Cyber Monday is the shopping day for those that may oppose going to brick-and-mortar retail outlets on Black Friday. This year, despite surging inflation, poor consumer sentiment and a host of other issues, the final numbers for the online shopping spree came in above expectations at $11.3 billion, up 5.8% over 2021. It should be noted that last year marked the first-ever Cyber Monday sales decline.
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Shoppers spent a record $9.12 billion online on Black Friday, up 2.3% from last year. According to Adobe, e-commerce activity continued to be strong over the weekend, with $9.55 billion in online sales, so a massive $30 billion in sales came in over the four-day post-Thanksgiving holiday period.
Electronics, video games, hot retail fashions and a host of other items were big winners. After crunching the data, we decided to screen our 24/7 Wall St. equity research database for the stocks that raked in the holiday shopping bonanza. Five top companies shined among the brightest, and all have Buy ratings across Wall Street. It is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
Amazon
It should come as no surprise that the cyber retail leader would be one of the top beneficiaries of the online shopping spree for the holidays. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) engages in the retail sale of consumer products and subscriptions globally. It sells merchandise and content purchased for resale from third-party sellers through physical and online stores.
The company also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Rings and Echo and other devices. It provides Kindle Direct Publishing, an online service that allows independent authors and publishers to make their books available in the Kindle Store, and it develops and produces media content.
Amazon also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its websites, as well as its stores, and its programs allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, Twitch streamers, skill and app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Further, the company provides computing, storage, database, analytics, machine learning and other services, as well as fulfillment, advertising, publishing, and digital content subscriptions.
Its Amazon Prime membership program provides free shipping of various items, access to streaming movies and series, and other services.
Goldman Sachs has a $165 target price on Amazon.com stock. The consensus target is just $141, and shares closed on Wednesday at $96.54, up close to 5% on the day.
Best Buy
With electronics and video games big holiday shopping winners, this top retailer is quite attractive now. Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) retails technology products in the United States and Canada, such as desktops, notebooks and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products.
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Its stores also offer appliances, such as dishwashers, laundry, ovens, refrigerators, blenders, coffee makers and vacuums; entertainment products consisting of drones, peripherals, movies, music and toys, as well as gaming hardware and software, and virtual reality and other software products; and other products, such as baby, food and beverage, luggage, outdoor living and sporting goods.
In addition, Best Buy provides consultation, delivery, design, health-related, installation, memberships, repair, set-up, technical support and warranty-related services. The company offers its products through stores (1,144 as of January 30, 2022) and various websites.
Note that the company posted very solid third-quarter results and the stock has been on fire over the past month.
Best Buy stock investors receive a 4.29% dividend. Piper Sandler’s $91 target price is a Wall Street high. The consensus target is $81.50, and the stock closed at $85.30 on Wednesday.
24/7 Wall St.Shopify
Some across Wall Street think this company was one of the biggest cyber winners over the period. Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP) provides a commerce platform and services in North America, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
The company’s platform enables merchants to display, manage, market and sell products through various sales channels, including web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, pop-up shops, social media storefronts, native mobile apps, buy buttons and marketplaces. It enables them to manage products and inventory; process orders and payments; fulfill and ship orders; find new buyers and build customer relationships; source products; leverage analytics and reporting; manage cash, payments and transactions; and access financing.
Shopify also sells custom themes and apps and registration of domain names, and its merchant solutions include accepting payments, shipping and fulfillment, as well as securing working capital.
The company posted a record-setting Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, with sales of $7.5 billion from independent businesses worldwide. That was a stunning 19% increase in sales from the same weekend in 2021.
Oppenheimer recently initiated coverage with a $45 target price. The consensus target for Shopify stock is lower at $40.65. The stock closed over 10% higher on Wednesday at $40.88 in the wake of fantastic quarterly results.
Target
The big-box retailer has had a tough year, but holiday numbers show things may be turning around in a big way. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers food assortments, including perishables, dry grocery, dairy and frozen items. It offers apparel, accessories, home décor products, electronics, toys, seasonal offerings, food and other merchandise, as well as beauty and household essentials.
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Target also provides in-store amenities, such as Target Café, Target Optical, Starbucks and other food service offerings.
Target’s online sales rose 44% from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, according to Slice Research. That online strength is expected to carry into December.
Shareholders receive a 2.61% dividend. J.P. Morgan’s $201 target price is well above the $176.40 consensus target. Wednesday’s closing print for Target stock was $167.07.
24/7 Wall St.Walmart
The giant retailer continued its massive online sales growth for the holiday season and remains a great inflation-fighting stock to own. Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is the world’s largest retailer, operating retail stores under the formats of Walmart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club locations in the United States, as well as a growing e-commerce business. Internationally Walmart also operates locations in several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Each week, nearly 260 million customers and members visit the company’s 11,535 stores under 72 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. It had fiscal 2021 revenue of nearly $560 billion, and Walmart employs approximately 2.2 million associates worldwide.
While Walmart did not quite get the massive market share that Amazon enjoyed, it did grab 10% of online spending between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And that fits right in with the 50% increase in online shopping for the company in the most recent quarter.
Walmart stock comes with a 1.46% dividend. The target price at Morgan Stanley is $165. The consensus target is $160.27, and shares closed at $152.42 on Wednesday.
It comes as no surprise that the companies that have spent the past decade focusing on the emerging cyber retail trends would be the ones that reap the biggest benefits when the holiday season rolls around. While the final numbers are not in until January, it is a good bet that these five will end up in the winners’ circle come the new year.
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