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Mike Blake | Reuters
Comic con fans gather at the Netflix booth at Comic Con International in San Diego, California, July 19, 2017.
Internet stocks have crushed the market this year and one top Wall Street firm believes the sector can go even higher next year.
JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth shared his top internet stock ideas in a note to clients Friday.
“Heading into 2018, we expect fundamentals to remain strong in online advertising & eCommerce, with both growing at least in the mid-teens,” he wrote in the report. “We are cautiously optimistic, as secular growth & underlying fundamentals should continue to drive strong growth.”
The average internet stock in JPMorgan’s coverage universe has risen 37 percent year to date compared to the S&P 500’s 18 percent gain through Thursday.
Here are the analyst’s two favorite overweight-rated stock ideas along with his current price targets.
1) Netflix (NFLX)
Anmuth has a $242 Dec. 2018 price target for Netflix shares, representing 29 percent upside to Thursday’s close.
“Netflix continues to be our top growth pick into 2018, as we believe NFLX has considerable room to increase its sub base [and its] shares are less well owned relative to the other FANG names,” he wrote. “We believe Netflix will continue to drive and benefit from the ongoing disruption of linear TV, supported by an ever-expanding base of high quality original content.”
He predicts Netflix will double its subscriber base to nearly 200 million by 2021.
2) Facebook (FB)
The analyst has a $225 Dec. 2018 price target for Facebook shares, representing 27 percent upside to Thursday’s close.
“FB continued to deliver strong ad revenue growth, earnings beats, and significant number revisions in 2017,” Anmuth wrote. “We are positive on FB into 2018 … We believe valuation of Facebook shares is compelling at ~21x our 2019 GAAP EPS.”
He is optimistic Facebook has “significant headroom” to grow Instagram’s 800 million monthly users and monetize the platform.
