Latest news with #Helfstein
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
‘Margins Could Get Worse,' Warns Top Analyst about Alibaba Stock (BABA) Ahead of Q1 Earnings
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) is set to report its Q1 FY26 earnings next month. In a new report, Mizuho's Top analyst, Jason Helfstein, lowered his price target on Alibaba stock from $160 to $149, pointing to growing concerns around profit margins. According to him, rising competition in China's local commerce sector, especially in food delivery and instant retail, is beginning to hurt the company's bottom line. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Analyst's Views on Alibaba Stock Helfstein, a four-star analyst, said that this quarter marked the first clear sign of margin pressure for Alibaba, driven by its push to stay competitive in local commerce. Mizuho expects a sharp drop in margins in Q1 compared to the previous quarter. Looking ahead, the analyst warned that this margin strain could continue through the rest of 2025 and into 2026 unless new rules are introduced to ease competitive pressure. In response, Mizuho slashed its June-quarter EBITDA forecast from 55 billion RMB to 45 billion RMB. The firm also lowered its FY27 EBITDA estimate to RMB231 billion, reflecting Alibaba's push to protect market share through heavy subsidies. Earlier this month, the company announced a 50 billion yuan ($7 billion) subsidy program via its Taobao unit. The initiative will support food delivery and online retail services as Alibaba tries to fend off growing competition from (JD), PDD Holdings (PDD), and Meituan. Nevertheless, the analyst remains confident in Alibaba's long-term outlook and maintained an Outperform rating on the stock. He noted that consumer demand stayed strong during the June quarter, helped by promotional events and smartphone trade-in offers. Is Alibaba Stock a Good Buy Right Now? Analysts remain highly bullish about Alibaba's stock trajectory. With 14 Buy ratings and one Hold rating, BABA stock commands a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. Also, the average Alibaba price target of $151.81 implies about 25.31% upside potential from current levels.
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Oppenheimer upgrades Spotify, sees 'longest runway' to add users through 2030
Spotify has the ability to add more global users than Meta Platforms, YouTube, Amazon Prime or Netflix, and to increase revenue by 16% annually through 2030, according to Oppenheimer. Analyst Jason Helfstein upgraded the music streaming platform to outperform from perform and set an $800 price target on the stock, which implies shares can gain nearly 19%. "We believe that SPOT will benefit from the secular tailwind of growing digital audio streaming adoption and that the company's subscription economics are better than most believe," Helfstein wrote in a report on Wednesday. Shares of Spotify have rallied 51% so far this year. The Luxembourg-based company earlier this year recorded its first full year of profitability when it released fourth-quarter results. First quarter results in April showed 12% year-over-year growth in subscribers to 268 million, and a 4 percentage point increase in gross profit margin to 31.6%. Looking ahead, Helfstein said Spotify can make more money from new and existing users. Compound annual growth in revenue through 2030 is expected to reach 16%, boosted by 9% annual increases in subscribers and average revenue per subscriber rising by 21%, he said. "For years SPOT has meaningfully under-monetized its free tier, using this as a conversion funnel, as the company tries to scale advertising," the analyst said. SPOT 1Y mountain Spotify stock over the past year. Helfstein cited several tailwinds for his upgrade, including expectations that: Spotify boasts the "longest runway" among large-cap internet stocks to increase its number of monthly active users (MAU), and capture a majority of listeners that are abandoning terrestrial radio (Spotify in the fourth quarter recorded 675 million MAUs, while analysts polled by StreetAccount expected 664.3 million.) A widely expected, higher-priced 'Superfan' tier will drive revenue Spotify will likely monetize its free/lowest fee over time, unlocking a multi-billion dollar revenue opportunity Spotify is already benefiting from conversion improvements from App Store changes, after a recent court ruling against Apple reduced friction for iOS "free-to-paid" conversion
Business Insider
09-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
‘Tesla's Disappointing Robotaxi Debut May Be a Win for Lyft,' Says Oppenheimer
The rising cost of owning a car and Tesla's (TSLA) disappointing robotaxi debut in Austin may turn out to be a win for ride-hailing company Lyft (LYFT), according to Oppenheimer analysts Chad Larkin and Jason Helfstein. Indeed, they believe that this situation gives Lyft a chance to close the gap with Uber (UBER) and significantly improve its EBITDA margins. The analysts argue that the idea of robotaxis disrupting ride-share demand has been put on pause, thanks to Tesla's underwhelming rollout. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Larkin and Helfstein also pointed out that since Lyft's first-quarter earnings in May, consumer demand and competition haven't changed much. This stable environment suggests that the company is on track for a strong second half of the year. In addition, as Lyft's earnings grow, the analysts expect the company to pursue more strategic acquisitions, such as its recent FreeNow deal. They also believe that Lyft could eventually begin buying back its own shares. As a result, based on this positive outlook and the stock's strong performance since Q1, Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating on Lyft. It also raised its price target by $3 to $20 per share, which represents about 25% upside from Monday's closing price. Interestingly, it is worth noting that Helfstein is a four-star analyst with an average return of 5.3% per rating. Is LYFT a Good Stock to Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on LYFT stock based on seven Buys, 22 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average LYFT price target of $17.21 per share implies 4.4% upside potential.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analyst's Bold Amazon Call Has Traders Talking
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) sees its price target lifted to $250 by Oppenheimer, implying 19.2% upside, as analyst Jason Helfstein keeps a Buy rating on the stock and cites a brighter trade outlook and solid margins. Helfstein boosted Amazon's e-commerce gross margin forecasts to 9.1% for fiscal 2025 and 10.5% for fiscal 2026, attributing the gains to lower trade costs and noting that his estimates now align more closely with Street consensus. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with AMZN. He left AWS projections unchanged but flagged a likely capacity-driven ramp in H2 2025 once new data centers come online. Helfstein points to Amazon's continued outperformance versus the broader e-commerce sector and highlights CEO Andy Jassy's AI-led strategiesranging from automation in fulfillment centers to relocating thousands of corporate staff closer to hubs in Seattle, Arlington, and Washington, key drivers of cost control and margin expansion. Why It Matters: The target uptick underscores a shift toward more efficient cross-border operations and growing confidence in Amazon's ability to leverage AI and automation to bolster profitability. That said, the chart shows analysts plotting Amazon's 12-month targets around an average of $242, roughly 15.6% above today's $209 level. At the bullish end, a few see upside toward $305, signaling nearly 50% potential gain on positive AI and cloud catalysts. On the flip side, the most conservative view pegs a low near $188, about 10% below current levels if trade headwinds persist. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
