Top Analysts Sing the Praises of Two Tech Giants: Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)


Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) clearly have a lot for which to be thankful this holiday season, and two of Wall Street’s best-performing analysts are taking notice. Between Apple’s return to its Black Friday “one-day shopping event” and Amazon’s weekend release of strong eCommerce data results, Drexel Hamilton and Piper Jaffray are chiming in with bullish forecasts for these leaders of the tech world. Let’s take a closer look:

Apple Has Gotten its Black Friday Groove Back

Apple might have skipped out on Black Friday last year, but for Black Friday 2016, the tech titan came back with gusto to its traditional “one-day shopping event” complete with Apple Gift Card discounts across the board, from the iPhone to the iPad to the Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV.

Top analyst Brian White at Drexel Hamilton believes the titan has gotten “back into the Black Friday groove this holiday season” and therefore reiterates a Buy rating on shares of AAL with a $185 price target, which represents a 66% increase from current levels.

With some insight into Apple’s Black Friday history, the analyst notes, “For several years, Apple participated in the Black Friday celebration with a ‘one-day shopping event’; however, the company surprised everyone when it sat out last year’s Black Friday celebration. However, the company returned this year with Apple Gift Cards with the purchase of certain SIMfree iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs and Apple TVs. In 2014, Apple offered RED iTunes Gift Cards during Black Friday but this year is offering Apple Gift Cards.”

Overall, “We believe Apple remains one of the best positioned tech companies to benefit from spending trends this holiday season with a well-received iPhone 7/7 Plus, a new Apple Watch and a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar,” White contends.

As usual, we like to include the analyst’s track record when reporting on new analyst notes to give a perspective on the effect it has on stock performance. According to TipRanks, top five-star analyst Brian White has achieved a very high ranking of #88 out of 4,245 analysts. White upholds a 61% success rate and yields 9.5% in his annual returns. When recommending AAPL, White realizes 18.9% in average profits on the stock.

TipRanks analytics exhibit AAPL as a Strong Buy. Out of 34 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 28 are bullish on Apple stock, 5 remain sidelined, and one is bearish on the stock. With a return potential of nearly 17%, the stock’s consensus target price stands at $130.47.

Amazon is Leading the Online Retailer Pack

Over the holiday weekend, Amazon released Thanksgiving and Black Friday eCommerce data that show overall eCommerce volume has risen up to 17.7%. ‘Tis the season for holiday deals and the company’s data release reveal that eCommerce maintains its considerable share capture from offline retailers.

On back of the online auction and e-commerce leader’s robust eCommerce performance, top analyst Gene Munster at Piper Jaffray reiterates an Overweight rating on AMZN with a price target of $900, which represents a 15% increase from where the shares last closed.

Munster believes, “Adobe further notes that retailers focused on mobile are benefiting the most, which we believe is a positive sign for Amazon, which has made the largest push and effort among online retailers for its app, including its Prime Now rollout. The health of the eCommerce market is an incremental positive in the AMZN story; YTD Amazon has been growing global units at 27.5% vs. the overall online market in the 15% range off the back of increased Prime adoption and wallet shift, Prime Now rollout, and generally offering the best eCommerce experience available. We believe that it continues this dominance into the holiday season.”

Ultimately, “We believe that Amazon is likely outstripping other online retailers due to the growth in Prime membership, Prime-only deals, the rollout of Prime Now (free 2-hour delivery), discounting on items ordered through Amazon Echo, the strongest eCommerce mobile app adoption, and, generally speaking, the best eCommerce experience offered online,” Munster concludes.

Gene Munster has a very good TipRanks score with a 63% success rate and he stands at #13 out of 4,245 analysts. Munster gains 16.7% in his yearly returns. When suggesting AMZN, Munster garners 34.4% in average profits on the stock.

TipRanks analytics demonstrate AMZN as a Strong Buy. Based on 33 analysts polled in the last 3 months, 31 rate a Buy on AMZN, while 2 maintain a Hold. The 12-month average price target stands at $948.74, marking a nearly 22% upside from where the stock is currently trading.

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