Surprising Stocks Poised to Be Huge E-Commerce Winners

A new research report from the Internet team at UBS has a list of companies that may end up to be among the top Internet e-commerce winners in the future, despite the fact that in some cases, it is not even their main focus. Investors looking toward the retailing e-commerce future may want to add some of these stocks to an aggressive growth portfolio.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) continues to make improvements in the user experience. eBay’s marketplaces keep attracting new users, evidenced by double-digit growth in active users and items sold. The UBS team feel the company has a decided advantage in cross-border shipping of product, something that many other retailers struggle with. eBay reported solid second-quarter earnings, and the PayPal business continues to be very strong. Wall Street activists have called for the company to spin off the successful payment arm. UBS has a $60 price target for the stock. The Thomson/First Call price target is $59.50. Shares closed Friday at $52.64.

READ ALSO: America’s Fastest-Growing Retailers

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) crushed second-quarter earnings estimates and almost all of Wall Street ratcheted up price targets. With mobile revenue and advertising numbers skyrocketing, the company has been a stellar performer the past year. With over a billion registered users around the world, Facebook’s e-commerce potential is significant, with seemingly low retailer penetration in terms of engaging with more advanced targeting methods such as custom audiences and “lookalike” audiences. The analysts point out that as more retailers become familiar and comfortable with these techniques, Facebook could see higher demand and pricing for these ad products. The UBS price target for the social media giant is $94, and the consensus target is $86.15. Facebook closed Friday at $73.67.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is another mega cap tech name that the UBS analysts favor for e-commerce growth. They see newfound positive optionality in the company’s search business, and for the first time Google seems to be making inroads into its long-sought effort to extend its search dominance into vertical search, which focuses on specific segments of online content. The UBS team highlighted Google’ s current lead-generation role and the ability to provide a higher user lifetime value customers to retailers, along with future pricing upside within Product Listing Ads. The UBS price target for the Internet behemoth is $670. The consensus estimate is close by at $672.98. Google closed Friday at $583.71.

HSN Inc. (NASDAQ: HSNI) is a surprising name that jumps into the e-commerce battle. It is known to most of us as the company with the Home Shopping Network and other related enterprises, but the UBS team feels that HSN has a built in advantage with video and content creation, as many retailers have stressed the growing importance of video in online retail. Investors are paid a 1.8% dividend. The UBS price target is $70, and the consensus target is $68.33. Shares closed Friday at $59.42.

READ ALSO: Customer Service Hall of Fame

Liberty Interactive Corp. (NASDAQ: LINTA) markets and sells various consumer products primarily through its QVC live televised shopping programs, as well as websites and other interactive media, including QVC.com. It has a similar advantage as the one UBS sees for HSN, in that retailers really prefer video as a part of the online sales presentation. The UBS price target is $33, and the consensus is posted at $34.64. The stock closed on Friday at $28.38.

Nobody can question the growth of e-commerce, nor its ability to continue to expand. One thing is for sure, the easier retailers can sell via the Internet, the more they will devote advertising and other ancillary capital toward it. The companies that continue to make this happen for the top retailers will get the lion’s share of those dollars.