Eric "The Wolfman" Wilkinson"s Commentary $GOOG $AAPL $AMZN
Ahead of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) second quarterearnings results expected today after market close, Piper Jaffray top analyst Gene Munster remains bullish, reiterating a Buy with a price target of $800, marking a conservative just over 8% upsidefrom where the stock is currently trading.
Munster asserts a continued long-term bullish stance onAmazon shares, based on our belief that the companys retail business has a long way to go in both domestic and international markets, its optionality in new verticals and services, opportunities for expansion into SaaS offerings with AWS, and its discount vs. long-term valuation metrics.
Particularly looking ahead to the second quarter, Munster finds an upside to profit margins for Amazon compared to Amazon guidance, its impact on consensus expectation, and a steady outlook for revenue, as units continue to grow by 26%. While Munster acknowledges the Streets margin expectations for third quarter are not ideal, he views the estimates as being a relatively low hurdle as unit growth deceleration should be moderated by a strong Prime Day.
Right now, Munster views Amazon in a favorable position to not only meet guidance, but report above the high end. Munster credits Prime as a key driver of momentum, as well as improved cost/unit structure, better profit performance internationally, and an upside thanks to Amazon Web Services. The analyst believes Amazon has a solid record for transcending high end margin each quarter and predicts the Streets expectations for the third quarter to rise accordingly.
According to TipRanks, Gene Munster is a top, five-star analyst, ranked #13 out of 4,087 analysts. Munsters success rate has excelled at 63%, averaging 16.2% in his annual returns.
TipRanks analytics exhibit AMZN as a Strong Buy. Consider that out of 36 analysts polled in the last 3 months, the majority, 33, rate a Buy, with only remaining maintaining a Hold. The price target is $831.87, marking a close to 13% upside from where shares last closed.
Source: http://www.smarteranalyst.com/2016/07/28/piper-jaffray-analyst-reiterates-long-term-positive-outlook-amazon-com-inc-amzn-says-q1-set-looks-favorable/
