CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --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 the blog includethe Expedia Inc (Nasdaq:EXPE-Free Report), Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report), China Dangdang (NYSE:DANG-Free Report), Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report) and Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its 'Buy' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:
Expedia Books Earnings Beats
Expedia Inc (Nasdaq:EXPE-Free Report) reported Q2 earnings after the bell today. EPS crushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.68, by posting an EPS of $1.03. Revenues also beat the Zacks Consensus Revenue Estimate of $1.444 billion, but announcing Revenues of $1.49 billion.This is a year over year growth of 44% for Earnings and 24% in Revenue.
The major diver behind the growth was Gross Bookings, which rose 29%, outpacing the consensus estimate of 23%-24%.Further, room night growth rose 28% beating the consensus estimate of 23%.Moreover, Booking.com, eLong, and Travelocity all saw strong growth numbers as well. Finally, management announced a 20% increase in their dividend, raising it to $0.18.
In afterhours trading, Expedia is up over 1% on mild volume.
Amazon Invests $2B to Expand Ops in India
Online retailing giant Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report) recently announced that it is planning to invest $2 billion (INR12,000 crore) to expand its operations in India.
The news comes on the heels of the recent announcement by Flipkart, India's largest e-tailer, to raise funds worth $1 billion, further heating up the competition.
Amazon stated that India is a fast growing e-Commerce market which offers ample expansion opportunities. The additional investment will support its online retail business and enhance the customer and seller experience in the country.
Amazon forayed into the Indian market in Feb 2012 with the launch of Junglee.com, a site which allows customers to compare prices online and read customer reviews but not purchase items directly.
In Jun 2013, Amazon launched its online marketplace in India where it sells books, films, TV shows, mobile phones and cameras among other items through its website Amazon.in. Seeing the overwhelming response in India, Amazon plans to further increase its investments in India and gain from the country's rapidly-growing online retail market.
According to the global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG), India is the third largest country after U.S. and China in terms of Internet users and is now on the verge of a digital revolution. The firm expects Internet users in India to increase threefold from 120 million in 2011 to 330 million by 2016.
According to BCG, India is, however, far behind other countries like China and the United States in terms of online shopping. Nevertheless, given the Internet-savvy population, BCG predicts that there is room for further growth.
Naturally, established U.S.-based e-Commerce players like Amazon will try to make India the future e-Commerce hub. Recently, the company announced its plan to build five more fulfillment centers in India, bringing the total number of large warehouses to seven. These warehouses help online retailers to store products and handle shipments and returns quickly.
With the expansion of Amazon, we can expect more fulfillment warehouses to serve major Indian metropolitan areas.
As Amazon is way ahead of the other online retailers due to its product selection, pricing, deals and platforms, the company could give strong competition to local players, primarily Flipkart. The company, in our view, is performing true to its form recording revenue growth and generating significant cash flow quarter upon quarter (discounting seasonal variations).
However, uncertainty regarding its investment plans and the probability of incurring losses in the near term keep us on the periphery regarding the shares.
Amazon currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). Stocks that have been performing well and are worth considering include Ecommerce China Dangdang (NYSE:DANG-Free Report), Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report) and Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A-Free Report), all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Today, Zacks is promoting its 'Buy' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Get the full Report on EXPE - FREE
Get the full Report on AMZN - FREE
Get the full Report on DANG - FREE
Get the full Report on FB - FREE
Get the full Report on A - FREE
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumedthat any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein andis subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Logo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO
SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
