Uncover Hidden Gems in Post-Election Market Turbulence

Amazon: E-commerce and Cloud Computing Giant

This week, we begin with e-commerce and cloud computing behemoth Amazon (AMZN). The company wowed investors with remarkable third-quarter performances on both the top and bottom lines. This was driven by the strength of its cloud and advertising businesses. In response to the solid Q3 results, Monness analyst Brian White reaffirmed a buy rating on Amazon stock and increased the price target from $225 to $245. Although he acknowledged the regulatory challenges, he remains optimistic about AMZN. He believes it will continue to capitalize on the cloud, expand its digital ad business, innovate with AI, achieve efficiencies from a regional fulfillment network, and leverage a more streamlined cost structure.White emphasized that Amazon's revenue growth accelerated to 17%, accompanied by significant profit upside. Notably, Q3 operating profit exceeded his estimates, resulting in a record operating margin of 11%. He also noted the sharp sequential increase in operating margins at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the International business. Based on these solid results, the analyst raised his revenue and earnings per share estimates for 2024 and 2025.Furthermore, White pointed out Amazon's focus on reducing costs through improved efficiencies and new initiatives like regionalizing its U.S. fulfillment network. The company now aims to regionalize its U.S. inbound network and utilize advanced robotic innovations across its fulfillment network. Overall, White sees substantial growth potential for Amazon across various domains such as e-commerce, AWS, digital media, advertising, Alexa, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

White ranks No. 38 among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 69% of the time, delivering an average return of 20.4%. Check out Amazon Stock Charts on TipRanks.

Uber Technologies: Ride-Sharing Platform

Now, let's move on to this week's second pick, the ride-sharing platform Uber Technologies (UBER). The company recently achieved better-than-expected third-quarter revenue and earnings. Nevertheless, it failed to meet Wall Street's expectations for Q3 gross bookings.However, Evercore analyst Mark Mahaney remains bullish on UBER stock. He reiterated a buy rating with a price target of $120 after a series of investor meetings with management. Mahaney believes UBER will benefit from the rollouts of autonomous vehicles as it is the largest ride-sharing demand aggregator. He added that the increased availability of robotaxis on the Uber platform will enhance customer service through shorter wait times, broader ride selection, and potentially lower prices."UBER believes that the economics it can offer AV owners can be highly attractive, enabling them to generate very high margins and better fleet utilization than they could achieve on their own," said Mahaney.Based on his discussions with management, Mahaney explained that the deceleration observed in Uber's Mobility bookings growth in Q3 and the estimate for Q4 is due to the negative demand elasticity caused by the surge in insurance costs and a slowdown in "party hour" bookings, which occur during evenings and weekends. He believes this deceleration will moderate as the rate of insurance cost increases slows down, new products like Uber for Teens and Uber for Business show growth prospects, and there is potential for an improvement in consumer discretionary demand.Finally, Mahaney remains confident about Uber's ability to consistently increase its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and free cash flow margins over the next three to five years, supported by various measures to drive cost efficiencies.

Mahaney ranks No. 34 among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 64% of the time, delivering an average return of 28.9%. Explore Uber Technologies Stock Options on TipRanks.

Block: Fintech Giant

Finally, let's examine fintech giant Block (SQ). The company, formerly known as Square, narrowly surpassed analysts' earnings expectations but missed revenue estimates in the third quarter.After the results were announced, BTIG analyst Andrew Harte discussed the pros and cons of Block's Q3 performance. He noted that the company's initial FY25 gross profit growth guidance of at least 15% was almost in line with the consensus estimate of 14.9%. However, the Q4 gross profit outlook of 14% fell short of expectations due to a shift in the timing of certain expected benefits from Q4 to the next year.The analyst believes CEO Jack Dorsey did an excellent job in highlighting the company's lending products and explaining how they are driving the growth of Block's ecosystem. Despite the soft Q4 guidance and management's comments suggesting that investors will have to wait until the second half of 2025 for growth acceleration, SQ stock remains a top pick for BTIG.Harte cited several reasons for his bullish stance. These include Block's track record of exceeding guidance and the stock's attractive valuation at 12 times FY25 EV (enterprise value)/EBITDA. He added that the company is in the early stages of fueling increased product adoption in both its Cash and Square ecosystems, indicating continued growth potential ahead."Block is just starting to integrate its Cash App and Square ecosystems, which could lead to significant flywheel effects over time," said Harte while reaffirming a buy rating on the stock with a price target of $90.

Harte ranks No. 152 among more than 9,100 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 75% of the time, delivering an average return of 63.8%. Discover Block Hedge Funds Activity on TipRanks.