5 Stocks to Watch After the Market Closes Today
Microsoft (MSFT): Microsoft made headlines last quarter with its shocking acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. The deal is still in limbo with regulatory forces but there is no indication that it won’t get approved. LinkedIn is expected to seamlessly fit into Microsoft’s growing cloud and CRM products as a means for sales professionals to vet out potential clients. This has massive implications considering Salesforce, who lost the bidding war for LinkedIn, was expected to use the professional network to a similar degree. In the meantime, Microsoft will have to offset ongoing declines in its personal computing business with the rapidly growing cloud computing sector. Its two flagship cloud products, Azure and Office 365 continue to boast robust sequential and year over year growth. This trend should continue to carry growth moving forward, as Microsoft transitions away from its legacy business.
AMD (AMD): AMD is one of the fastest growing companies over the past year. Shares are up over 100% year to date and 200% in the past 12 months. The chipmaker has captured greater market share in its legacy business though by way of its two most recent products; Polaris GPU and Zen Processor. They are not only highly efficient but also come at a much lower price point than comparable products offered by NVidia and Intel. AMD is no longer playing catch up to NVidia or Intel but instead stands side by side with the chip makers. Its new initiatives to latch onto new technologies like virtual reality and data centers is expected to help propel both earnings and market position. Furthermore, new partnerships like the only recently signed with Alibaba is going to help build its reputation.
Skechers (SKX): Skechers stock was slashed following its most recent report that missed on both the top and bottom line. Shares have yet to recover and should continue to edge down if tomorrow’s print is below expectations. Analysts are down on the shoemaker and are fully expecting a repeat performance. This biggest problems lately have been a tough consumer environment, increasing competition, and foreign currency headwinds. Along these lines, Skechers has been forced to cut prices in order to compete with household names like Nike and Under Armour. Frequent discounting, like in any industry, takes its toll on margins and pressures profitability. As a result the Estimize community is calling for a 15% decline on the bottom line to reflect the competitive nature of the shoe market.
PayPal (PYPL): PayPal has done nothing but succeed since the spinoff from eBay in 2015. Shares are up 10% since parting ways on the back of 4 consecutive better than expected earnings reports. Analysts are optimistic that PayPal will deliver another beat tomorrow afternoon. The company has worked tirelessly to generate strong volume growth and user engagement. Recent partnerships with Visa and Mastercard are expected to exponentially increase user growth while its off shoot companies like Venmo and Braintree are helping attract millennial users. PayPal has also stated on multiple occasions that new digital payment apps such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay aren’t infringing on its market position
Proofpoint (PFPT): The whole cyber security space was dealt a massive blow last week after Fortinet released preliminary results that were weaker than expected. Fortinet cited a downturn in consumer urgency for digital protection as the cause of its down quarter. This could potentially have grave consequences across the space this earnings season. Proofpoint will be one of the first attempts to discredit these claims. Analysts’ expectations have edged down in the past 3 months, supporting the earlier claims of a broad industry pullback. Shares are still trading higher year to date and historically trend up immediately through the print.
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