The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: EVINE Live, ASOS, PetMed Express, Groupon, Amazon And Adobe Systems

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 27, 2017 – 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 EVINE Live Inc. (NASDAQ:EVLV) , ASOS (LON:ASOS) Plc (OTC:ASOMY) , PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS) , Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) , Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) .

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Add These Promising Stocks to Your Cyber Monday Cart

Black Friday usually offers a galore of shopping deals but Cyber Monday is likely to be more tempting. Bargain hunters are expected to take to the Internet on Cyber Monday (Nov 27), which is anticipated to be the busiest online shopping day in history.

Many Americans prefer not to visit stores a day after an engaging Thanksgiving, primarily to avoid long queues. Tempting discounts on highly sought-after products is another attraction.

According to a recent survey by National Retail Federation, as many as 78 million Americans, representing 48% of consumers, prefer shopping on Cyber Monday. This is way higher than 36% and 34% that planned to shop for Cyber Mondays during 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Cyber Monday to See Record Sales

This Cyber Monday is expected to be the largest online shopping fiesta of all times, according to Adobe Systems Inc. The company projects online sales at $6.6 billion, up 16.5% from the year-ago level.

Already the customers have expended as much as $28.6 billion online in the first 21 days of this month, almost 18% higher than the year-ago level, per a report by Adobe. Also, each day recorded more than $1 billion of sales.

It gets more interesting from here. As per Adobe’s projections, online spending this holiday season (Nov1 to Dec 31) will reach a record mark of $107.4 billion, significantly higher than $94.4 billion, $82.5 billion and $67.9 billion during the comparable periods of 2016, 2015 and 2014.

According to media reports, majority of analysts expect Amazon.com, Inc., one of the major players in the online business, to steal the limelight this holiday season. CNBC added that Amazon will likely serve nearly half of the online shoppers this holiday season.

Strong Job Data Hint at High Consumer Spending

Consumers are looking at convenience factors more than ever this year. Lower-priced goods, free shipping and product availability are the primary factors driving online shopping this season.

Strong economic indicators like record job data and declining unemployment rate are encouraging shoppers to spend billions of dollars online. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the domestic economy generated 261,000 new jobs in October, the highest so far in 2017. Also, the unemployment rate of 4.1% in the month is the lowest this year.

Impressive third-quarter results and record quarterly GDP numbers reflect the economy’s financial strength. Additionally, personal income increased by $66.9 billion or 0.4% in September, while disposable personal income that measures the total amount of money available for use after taxes rose by $73.6 billion, or 2.1%, in the third quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which Online Retailers to Pick?

With this year’s Cyber Monday poised to be a record setter, investing in fundamentally sound online retailers is likely to be prudent. Now, the challenge is to zero in on such stocks given that the online spending by the U.S shoppers will keep on rising. We have employed our proprietary Stock Screener to shortlist four stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Groupon, Inc. offers lucrative deals through its online local commerce marketplaces. The company posted an average positive earnings surprise of 150.00% for the last four quarters. Also, for 2017, we expect the company to record 229.6% year-over-year growth in earnings.

Groupon sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

PetMed Express, Inc., headquartered in Delray Beach, FL, is involved in marketing health products directly to consumers through online and direct mail/print advertising. The company managed to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 23.5%.

For fiscal 2018, this Zacks #1 Ranked company’s earnings will likely grow 42.5% year over year.

Headquartered in London, ASOS Plc is a leading online fashion retailer.

The stock, with a Zacks Rank #2, has an impressive pricing history. ASOS has rallied 27.9% year to date, outpacing the S&P 500 index’s 16.4%.

EVINE Live Inc., headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN, is the leading distributer of a wide range of products online.

This Zacks #2 Ranked company posted average positive earnings surprise of 11.1% for the last four quarters. Moreover, for fiscal 2018, we expect the company to report year-over-year earnings growth of 76.2%.

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