RBC Has 3 Top Picks to Ride as the Stock Market Goes Higher

By Lee Jackson Updated Jan 13, 10:33AM EST · Published Apr 20, 10:25AM EDT

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RBC Has 3 Top Picks to Ride as the Stock Market Goes Higher — © Thinkstock

We tend to keep a very close eye on the brokerage firm calls that we cover here at 24/7 Wall St., especially when they make a definitive market direction call. The reason is that it takes guts, and more than a little guile, to actually draw a line in the proverbial sand and make that kind of a call. One firm we follow has made bullish calls, and that firm has been spot on in its analysis.

In another new report from Robert Sluymer and his outstanding team at RBC, they make the case that history tells us that declines in secular bull markets like we have seen twice in the past nine months are shallow, and the rebounds are often very powerful and sustained. They also point to the weaker dollar as a positive for stocks, especially cyclicals, some of which have a large percentage of sales outside the United States.

The RBC analysts point to numerous sectors in the recent report, and the stocks that looked good. We found three large cap, blue chip technology companies that look outstanding now. They combine solid fundamentals with outstanding technical patterns.

Alphabet

This technology giant is the top pick at UBS for 2016 and reports earnings after the close Wednesday. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) builds technology products and provides services to organize information. It offers Google Search that provides information online; Google Now that offers information to users when they need it; AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense, which enables websites that are part of the Google network to deliver ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a marketplace for the trading display ad space; and other advertising platforms, such as AdExchange and AdMob.
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It also provides YouTube, which offers video, interactive and other ad formats; Android, an open source mobile software platform; hardware products, including Chromebook, Chrome OS devices, Chromecast and Nexus devices; Google Play, a cloud-based digital entertainment store for apps, music, books and movies; Google Drive, a place for users to create, share, collaborate and keep their stuff; and Google Wallet, a virtual wallet for in-store contactless payments.

Many Wall Street analysts have lauded the numerous upcoming catalysts and point out that the company showed consistent revenue growth, margin stabilization and finally gave cash back in the form of a $5.1 billion stock buyback last year. Last, but certainly not least, the company remains one of the best overall portfolio plays that focuses on the biggest Internet trends: the mobile/multi-screen shift, wearable devices, video, the Internet of Things and much more. Alphabet delivers investors the full package.

Top Wall Street analysts cite the company’s growing presence in the cloud, which some ultimately feel can be a $7 billion revenue opportunity by 2020. The current cloud products offered by the company are improving, and the analysts cite five potential strengths and key potential adoption drivers for the company:

Sell the company’s infrastructure strength as a competitive advantage
Increasing platform capabilities and service offerings
Offering competitive pricing
The leverage traction of Google for Work
Improving customer and system integrator outreach

With the company targeting a total addressable market of $120 billion by 2020, the analysts feel revenue can jump from $1 billion last year to $7 billion by then. Plus, many see a big jump in capital expenditures by the company as they continue to build out the cloud platform.

The Thomson/First Call consensus price target for the stock is posted at $930.36. The stock closed trading on Tuesday at $776.25 per share.
Amazon

This company is the absolute leader in online retail, and it is also a dominate player in cloud storage business. But it missed estimates badly and shares got hit hard in January. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) serves consumers through retail websites, which primarily include merchandise and content purchased for resale from vendors and those offered by third-party sellers. In addition, the company serves developers and enterprises through Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides compute, storage, database, analytics, applications and deployment services that enable virtually various businesses.

AWS is the undisputed leader in the cloud now, and Merrill Lynch sees the company expanding and moving up the enterprise information value chain and Addressing a larger total addressable market. The company has had numerous recent product announcements, including Aurora for relational database engine, Quicksight for business intelligence and AWS Database Migration Support Service. Most analysts also think that AWS will continue to be a huge driver of Amazon’s operating profit growth, growing an astonishing 55% year over year in 2016 to $12.2 billion. In the sum-of-the-parts analysis, AWS is a staggering $202 per share, over a third of the current dollar amount.

The consensus price objective is set at $732.78. Shares closed on Tuesday at $627.90.

Priceline

This internet travel leader was a big 2015 second-half laggard and took a huge leg down earlier this year before rebounding sharply. Priceline Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) operates Booking.com, which provides online accommodation reservation services, as well as Priceline.com, which offers hotel, rental car and airline ticket reservations services, as well as vacation packages and cruises through its Name Your Own Price and Express Deals travel services. It also operates Agoda.com, an online accommodation reservation service for consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, and RentalCars.com, which offers car rental reservation services.

Trading at 19.4 times fiscal year 2016 earnings, the travel giant is seen by many Wall Street analysts as an “open-ended” growth story. Many on Wall Street continue to see comparisons easing for international bookings and margins will improve in the second half of the year and into 2016. Some on Wall Street feel that expectations for a pickup in European consumer spending remain positive, while the company’s dominant market share has helped it to fend off competitive threats. The weakening dollar will make European travel more expensive, though.

The consensus price target is posted at $1442.88. The shares closed the day on Tuesday at $1345.78 apiece.
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Rolling with advice of the technical team at RBC has been a good move so far. While we may be getting a little overbought since the run-up from February, any pullback may be a good time to add some shares, as a weakening dollar and a slow-but-sure economy may very well push the markets higher.

About the Author Lee Jackson →

Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad and diverse career, which included a stint as the creative services director at the NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry and world.

Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans over 30 years, with nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career was marked by his presence on the sell side during pivotal Wall Street events, from the dot.com rise and bubble to the Long Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This is a testament to his resilience and adaptability in the face of market volatility.

Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, acquired from a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing on various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies and workings of Wall Street in a way that only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.

Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.