1. Netflix: Netflix, the extremely popular video streaming service reports quarterly results right in the middle of the month. This information gives investors a great personal view of how the company is performing and whether they should invest or not. April is a huge month for new releases in terms of movies and television shows, which could have an impact on subscription ownership. Netflix frequently is on the hunt for more subscribers and is projecting to close 61.44 million soon.
Netflix’s stock hit $486.50 in February and is still chugging along. New investors can get in now at a good prices and hopefully benefit from another huge quarter in the near future. We’ll just have to wait and see if they will repeat for the third time as having better than expected earnings.
2. Priceline: Although Priceline’s stock has been relatively stagnant since about last year. This was in part due to investor concerns over the Euro and its depreciating value, and how it impacts the company. The short term stagnation is only a hiccup in the company’s storied progress. In the long term Priceline will flourish once more and the stock will become more profitable soon.
Even with the Euro depreciating almost 8% as opposed to the U.S. dollar, in last years 4th quarter, Priceline’s travel booking rose 17%. The company still brought in 19.4% increase in revenue and 25.6% increase in gross profit (measure in U.S. dollars). Priceline is optimistic about the changing landscape of the business in tandem with the global economies.
3. Under Armour: Under Armour is starting to gain even more traction in the athletic apparel industry, especially against top competitors like Nike, Reebok, and Adidas. In fact Under Armour has grown to fill the number 2 spot, behind Nike. From the company’s humble beginnings where the company was very focused on a niche demographic to where it stands today offering a wide array of products for every kind of athlete stands testament to their growth track and future vision.
Under Armour is set to release its first-quarter earnings later on this month and investors as well as the company expect a high performance. The company constantly feels the pressure to outperform Nike, however its easier said than done with the level of competition and consumer loyalty Nike has earned. Should Under Armour report higher earnings, their stock should rise considerably as they take another step closer to dethroning the athletic apparel super giant.
4. Google: It would seem that Google releases a new product or service every day. Investors love it and the company continues to grow and remain king of the search engines. Currently Google’s stock is slightly above 1 since it was down about 4% last week, making it an ideal time to buy in. Google understand the threats out there and is working harder than ever to diversify their portfolio and become the default for all searches. Competitors like Facebook are rolling out their new technology in regards to video, are trying the replace YouTube’s services and dent Google’s armor.
With U.S. markets near all-time highs, many of the stocks I follow are trading at lofty valuations. I’m not afraid to pay a premium for quality, but I’d much rather buy an excellent business at a good price. Today, I believe we have one such opportunity with Google. People are very much dependent on Google because of all they offer in terms of their apps, Google Drive, Chrome, and Google Play. There may be competitors at the door but Google will remain strong as a leader in innovation and technological change.
-Eric Gerster