggest concerns for analysts, but nowhere near a shock. Revenue growth came in at 20% for the quarter, and below the already slow 27.5% growth rate the company experienced in third quarter.

☆ Analysts overlook Alphabet's disappointing quarter, cite confidence in AI push as ChatGPT threat grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts are willing to overlook Alphabet' s disappointing quarter in lieu of its artificial intelligence push and focus on costs. Shares of the search giant fell more than 4% after the company missed Wall Street's expectations for the fourth quarter. But, analysts lauded the company's focus on artificial intelligence as it faces mounting pressures from popularized Microsoft-backed chatbot ChatGPT . Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company plans to release its LaMDA language model with search components "very soon." GOOGL 1D mountain GOOGL falls after earnings Analysts also cited some confidence in the company's push to reengineer its cost structure and reduce inefficiencies.

☆ Amazon stock hit hardest after tech earnings bonanza, despite misses by Apple and Alphabet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Its stock was hit harder than peers Apple and Alphabet , which also reported on Thursday evening. Shares of Apple were trading up about 4% on Friday morning while Alphabet was down about 1%. Amazon said it expects revenue of between $121 billion and $126 billion in the current quarter. Similarly, despite Alphabet's misses, analysts are bullish on its prospects for artificial intelligence and highlighted its strong core business. WATCH: Arete Research's Richard Kramer on the outlook for Apple, Amazon and Alphabet

☆ Analysts laud Meta Platforms' focus on efficiency, say the stock is transitioning from 'doghouse to pedestal'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Meta Platforms is turning its focus toward efficiency, and analysts seem to like the narrative shift from the battered technology giant. "Our management theme for 2023 is the 'Year of Efficiency' and we're focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization." META YTD mountain Meta Platforms shares have already surged 27% this year Analysts also seemed to praise the company's move to lower its outlook for capital expenditures and operating expenses. The word "efficiency" came up over 25 times on the company's earnings call, according to Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak. The analyst has an outperform rating on Meta and hiked his price target to $275, which implies upside of nearly 80%.

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