NexOptic Technology Corp (TSXV: NXO)
You’ll Never See The World The Same Way Again
Recent checks on Apple.com show the company is limiting online iPhone purchases in many countries, including the U.S. and China, to a maximum of two handsets per person.
“Now that stores all over the world are closed, online scalpers see an opportunity,” according to Nicole Peng, who tracks the smartphone sector at research firm Canalys.
The last time Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) instituted selling caps was in 2007, when the iPhone was first introduced, to stop people from reselling them.
Oppenheimer reiterates its Outperform rating and $2,400 target for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), citing the coronavirus-related increase in demand for essentials and e-commerce.
Analyst Jason Helfstein: “While some items are taking longer to be delivered, and grocery-delivery capacity is strained, we think Amazon is seeing record consumer demand, with share gains likely to remain post-virus.”
Helfstein expects AMZN’s online store segment to grow 20% Y/Y, up from his prior 15% estimate.
The analyst now estimates Q1 physical store sales to grow more than 5%, up from more than 1%.
Amazon shares are down 1.2% to $1,859.35. The company has a Very Bullish average Sell Side rating.
Falling in line with European requests, YouTube (GOOG +0.2%, GOOGL +0.1%) will also limit its streaming traffic on the continent.
That follows a move by Netflix to cut its bitrates by 25% amid claims that broadband networks are being strained.
YouTube will cut its quality in Europe to standard definition for the next 30 days, it said after a meeting between its CEO Susan Wojcicki, Google chief Sundar Pichai and EU commissioner Thierry Breton.
Updated: YouTube is setting its quality to standard definition by default, but users will be able to override it if they choose and watch in high definition.
Jefferies names Amazon (AMZN +1.7%), Facebook (FB +2.8%), Alphabet (GOOG +0.4%)(GOOGL +0.3%), Wix (WIX +1.8%), and Chegg (CHGG +6.2%) as the tech companies most likely to outperform in the next year.
Analyst Brent Thill says some of the FAANG stocks are already showing signs of a rebound despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Thill: “We think FB and GOOGL are especially well positioned for a downturn as they have $55B and $115B in net cash, respectively, allowing them to invest significantly back into their businesses and/or do opportunistic M&A and buybacks.”
The analyst sees Amazon as best-positioned in e-commerce due to the surging demand but reduces his estimates due to potential supply chain issues.
Thill also cut his revenue estimates for Lyft (LYFT +9.1%), expecting a “severe” demand reduction in March and Q2 due to the quarantines.
AT&T (NYSE:T) is canceling its accelerated share repurchase agreement with Morgan Stanley to repurchase $4B during Q2.
The company attributes the move to the coronavirus pandemic, saying it has “decided at this time to cancel this ASR agreement and any other repurchases to maintain flexibility and focus on continued investment in serving our customers, taking care of our employees and enhancing our network, including nationwide 5G.”
AT&T shares are up 1.1% pre-market to $31.50.
