This might be the year of the sheep in China, but for many companies it is the year of the dollar and then some. Looking back at 2015, media companies have been the top dogs, with a couple exceptions. Despite broad markets having a flat year, these companies have outperformed and set the standard of what we have to look forward to in 2016.
24/7 Wall Street has provided some color on each of the stocks, as well as a recent trading history and the consensus analyst price target.
First and foremost, Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) absolutely dominated 2015. This stock is up over 144% in 2015. This company has had a meteoric rise over the course of the year, making its way into many households. Netflix has plans to expand across Europe and even break into the Chinese market. Shares of Netflix were trading at $119.12 Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $123.03 and a 52-week trading range of $45.26 to $133.27.
As the top e-commerce on the Web, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) crushed this holiday season. Most retailers recoiled in their sales as more and more consumers decided to put their dollars online for their holiday shopping. As 2015 comes to a close the stock is up 123% year to date. Shares were trading at $693.97, with a consensus analyst price target of $741.10 and a 52-week trading range of $285.25 to $696.44.
Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is the top video game developer of 2015. This video game juggernaut recently released “Legacy of the Void,” the last installment of the StarCraft 2 trilogy. Over the past year, this stock has nearly doubled due to strong earnings and a very strong video game pipeline. Shares of Activision Blizzard were last seen at $39.58, with a consensus price target of $41.46 and a 52-week trading range of $18.43 to $39.93.
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“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has been a definite boom for Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), which has been one of the strongest Dow stocks this year. This movie is breaking literally all the box office records and is on track to dethrone “Avatar” as the highest grossing film of all-time. Disney may not have been the best-performing stock in 2015, but it is definitely a top Dow Jones Industrial Average stock, having gained 15% year to date. Disney shares were trading at $107.08, within a 52-week range of $90.00 to $122.08. The consensus price target is $118.24.
Perhaps one of the most visited sites on the Internet comes courtesy of Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). Regardless of generation, users are compelled to share and connect with one another. This website is a central hub for advertising on social media, and it is cutting into Google’s market share in the grand scheme of things. Over the course of 2015, Facebook has outperformed the market, with the stock up 34%. Shares of Facebook were recently trading at $107.08, with a consensus price target of $124.23 and a 52-week range of $72.00 to $110.65.
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