Melco Crown Entertainment, Perfect World, Amazon.com, eBay and Apple highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
CHICAGO, Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq:MPEL-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Perfect World (Nasdaq:PWRD-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on the Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report), eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY-Free Report) and Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report).
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Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
With the Chinese market seemingly back on track, many investors are starting to feel a lot better about securities targeting this part of the world. This is particularly true in the gaming space, with companies that have a heavy operation in the gaming haven of Macau taking center stage.
In fact, Macau is actually the largest gaming market in the world, having surpassed Las Vegas several years ago in total revenues, despite having just a fraction of the total number of casinos. So, gaming companies definitely need to have a presence in this key market, or risk being left behind by their competitors.
One such company that is well-positioned in this market is Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq:MPEL-Free Report), a Hong Kong-based gaming company that has entertainment and casino facilities in Macau. The firm operates two casino hotels, giving the company over 500 gaming tables, hundreds of hotel beds, and thousands of gaming machines in this important gaming market.
The company has taken this positive wave in Macau to fresh highs this year, and despite some bumps along the way, has seen gains of nearly 100% in the year-to-date time frame. Furthermore, MPEL has appreciated by over 44% in just the past three months, suggesting that the bull run is definitely underway for this Chinese gaming operator.
While some might be worried about a continuation of the trend, there is plenty of hope for MPEL to remain in strong company thanks to a recent positive trend on the earnings estimate front. Estimates by analysts tracking the company have universally gone higher for the current year and next year period, suggesting total agreement for Melco in the long term.
The Chinese internet market has been extremely strong so far in 2013. The sector, as represented by two focused ETFs—CQQQ and QQQC -- has added close to 50% YTD, suggesting a bull market for this corner of the investing landscape.
This is largely because of some positive trends in this high beta sector, as the Chinese economy appears to be relatively back on track for the time being. However, while the trend might be quite strong in this segment, one has to wonder if one of the top performers, Perfect World (Nasdaq:PWRD-Free Report), can stay strong or if it is due for a fall.
Perfect World is a China-focused internet company that has had an incredible year. The company has seen its stock price surge by over 80% since the start of 2013, with the bulk of the gains coming in just the past few months.
The Beijing-based firm is best known as an online game developer and operator, focusing on online role playing games, including several 3D games. The firm was incorporated less than 10 years ago, but it has more than a dozen games and a market cap approaching one billion dollars, suggesting that it has seen unbelievable growth so far.
Yet despite the incredible growth lately, some are starting to believe that PWRD's run is coming to an end. The company is now expected to see an earnings contraction of -19.4% this year, with earnings expected to be just $1.55/share compared to last year's $1.92/share.
If that wasn't enough, estimates have also been declining, pretty much across the board for PWRD. Three estimates have gone lower for the current year (compared to one higher) in the past sixty days, while three estimates have also gone down for the next year period as well in the same time frame.
Additional content:
Amazon's New Online Payment Option
Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report) has announced the launch of a new online payment option, "Login and Pay with Amazon", that will allow shoppers to make purchases on websites by logging in with their regular Amazon account details.
This new payment option is believed to combine various payment options that shoppers already have access to on Amazon. So far, users that have signed up for an Amazon account and entered their respective credit card and shipping information with the company could buy things on Amazon's website using this payment option.
But following the launch of the new service, shoppers can pay for purchases on third-party retail websites as well by using their Amazon logins and accounts. This eliminates the need to separately enter their account details for each purchase made at any third-party retailers. Amazon will collect a 2.9% fee, plus an additional 30 cents for each transaction from these third-party sellers. However, Amazon is not willing to share user credit card information with participating merchants, which may reduce the system's popularity among merchants.
With the launch of "Login and Pay with Amazon", Amazon has posed a direct challenge to eBay's (Nasdaq:EBAY-Free Report) PayPal. This move is believed to be in response to PayPal's new option for in-store payments, using advanced bar codes on mobile phones or special password codes.
Amazon has gone on to become a veritable consumer electronics giant from being an Internet retailer. The company recently refreshed its Kindle Fire tablets, but other models are expected in the next few months. But Amazon might not stop there. If the rumors are to be believed, the company has many more devices in the works, including a smartphone, an audio streaming device, and an Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report) TV competitor.
About the Bull and Bear of the Day
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