The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Facebook, Netflix, Google and Amazon

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Sep 09, 2014, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Sept. 9, 2014 Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report), Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report), Netflix (Nasdaq:NFLX-Free Report), Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) and Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Technology Stock Roundup

Apple's (Nasdaq:AAPL-Free Report) iCloud breach took the market by surprise and may have taken the shine off its new products.

Apple iCloud Breach

Apple shares took a tumble last week on privacy concerns as several celebrity accounts were hacked with related sensitive information being stolen and publicized. Users have assumed that the quality of service and security that Apple provides is superior to others and this is partly the reason for its brand value.

When news reports indicated that the breach was enabled by an oversight on Apple's part (it has now issued a patch), this led to an uproar. The incident assumes greater significance because Apple is slated to launch its new iPhone this week and the negative publicity could affect sales.

Apple has denied that any information was leaked from its servers and has instead said that the hacking was targeted and intense and that it was working with the authorities to identify the offenders. It also said that it would increase efforts to enforce two-step verification that ensures a higher level of security.

Data breach is not uncommon and usually it's a matter of when -- not whether -- it can happen. Still, since technology companies usually target youngsters, the technology goes mainstream before its effects can be understood. But people are becoming more wary, as was evident from a recent Pew Research report that found people growing more reticent on social networking platforms.

Samsung Chooses Facebook's Oculus VR Technology

Facebook Helps Videos Go Viral

Media reports say that Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report) has generated more than a billion video views a day since June, two-thirds of which were on mobile devices. Part of the success was because of the auto-load feature (which also had a negative backlash because of the associated impact on data usage). But part was also on account of its sharing capabilities. It makes a lot of sense for a star such as Beyonce for example to choose Facebook to communicate with fans because it's possible to get 2.4 million views in just four hours. This is also probably the reason that Netflix (Nasdaq:NFLX-Free Report) decided to team up with Facebook so users can directly share their reactions to Netflix movies on Facebook (provided the two accounts are linked).

So video is becoming an extremely important platform for Facebook, with tremendous potential for ad revenue. This is partly the reason it has been spending on the technology. There are a couple of drawbacks in this regard at the moment: the first is the limited shelf life of these videos. Once seen and shared, the video loses value.

In contrast, YouTube doesn't share so easily because of the absence of the social element, but a video can be viewed any number of times because it is saved on YouTube and searchable. Facebook appears to be working on this angle and this could be the factor driving its keyword search technology.

The second is related to ad placements. YouTube can play video ads before the actual video plays and also place ads on the page. Video-viewing on Facebook does not take place on a separate page and if implemented, this change could even affect its appeal.

Apple Gets A Celeb Designer: Apple's wearables plans remain secret, but the company continues to invest in hardware design. Last week, it got Marc Newson on the payroll, somebody who is known for designing a host of items from airplane interiors to watches. What's more, he's also close friends with Apple's design chief Jonathan Ive, and the two have apparently worked together before.

Google Losing Lots of Talent: The media has reported that Google's (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) space/satellite/drone-building efforts continue unabated despite the fact that several important employees -- Greg Wyler (who joined Google from O3b to build satellites for Google), Brian Holz and David Bettinger -- had left the company. Separately, X Labs, which is responsible for Google's innovative moonshot projects lost a VP (Megan Smith) to the White House, which has recruited her as the government's chief technology officer. It's too early to tell if this is a good or bad thing.

Amazon CFO to Retire Next Year: After 14 years of service, Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report) CFO Thomas Szkutak, 53, will retire in June next year, making way for Brian Olsavsky, vice president of finance for global consumer business to fill the position. His tenure has seen Amazon's annual revenue rise 23X.

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