Amazon shares some Prime Day results, Bullish 5G comments from Ericsson
Key points in this issue:
- Our $1,900 price target for Amazon (AMZN) shares is under review with an upward bias.
- Our price target on United Parcel Service (UPS) remains $130.
- Our price target on Dycom (DY) shares remains $125.
- Our price target on AXT Inc. (AXTI) shares is $11.
- Our price target on Nokia (NOK) shares is $8.50.
Follow up on Prime Day 2018
As the dust settles on Amazon’s (AMZN) 2018 Prime Day, the company shared that not only did Prime members purchase more than 100 million products during the 36-hour event, but that it was also the “biggest in history.” While details were limited, this commentary like means the 2018 event handily eclipsed last year’s. Adding credence to that was the noted addition of Prime Day in Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, which brought the total event country count to 17. It was also reported that Prime Day Sales on Amazon’s third-party marketplace were up some 90% during the first 12 hours of Prime Day this year.
All very positive, but still no clarity on the overall magnitude of the event relative to forecasts calling for it to deliver $3.4-3.6 billion in revenue. There was also no mention about the number of new Prime members that joined the Amazon flock, but historically Prime Day has led to a smattering of conversions and with it occurring in 17 countries this year, including four new ones, odds are Amazon continued to draw in new Prime users.
As we mentioned yesterday, our $1,900 price target for Amazon shares is under review with an upward bias. In looking at Prime Day from a food chain or ecosystem perspective, we see it benefitting the package volume for Tematica Investing Select List resident United Parcel Service (UPS). I’ll be looking for confirming data in comments from United Parcel Service when it reports its 2Q 2018 quarterly results on July 25 as well as any insight it offers on Back to School shopping and the soon to be upon us year-end holiday shopping season. Let’s also keep in mind that UPS will share those comments one day before Amazon reports its quarterly results on July 26.
- Our $1,900 price target for Amazon (AMZN) shares is under review with an upward bias.
- Our price target on United Parcel Service (UPS) remains $130.
Ericson’s 5G comments are positive for Dycom, AXT and Nokia shares
Also yesterday, leading mobile infrastructure company Ericsson (ERIC) reported its 2Q 2018 results, and while we are not involved in the shares, its comments on the 5G market bode very well for our the shares of specialty contractor Dycom Industries (DY) and compound substrate company AXT Inc. (AXTI) as well as mobile infrastructure and wireless technology licensing company Nokia (NOK).
More specifically, Ericsson called out that its sales in North America for the quarter increased year over year due to “5G readiness” investments across all of its major customers. This confirms the commentary of the last few weeks as AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) – both of which are core Dycom customers – move toward commercial 5G deployments in the coming quarters.
We’ve also heard similar comments from T-Mobile USA (TMUS) as well. But let’s remember that 5G is not a US-only mobile technology, and we are seeing similar signs of readiness and adoption for its deployment in other countries. For example, the top three mobile operators in South Korea are working to launch the technology in March 2019. Mobile operators in Spain are bidding on 5G spectrum, France has established a roadmap for its 5G efforts and recently the first end to end 5G call was made in Australia.
While the US will likely be the first market to commercially deploy 5G service, it won’t be the only one. This means similar to what we have seen with past mobile technology deployments such as 3G and 4G LTE, this global rollout will span several years. While Ericsson’s North American comments bode well for our DY shares, these other confirmation points keep us bullish on our shares of AXT and NOK as well.
- Our price target on Dycom (DY) shares remains $125.
- Our price target on AXT Inc. (AXTI) shares is $11.
- Our price target on Nokia (NOK) shares is $8.50.
