The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Twitter And Facebook

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 2, 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 Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) , Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) , Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) , Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) .

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Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Tech Roundup: Amazon in Healthcare, Google Pay Launches

Amazon selling over the counter medications and Alphabet rebranding and enhancing Android Pay as Google Pay were the top stories from last week.

The Amazon Drug Store

CNBC reported that Amazon quietly launched a line of over-the-counter (OTC) medications and generic drugs under the Basic Care brand back in August. The 60 products sold under the brand are currently exclusively manufactured by private label Perrigo and also include some generics sold under its GoodSense brand.

Over the counter medications are everyday things like cough syrups, allergy medicines or treatments for minor stomach disorders that don’t require a prescription. People generally don’t buy them til the last minute, something that may not change despite Amazon’s competitive pricing. This is the main challenge for Amazon in the segment. They comprise 31%, or $8.4 billion, of the U.S. OTC medication industry, according to Euromonitor.

The bigger and more regulated part of the market is generics and while there have been news reports off and on about Amazon’s interest in the area, this market will be harder to break into. But once it manages to make an entry, it will be much easier to buy prescription medicines on Amazon, especially for chronic or prolonged illnesses. This might be why the company recently launched an alliance with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) with the stated objective of lowering healthcare costs for everyone over the long term.

Google Pay

As announced earlier, Google is rebranding Android Pay as Google Pay and also incorporating Google Wallet P2P (now called Google Pay Send) services into it. The app’s Home tab displays your recent transactions and based on your shopping history and location, lists nearby places that accept Google Pay. There’s also a Cards tab that stores your debt, credit and loyalty card information, as well as ongoing offers.

You can shift through these with your Google account information and don’t need to share card details. Other than the supported brick-and-mortar outlets, Google Pay also allows you to pay online on partner sites like Airbnb,DoorDash, Hotel Tonight and Fandango.

For people already using Android Pay, the shift will simply be a software update. The Google Pay Send integration will happen gradually over the next few months, first in the U.S. and UK.

Other Stories-

Corporate

Analysts Weigh in on Apple: According to various media reports, UBS analyst Steven Milunovich thinks that Apple will likely spend its billons by buying back shares or combining that with higher dividends to become cash neutral by 2023. Speculation started after In the first scenario, it buys back 10% of its shares each year resulting in a 30% increase in the EPS by 2021 and in the second, its spends $30-60 billion on share buybacks while increasing the dividend yield to 3% from 1.6%. The analyst doesn’t think there’s a big acquisition on the horizon.

Analyst Sees Facebook Losing Ad Dollars to Twitter, Snap: Daniel Ives of GBH says that a number of factors are leading him to believe that Snap and Twitter’s growth prospects are improving relative to Facebook. Facebook’s recent move to keep its platform social could have had something to do with it.

In any case, 15-20% of traditional social media advertisers who have earlier only used Facebook, are now experimenting with Twitter ads.

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1 Stock of the Day pick for free.

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