4 big analyst picks: Amazon picks up fresh buy rating; Southern upped at Goldman

Here is your Pro Recap of the biggest analyst picks you may have missed since yesterday: a buy initiation at Amazon, as well as upgrades at Southern, ACM Research, and Lazard.

InvestingPro subscribers got this news first. Never miss another market-moving upgrade.

Amazon initiated with a Buy rating

DBS Group initiated coverage on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) with a Buy rating and a price target of $150.00, highlighting the company’s leading position in e-commerce, its growing prime membership base, and growth opportunities for both AWS and its online advertising business.

The analyst says Amazon’s retail segment is still attempting to regain profitability after facing macroeconomic challenges, but noted that the U.S. e-commerce industry is projected to grow at 12.4% CAGR - and that Amazon holds a 39% market share in US e-commerce, with opportunities to capture more of the untapped market.

The analyst added:

We justify our target price and multiples based on AMZN’s leading position in e-commerce, its growing prime membership base, growth opportunities for both AWS (where it is the leader), and its online advertising business.

The company is set to report its Q2/23 earnings on July 27. Street estimates stand at $0.35 for EPS and $131.16 billion for revenues.

Southern upgraded at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs upgraded Southern (NYSE:SO) to Conviction Buy from Buy with a price target of $80.00, expecting positive progress in the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 nuclear project, leading to increased earnings growth and value.

According to the firm, the recent Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which introduced the nuclear production tax credit (PTC), reduced risks associated with this asset class, making nuclear power a catalyst for growth.

2 more upgrades

ACM Research (NASDAQ:ACMR) shares closed with more than a 13% gain yesterday after Jefferies upgraded the company to Buy from Hold with its price target of $23.40 (from $9), as reported in real-time on InvestingPro.

The rating change is based on looser DUV rules lifting China's fab capex.

Wolfe Research upgraded Lazard (NYSE:LAZ) to Peer Perform from Underperform and raised its price target to $32 from $28.

The firm expressed caution about Lazard shares for a while due to concerns that the market was underestimating headwinds related to revenue and comparable sales. However, considering that the shares are trading at a significant discount compared to their peers, the firm now sees risk/reward as more balanced.

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