Facebook remains a Wall Street darling going into 2016, along with the rest of the FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google/ Alphabet). It seems analysts just can’t get enough of the social network, and maybe investors can’t either. So what’s ahead for FANG in 2017? Perhaps more of the same, as multiple firms are expecting continued outperformance.
U.S. dollar impacting internet firms
Analysts from various firms are releasing their updates for major internet firms and their stocks. JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth and team trimmed their price target for Facebook stock, but it remains one of their favorites, along with two of the other three FANG stocks.
One of the big factors impacting their updates for this year is the U.S. dollar, which has strengthened by an average of around 4% against most of the world’s major currencies since the third quarter earnings season. As a result, they’re expecting lower profits for Facebook and Netflix, along with higher costs for both of them.
Price cuts for two of the FANG stocks
Three of the four FANG stocks are their top picks among large-cap internet stocks: Facebook, Netflix, and Google/ Alphabet. That leaves Amazon as the odd man out.
Due to the lower profitability that’s expected, the JPMorgan team trimmed their price target for Facebook stock from $175 to $165 per share. They also trimmed their price target for Amazon stock from $975 to $965 per share, although this cut was the result of currency headwinds.
Other price target changes among their internet coverage include eBay which moves from $33 to $31; Priceline, which falls from $1,780 to $1,750; Expedia, which declines from $120 to $118; and Tripadvisor, which falls $1 to $44 per share. All of these price target cuts are driven by currency headwinds.
Anmuth and team boosted their revenue estimate for Alphabet after adding in $6 billion in revenues from sales of 10 million Pixel handsets in 2017. They didn’t change their subscriber estimates for Netflix, although they did reduce their operating income estimate to $950 million for this year due to lower international contribution profits caused by higher content and marketing expenses.
Internet stocks to outperform this year
Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry and team also continue to like internet stocks for 2017, as they expect them to outperform the broader market. Internet stocks performed in line with the market in 2016.
They’re looking for this outperformance on the back of strong growth, especially in e-commerce. They also expect benefits from high return rates and “relatively attractive” valuations, as half of the top ten internet firms they’re covering are trading at or below their three- and five-year averages.
However, they expect an increase in equity issuances and margin pressures in some segments to partially offset some of the listed benefits, with travel possibly being the most impacted.
Of the FANG stocks, the Goldman team listed only Google/ Alphabet and Amazon on their Conviction List for 2017, setting them apart from the JPMorgan team. PayPal is also on their Conviction List. The other two FANG stocks, Facebook and Netflix, aren’t on that list, although they remain among the highest ranked in Goldman’s internet coverage universe.
Terry and team adjusted their price target for Amazon stock from $1,010 to $1,000 per share based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis. Their price target for Netflix remains at $140.
