CHICAGO, Dec. 17, 2013 /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 include theFacebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report), Teradyne (NYSE:TER-Free Report), Google (Nasdaq:GOOG-Free Report), Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT-Free Report) and Sony's (NYSE:SNE-Free Report).
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:
Technology Stock Roundup
Facebook's Meteoric Rise to the S&P 500
From Dec 20, Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report) will replace Teradyne (NYSE:TER-Free Report) in the S&P 500. The company took 19 months to join the index, roughly the same amount of time as Google (Nasdaq:GOOG-Free Report).
S&P has some criteria for adding a company to the index: it generally considers the company's profitability over the preceding four quarters, so Facebook's results over the past year were a primary consideration. However, it also considers market capitalization and sector weighting, so as to correctly represent the sector within the universe. So Facebook's soaring prices and the growing importance of social media as a sector also played a part in its inclusion.
The advantage for Facebook is obvious: there are around 1,300 mutual funds and 13 exchange traded funds following the S&P 500. All of these will need to increase their holdings of Facebook shares, which was the reason the company saw a surge in share prices. The enhanced liquidity that generally accompanies an inclusion in the index also supports higher prices and volumes.
Sony Nosing Ahead of Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT-Free Report) shares lost further ground last week as the Xbox manufacturer admitted that its gaming device took 18-20 days to touch 2 million units sold, slightly behind Sony's (NYSE:SNE-Free Report) PS4 which reached 2.1 million units in 15-16 days.
Microsoft needed to make a splash early on because its devices and services strategy is not going that well and there appear to be multiple challenges ahead for many of its businesses. So investors reacted strongly to the news that Microsoft had fallen behind. Microsoft of course pointed out that there were no unsold items at any of its retail outlets and any shortage was on account of its inability to meet demand.
There might be some truth to this because both Microsoft and Sony appear to have moved cautiously in terms of production (Sony was out of stock earlier). This may be because Nintendo's Wii U didn't do very well last year, with sales dropping off sharply post launch and ultimately missing the company's expectations.
Also, investors appear to have been unduly harsh because one can hardly rule out the fact that Microsoft's device is $100 more expensive and the device faced plenty of criticism. Initial shipments are in fact more about sentiment than ultimate market position because it's only in latter that platform switches become apparent. In that respect, Microsoft's Xbox One appears to be offering more.
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 FB - FREE
Get the full Report on TER - FREE
Get the full Report on GOOG - FREE
Get the full Report on MSFT - FREE
Get the full Report on SNE - 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
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 assumed that 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 and is 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.
SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
Share this article