Latest news with #MariaRipps
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta's AI Innovations Drive $850 Price Target as Analysts See Strong Q2 Ahead
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:) is one of the . On July 16, Canaccord Genuity analyst Maria Ripps raised the price target on the stock to $850.00 (from $825.00) while maintaining a 'Buy' rating. The firm is optimistic about Meta's second Q2 results and believes that the setup is compelling as it moves into FY26. 'We expect Meta to report solid Q2 results, with ad revenue growth remaining in the mid-teens y/y despite some modest q/q deceleration, in part reflecting tariff-driven uncertainty impacting budget deployments in the earlier part of the quarter. Growth likely remained buoyed by continued AI-driven improvements to content creation and ads recommendation models, with Meta having introduced a new generative ads recommendation model in Q1 that is twice as efficient at improving ad performance as legacy models. Looking ahead, we expect the pace of innovation to remain robust given recent AI investments, including acquiring 49% stake in Scale AI, hiring OpenAI and Apple researchers, unveiling Meta Superintelligence labs, and acquiring voice AI startup PlayAI. Copyright: buchachon / 123RF Stock Photo "These investments, coupled with the technical infrastructure build out, should support Meta's reported goal of enabling brands to fully create and target ads using AI by the end of 2026, among other initiatives. For Q2, we forecast ad revenue and total revenue to both increase ~14% y/y (vs. +16% y/y in Q1), with the modest q/q deceleration in part reflecting tariff-related uncertainty, and we expect OI of $16.7B, 37.5% margin, modestly below consensus. Given the recent investments Meta has been making in AI engineers/researchers, we do see some increased upside risk to FY25 OpEx guidance. That said, in addition to continued improvements to core monetization functions, Meta has several new tailwinds that should progressively build, including further automation of key advertiser functions, ads on WhatsApp and Threads, and a potential general release of the WhatsApp Business' chatbot offering. While we acknowledge shares are trading near all-time highs, we continue to think the setup is compelling, particularly as we move into FY26.' While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta's AI Innovations Drive $850 Price Target as Analysts See Strong Q2 Ahead
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:) is one of the . On July 16, Canaccord Genuity analyst Maria Ripps raised the price target on the stock to $850.00 (from $825.00) while maintaining a 'Buy' rating. The firm is optimistic about Meta's second Q2 results and believes that the setup is compelling as it moves into FY26. 'We expect Meta to report solid Q2 results, with ad revenue growth remaining in the mid-teens y/y despite some modest q/q deceleration, in part reflecting tariff-driven uncertainty impacting budget deployments in the earlier part of the quarter. Growth likely remained buoyed by continued AI-driven improvements to content creation and ads recommendation models, with Meta having introduced a new generative ads recommendation model in Q1 that is twice as efficient at improving ad performance as legacy models. Looking ahead, we expect the pace of innovation to remain robust given recent AI investments, including acquiring 49% stake in Scale AI, hiring OpenAI and Apple researchers, unveiling Meta Superintelligence labs, and acquiring voice AI startup PlayAI. Copyright: buchachon / 123RF Stock Photo "These investments, coupled with the technical infrastructure build out, should support Meta's reported goal of enabling brands to fully create and target ads using AI by the end of 2026, among other initiatives. For Q2, we forecast ad revenue and total revenue to both increase ~14% y/y (vs. +16% y/y in Q1), with the modest q/q deceleration in part reflecting tariff-related uncertainty, and we expect OI of $16.7B, 37.5% margin, modestly below consensus. Given the recent investments Meta has been making in AI engineers/researchers, we do see some increased upside risk to FY25 OpEx guidance. That said, in addition to continued improvements to core monetization functions, Meta has several new tailwinds that should progressively build, including further automation of key advertiser functions, ads on WhatsApp and Threads, and a potential general release of the WhatsApp Business' chatbot offering. While we acknowledge shares are trading near all-time highs, we continue to think the setup is compelling, particularly as we move into FY26.' While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure: None.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Canaccord Maintains Buy Rating on Spotify (SPOT), Lifts PT
On May 20, Canaccord increased the price target on Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) stock from $700 to $775, keeping a Buy rating on the stock. Maria Ripps from Canaccord increased the price target after reviewing the Q1 FY2025 quarterly results of the music giant. Ripps mentioned that the earnings for the internet sector continue to favor top names with diversified business models that are less exposed to tariffs. Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash Despite missing the earnings estimate in Q1, Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) reported strong subscriber growth, with the highest first-quarter net addition of 5 million since 2020, representing 12% growth year-over-year. Ripps cited that Spotify has multiple levers to mitigate any potential risk from tariffs. The company has expanded its Partner Program to nine new markets during Q1 and also paid out over $100 million to podcast creators during the quarter. Moreover, Spotify posted a 31.6% gross margin in Q1, exceeding guidance and growing by 400 basis points year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of SPOT to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SPOT and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. Read Next: and . Disclosure. None. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta Stock Rises as Wall Street Bullishness Intensifies
Meta stock is on the rise. Shares of Meta Platforms (META), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, jumped early Thursday, rising more than 4%. The shares remain off 2025 highs, but have jumped out of the hole into which they'd stumbled in April. The stock is being driven higher by quarterly financial results and related executive commentary, delivered last night, that investors are interpreting as a sign of strength in the tech trade. Earnings and revenue came in higher than Wall Street expected, and the company boasted of growing use of its AI offerings and reaffirmed big capital spending plans. Wall Street analysts were already bullish on Meta stock before the results, and several turned even more so after them. Bank of America lifted its target by $50 to $690, while JPMorgan boosted its own by $65 to $675. (The Visible Alpha average is around $689 today.) 'We know it's not that easy to execute so well [and] deliver strong growth off a big base,' JPMorgan wrote. 'But we believe Meta is keenly aware that with strong execution [and] AI transparency, it will get a longer leash from the Street on AI investments.' Canaccord Genuity's Maria Ripps on Thursday maintained an $825 price target that is substantially higher than any other currently tracked by Visible Alpha and which would represent a record high. The stock finished Wednesday at $549. 'While the company does face potential macro and regulatory headwinds, with shares still well off recent highs and a long runway ahead for AI-driven improvements to key business functions, we continue to view the stock as a core holding for tech investors,' Ripps wrote. Read the original article on Investopedia Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
26-02-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Hims & Hers Health Sparks Investors Interest with Unusual Options Trading
Hims and Hers Health Inc. (HIMS) produced sterling results on Feb. 24, spurring huge interest in HIMS call options trading. Barchart reported an unusual volume today in HIMS call options that expire on March 14. HIMS is trading at $44.27 in morning trading on Wednesday, Feb. 26, up 11%. This was the result of huge investor interest in this $10 billion market cap company which sells GLP weight-loss compounds, and other telehealth-based products. As a result, the Barchart Unusual Stock Options Activity Report showed that over 1,000 call option contracts were traded at the $43.00 strike price for expiration on March 14. That was over 10x the prior number of outstanding contracts in this particle call option tranche. The investor interest in this call option has pushed the midpoint premium to $3.93 per call contract. That implies that in the next 16 days, the call option buyers hope to see HIMS stock rise to $46.93 or higher, in order for this call option to eventually have any intrinsic value. In other words, they want to see HIMS stock rise by 6.39% (i.e., $46.93/$44.11 price today) or higher in the next two weeks. That could be possible if the stock continues on its upward trajectory. On the other hand, the short-sellers of this particular call option tranche can make an immediate yield of 8.39% (i.e., $3.70 bid / $44.11). That is a very good two-week short sale yield for any investor who buys 100 shares for $4,411 and then sells these calls to make $370 per call contract shorted. Let's see what is driving the enthusiasm in HIMS stock. Strong Revenue and Free Cash Flow (FCF) Hims and Hers Health said its Q4 revenue rose 95% YoY and its full-year sales (mostly subscriptions) were up +69% YoY. Apart from its weight-loss product subscriptions, the company's sales were up 43% YoY. More importantly, the company is now solidly profitable on a free cash flow (FCF) basis. It reported that FCF was $59.5 million in Q4, up from $10.8 last year. That represented a solid FCF margin of 12.36 of its Q4 sales of $481.1 million. For the full year, its $198 million in FCF was 13.4% of its $1.477 billion in sales. That implies that the company's future sales growth could bring in huge increases in FCF. For example, analysts now project $2.32 billion in sales this year and $2.66 billion in 2026. That means that on a run-rate basis, its next 12 months (NTM) revenue could average $2.49 billion. Here is what that implies for FCF: 13% FCF margin x $2.49 b NTM sales = $323.7 million FCF Price Targets for HIMS Stock As a result, using a 2.0% FCF yield metric (i.e., 50x FCF multiple), the stock could potentially reach $16.18 billion: $323.7 million x 50 = $16,185 million = $16.18 billon $16.185/ $9.877 billion mkt cap today = 1.639 = +63.9% higher market value That means that a solid price target is $72.29 per share Analysts agree. For example, reports that Maria Ripps of Canaccord raised her price target from $63.40 to $68 per share after the company reported its earnings. The bottom line is that investors are keen on HIMS stock because of its strong earnings and FCF results. That could be why there is such huge interest today in these call options in HIMS stock.
