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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Square, Twitter, Visa, eBay and Amazon
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 3, 2018 – 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 Square, Inc. (SQ - Free Report) , Twitter , Visa (V - Free Report) , eBay (EBAY - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) .
Shares of Square, Inc. surged nearly 3% Tuesday to extend SQ’s impressive run on the back of its increased push into small business finance and more traditional banking. Square stock has jumped over 15% in the last week alone, so is now the time to buy SQ amid what could be just the start of the new banking age?
Overview & Recent News
Square’s second-quarter revenues soared 48% from $551.5 million to $814.9 million. The financial services company, which started as a credit card processing firm for small business, among other things, saw its gross payment volume jump 30% to $21.4 billion. Square also noted that half of its GPV came from “larger sellers”—ones who generate more than $125,000 in annualized GPV—for the first time ever.
On top of its small business financial tools, investors should note that Square’s peer-to-peer payment app, the Cash App, has become widely popular. It was the #1 finance app in the U.S. during the second quarter and was on average a top-30 app in the App Store. Square’s Cash App competes directly against PayPal’s Venmo, as well as JPMorgan Chase’s QuickPay in the p2p payment space.
Square, which was co-founded and is currently run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has long had plans to become a diverse and expansive bank and finance company. Beyond trying to compete with credit card giants and Apple and Google Pay, Square has its sights set on becoming their user’s go-to place for nearly everything. “Anything you do today with a bank account, you should look to the Cash App to begin to emulate more and more of that," CFO Sarah Friar said at a Recode conference recently. “Maybe help them with their savings — how can we help them make their money work for them?”
Dorsey noted over the summer that users have started to treat Square’s Cash app more like a bank account, keeping more money in the app to pay friends and family. The company now offers a Visa debit card that is connected only to the Cash App that allows users to pay merchants and retailers with funds from their Cash App balance.
The San Francisco-based fintech company also offers loans to it qualified business customers through Square Capital. The firm’s lending division struck a deal with eBay this summer that will see Square offer loans to sellers on the e-commerce platform—Amazon offers its third-party sellers similar loans. Plus, just last week, Square introduce a mobile version of the payroll offering it launched in 2015 to help the firm better compete.
Stock Performance
Square stock has been on a tear for some time now. Shares of SQ have skyrocketed over 665% since going public in the fall of 2015, which destroys the S&P 500’s roughly 48% climb. SQ stock has continued its massive run over the last 52 weeks, up over 234% against its industry’s 33% jump.
Square saw its stock price pop nearly 3% in morning trading Tuesday to hit $100.42 per share, which is just inches below its all-time high of $101.15 per share.
Outlook
Looking ahead, our current Zacks Consensus Estimate is calling for Square’s Q3 revenues to jump 47% to hit $860.52 million. Meanwhile, its full-year revenues are projected to hit $3.32 billion, which would mark a 45.7% surge.
Investors might be even more pleased with Square’s bottom line growth projections. The firm’s adjusted quarterly earnings are projected to climb by over 57% to hit $0.11 per share, while its full-year EPS figure is expected to expand by approximately 67%.
Bottom Line
Square is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on its recent earnings estimate revision trends. But the company looks poised to expand both its top and bottom line in major ways in a booming fintech industry. Therefore, it might be time to think about buying SQ stock even as it rests near its all-time high.
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
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.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.
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.
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 https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Square, Twitter, Visa, eBay and Amazon
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 3, 2018 – 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 Square, Inc. (SQ - Free Report) , Twitter , Visa (V - Free Report) , eBay (EBAY - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) .
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:
Square (SQ - Free Report) Jumps Again: Time to Buy?
Shares of Square, Inc. surged nearly 3% Tuesday to extend SQ’s impressive run on the back of its increased push into small business finance and more traditional banking. Square stock has jumped over 15% in the last week alone, so is now the time to buy SQ amid what could be just the start of the new banking age?
Overview & Recent News
Square’s second-quarter revenues soared 48% from $551.5 million to $814.9 million. The financial services company, which started as a credit card processing firm for small business, among other things, saw its gross payment volume jump 30% to $21.4 billion. Square also noted that half of its GPV came from “larger sellers”—ones who generate more than $125,000 in annualized GPV—for the first time ever.
On top of its small business financial tools, investors should note that Square’s peer-to-peer payment app, the Cash App, has become widely popular. It was the #1 finance app in the U.S. during the second quarter and was on average a top-30 app in the App Store. Square’s Cash App competes directly against PayPal’s Venmo, as well as JPMorgan Chase’s QuickPay in the p2p payment space.
Square, which was co-founded and is currently run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has long had plans to become a diverse and expansive bank and finance company. Beyond trying to compete with credit card giants and Apple and Google Pay, Square has its sights set on becoming their user’s go-to place for nearly everything. “Anything you do today with a bank account, you should look to the Cash App to begin to emulate more and more of that," CFO Sarah Friar said at a Recode conference recently. “Maybe help them with their savings — how can we help them make their money work for them?”
Dorsey noted over the summer that users have started to treat Square’s Cash app more like a bank account, keeping more money in the app to pay friends and family. The company now offers a Visa debit card that is connected only to the Cash App that allows users to pay merchants and retailers with funds from their Cash App balance.
The San Francisco-based fintech company also offers loans to it qualified business customers through Square Capital. The firm’s lending division struck a deal with eBay this summer that will see Square offer loans to sellers on the e-commerce platform—Amazon offers its third-party sellers similar loans. Plus, just last week, Square introduce a mobile version of the payroll offering it launched in 2015 to help the firm better compete.
Stock Performance
Square stock has been on a tear for some time now. Shares of SQ have skyrocketed over 665% since going public in the fall of 2015, which destroys the S&P 500’s roughly 48% climb. SQ stock has continued its massive run over the last 52 weeks, up over 234% against its industry’s 33% jump.
Square saw its stock price pop nearly 3% in morning trading Tuesday to hit $100.42 per share, which is just inches below its all-time high of $101.15 per share.
Outlook
Looking ahead, our current Zacks Consensus Estimate is calling for Square’s Q3 revenues to jump 47% to hit $860.52 million. Meanwhile, its full-year revenues are projected to hit $3.32 billion, which would mark a 45.7% surge.
Investors might be even more pleased with Square’s bottom line growth projections. The firm’s adjusted quarterly earnings are projected to climb by over 57% to hit $0.11 per share, while its full-year EPS figure is expected to expand by approximately 67%.
Bottom Line
Square is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on its recent earnings estimate revision trends. But the company looks poised to expand both its top and bottom line in major ways in a booming fintech industry. Therefore, it might be time to think about buying SQ stock even as it rests near its all-time high.
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
See the pot trades we're targeting>>
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.
Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News
Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.
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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 https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.