Latest news with #Blackledge
Business Insider
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
PINS vs. SNAP: TD Cowen Picks the Better Social Media Stock Ahead of Q2 Earnings
TD Cowen's top analyst, John Blackledge, issued his second-quarter fiscal 2025 previews for leading social media companies Snap (SNAP) and Pinterest (PINS). The firm's Q2 Ad Check survey indicates stronger demand momentum for Pinterest compared to Snapchat. As a result, Blackledge maintains a 'Buy' rating on PINS and a 'Hold' rating on SNAP stock. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Both platforms are also benefiting from uncertainty over the future of Chinese short-form video app TikTok's operations in the U.S., as well as from leadership issues at rival platform X following CEO Linda Yaccarino's abrupt departure. First, Let's Understand the Background The advertising segments of these companies were expected to be impacted by the U.S. trade tariffs announced in Q1, due to the removal of the de minimis exemption for goods under $800 from China. However, SNAP relies more heavily on Chinese advertisers, while Pinterest benefits from a diverse advertiser base in Europe and other regions, helping it offset losses from China. With this in mind, the analyst raised the model estimates and price targets for both stocks. Blackledge increased the PINS price target from $40 to $43, implying 19.5% upside potential from current levels. Meanwhile, he lifted SNAP's price target from $9 to $10, representing 4.8% upside potential from current levels. Notably, Blackledge is a five-star analyst on TipRanks, ranking #307 out of 9,861 analysts tracked. He boasts a 60% success rate and an average return per rating of 13.60%. PINS Stock Benefits from Higher Advertising Uptake In Q2, Blackledge expects Pinterest's revenues to grow 14.6% year-over-year to $977.9 million, driven by improved monetization and a growing contribution from the company's new Performance+ advertising tools. The firm's Ad Check showed strong uptake of Pinterest's Creative & Automated Bidding offerings so far. Meanwhile, advertisers are increasing their ad spend on Pinterest, with some seeing their spending grow by 66% compared to the same period last year. These are the highlights of Blackledge's optimistic view on PINS stock: Pinterest's Global Monthly Active Users (MAUs) are estimated to reach 578 million in Q2, up 10.7% year-over-year and 1.4% over Q1. Nearly 40% of U.S. Pinterest users visit the app or site to search for or shop for products, which is more than double the same metric for other social networks, including Snapchat, Reddit (RDDT), X, and Meta's (META) Facebook and Instagram apps. The survey shows steady growth in the overall time spent and user penetration on PINS compared to both Q1FY25 and the same period last year. SNAP Is Benefiting from Growing Subscriber Base In Q2, Blackledge expects Snapchat's revenues to grow 12.4% year-over-year to $1.4 billion. This growth is mainly driven by increased advertiser spending on Direct Response (DR) ads and a higher number of users paying for Snapchat+ subscriptions, which are expected to contribute about 37% of new revenue growth in Q2. Moreover, the analyst stated that the impact of tariffs was not as bad as feared, further improving the company's outlook. These are the highlights of Blackledge's optimistic view on SNAP stock: Snap's Daily Active Users (DAUs) are estimated to reach 468 million in Q2, up 7.3% year-over-year and 1.7% over Q1. Snapchat is benefiting from the shift in some advertiser spending from TikTok to Snap due to ongoing uncertainty regarding TikTok's U.S. operations. Snap's brand advertising business remains weak, with most growth coming from DR ads and higher subscriptions. Ending Thoughts Overall, while both Snap and Pinterest show promising growth drivers ahead of Q2 earnings, TD Cowen's analysis suggests Pinterest currently holds a stronger position as the better social media stock to watch. According to the TipRanks Stock Comparison Tool, PINS stock has a 'Strong Buy' consensus rating, reflecting Wall Street's bullish outlook on the stock.
Business Insider
09-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Amazon Stock (AMZN) Gets Price Target Hike as Top Analyst Sees Strong Q2 Beat
Amazon (AMZN) is expected to report its second-quarter earnings early next month. Wall Street expects the chipmaker to report EPS of $1.31 on revenues of $162 billion in Q2. Ahead of the results, John Blackledge, a 5-star analyst at TD Cowen, raised his price target on AMZN to $250, up from $240, and maintained a Buy rating on the stock. The new target suggests about 14% upside from current levels. Blackledge remains upbeat on AWS growth, which he sees as a key driver in the coming quarters. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Blackledge ranks 308 out of more than 9,700 analysts on TipRanks. He has a success rate of 60%, with an average return per rating of 13.60% over a one-year period. Top Analyst Expects a Beat on Revenue and Profit in Q2 Blackledge said he believes Amazon's Q2 results will come in ahead of Wall Street estimates. His forecasts for both revenue and operating income are slightly above consensus by about 1% and 10%, respectively. He highlighted ongoing growth in Amazon's cloud unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which he believes is starting to regain momentum after a slower period. Alongside cloud, he pointed to solid gains in the advertising business and stable performance in Amazon's core e-commerce unit, which continues to see steady consumer demand. To add context, in Q1 2025, AWS brought in $29.3 billion in revenue — a 17% jump from a year ago — and delivered $11.5 billion in operating income. Those results underline the unit's importance as Amazon's main profit driver. Solid Outlook for Q3 and Beyond Looking ahead, Blackledge expects Amazon to issue a strong Q3 guidance. He expects Amazon's Q3 numbers to beat market views by 1.1% on sales and 6% on profit, driven by a pickup in AWS growth and solid performance in advertising and e-commerce. He also raised his longer-term outlook for sales and profit, reflecting more confidence in Amazon's ability to grow its key business areas and improve margins over time. Is Amazon Stock a Buy, Hold, or Sell? Overall, Wall Street is bullish on Amazon stock due to its strong position in the e-commerce and cloud markets. Amazon scores a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks, based on 47 Buys versus just one Hold recommendation. The average AMZN stock price target of $246.60 indicates 12.42% upside potential from current levels.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lyft (LYFT) Upgraded to Buy, Crowned TD Cowen's Top SMID-Cap Pick
Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) is one of the 20 undervalued momentum stocks that are taking off. On June 24, TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge upgraded Lyft Inc. to Buy from Hold, raising the price target from $16 to $21. Notably, he named Lyft his 'Best SMID-cap Idea' (small and mid-cap stock idea) for 2025. Blackledge pointed to several key factors behind his upgraded view. One of the main reasons was Lyft's focus on smaller U.S. markets. As per the analyst, cities such as Charlotte and Indianapolis showed over 30% year-over-year growth in Q1 2025, suggesting strength outside the company's traditional top-tier markets. A close-up view of a hand holding a smartphone, using a ride sharing app. International expansion was another reason. The analyst highlighted Lyft's planned acquisition of FREENOW, a European mobility platform, which is expected to contribute roughly €1 billion in annual gross bookings. Growth in Canada has also been notable, up 100% in 2024 and continuing with 50% growth in Q1 2025. The analyst also highlighted that product innovation and improved user experience are also supporting the company's growth. Blackledge pointed to initiatives such as Price Lock, which allows users to lock specific fares while helping Lyft build a base of recurring subscription revenue. The recent partnership with DoorDash is also driving user engagement and expanding the active rider base. Blackledge believes Lyft is executing well and doesn't need to gain market share from Uber, as it currently holds about 30% of the U.S. rideshare market, for its stock to perform. Over the long term, he sees upside from autonomous vehicles, which should expand the overall market opportunity. Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT) is a leading ride-sharing and mobility-as-a-service company that connects passengers with drivers through its digital platform. The company operates in major cities across the U.S. and Canada, offering ride-hailing, bike and scooter rentals, and fleet management solutions. While we acknowledge the potential of LYFT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and 10 Best Tech Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None.
CNBC
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
TD Cowen upgrades this ride-sharing stock, calls it 'best smidcap idea' of 2025
A number of catalysts could lead to more gains for Lyft , according to TD Cowen. Analyst John Blackledge upgraded the ride-sharing stock to buy from hold, naming it his "best smidcap idea" for 2025. The analyst also upped his price target by $5 to $21, which implies more than 40% upside from Monday's close. "We see multiple growth levers ahead amid strong execution from the current [management] team, who has refocused the company on 'customer obsession' and has rolled out multiple innovations to improve experience for riders & drivers (most recently Price Lock)," Blackledge wrote on Tuesday. Shares were up more than 5% in the premarket following the call. The stock has also gained nearly 16% this year and more than 22% in the past three months, outpacing the S & P 500 in both timeframes. LYFT 3M mountain LYFT, 3-month Blackledge believes that Lyft's increasing focus on "tier 2" cities such as Charlotte and Indianapolis and the opportunity provided by the company's acquisition of European taxi app FreeNow should help spur gains ahead. In addition, he cited the company's product innovation – like its Price Lock feature, which allows customers to secure a consistent daily price for specific routes – and its partnerships with other companies such as DoorDash as catalysts for growth. Beyond those drivers, Blackledge believes investors underappreciate the opportunity that autonomous vehicles provide for Lyft, as the company is on pace to launch AVs this summer in Atlanta through its May Mobility partnership. It's also set to launch Mobileye-powered AVs in Dallas next year through its partnership with Marubeni. "We think autonomous vehicles (AVs) should expand rideshare [total addressable market] over the long-term, helping to drive new use cases such as serving riders who would prefer a driver-less trip," the analyst wrote. "Lyft is well positioned with FlexDrive (~14K cars on balance sheet) as AVs scale and require fleet [management] partners." To be sure, most analysts are on the sidelines when it comes to Lyft. Of the 48 covering the stock, 32 rate it as neutral.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
TikTok Star Joshua Blackledge's Cause of Death at 16 Revealed
TikTok star Joshua Blackledge died at age 16 on March 18, 2025. Nearly three months later, his cause of death has been revealed Documents obtained by PEOPLE state that the teen influencer's body was discovered by a family member at his home in North Carolina Blackledge's girlfriend, Emmie Gillikin, has continued to pay tribute to the late creator with videos and photos celebrating their time togetherTeen influencer Joshua Blackledge's cause of death has been revealed nearly three months after the tragic news broke. The 16-year-old TikTok star died by suicide, PEOPLE can confirm. Documents from the North Carolina medical examiner's office state that his body was found by a family member at their home in Newport, N.C. Per the report obtained by PEOPLE, Blackledge died of a gunshot wound to his head. In addition to the weapon, a teddy bear, a note and a picture were discovered at the scene. No drug paraphernalia was present. The medical examiner documents include observations from Blackledge's family, who said he "exhibited behavioral changes' socially and academically in the year leading up to his death. The high school junior boasted over 1.1 million followers on TikTok. Blackledge's posts varied between lip-syncing clips, car content and videos taken with his friends and girlfriend, Emmie Gillikin. Noe-Brooks funeral home published an obituary detailing how Blackledge was honored with a "celebration of life" on March 23. Hundreds of his family, friends and online followers flocked to the funeral home site to share their condolences and mourn the creator in public messages. They also voiced their grief and shock in the comments section of his social media posts. Blackledge posted his final TikTok on March 14 — a video taken with friends posing by a white truck — and many viewers voiced their disbelief that he died so soon after posting. Blackledge's girlfriend, whom he mentioned in both his TikTok and Instagram bios, posted a number of tributes to the social media star after his death. She's continued to honor him with her posts over the past few months. On Saturday, June 7, Gillikin shared a photo of her late boyfriend on TikTok for what would've been their 11-month anniversary. "I wish you were here to be celebrating with me but I know you are up in heaven. I miss you more than anything, each day gets harder and harder but knowing one day I'll be up there with you makes things easier," she captioned the tribute. "Continue keeping me safe Josh I see you every single evening . I love you Josh don't ever forget that, can't wait to see you up there waiting for me." If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 24/7. Read the original article on People
