Goldman
Sachs
has
named
Amazon
,
Uber
,
and
Meta
as
three
tech
stocks
that
offer
the
“most
compelling
risk/reward”
looking
ahead
to
the
rest
of
the
year.
The
Wall
Street
bank
said
the
Big
Tech
firms
were
well
placed
to
“weather
a
volatile
environment”
if
one
were
to
occur
later
in
2023,
given
their
established
market
positions
and
ability
to
improve
margins.
In
a
note
to
clients
on
May
19,
Goldman
also
ranked
the
three
companies
in
order
of
preference.
1.
Amazon
Amazon
came
out
on
top
for
Goldman
due
to
its
multiple
years
of
stock
underperformance
following
Covid-19
and
amid
macroeconomic
headwinds.
The
online
retailer’s
shares
are
down
by
38%
since
reaching
an
all-time
high
in
July
2021.
Goldman
said
consumers
who
subscribe
to
Amazon’s
Prime
service
at
$139
a
year
have
increased
their
spending,
offering
downside
protection
at
the
company’s
largest
division
by
revenue.
The
bank
added
that
Amazon
Web
Services,
the
cloud
computing
division,
continues
to
offer
multi-year
growth
opportunities
despite
near-term
challenges.
“With
a
nod
to
that
market
debate,
we
would
focus
investor’s
attention
to
what
increasingly
looks
to
be
a
multiple
year
margin
improvement
story
for
AMZN
as
much
a
much
more
material
driver
of
the
stock
price
compounding,”
the
analysts
led
by
Eric
Sheridan
wrote
in
a
note
to
clients.
Goldman
Sachs
expects
shares
of
Amazon
to
rise
by
43%
to
$165
a
share
over
the
next
12
months.
Amazon’s
stock
closed
at
$115
on
Monday.
AMZN
1Y
line
2.
Uber
Uber,
which
focuses
on
transportation
services
like
ride-hailing
and
food
delivery
worldwide,
comes
second
on
Goldman’s
list
of
“top
picks”
heading
into
the
year’s
second
half.
The
bank
said
that
Uber
is
continuing
its
expansion
into
delivery
services
as
it
recovers
from
pandemic-related
setbacks
in
its
mobility
business.
According
to
Goldman,
Uber
will
also
be
able
to
gradually
raise
profit
margins
by
finding
“synergies”
in
its
existing
services.
Shares
of
Uber
has
risen
by
58%
this
year,
and
analysts’
consensus
price
target
point
toward
another
potential
23%
rise
over
the
next
12
months,
similar
to
Goldman’s
price
target.
3.
Meta
Meta,
formerly
known
as
Facebook,
is
third
on
Goldman
Sachs’
list
of
top
picks.
The
Wall
Street
bank
is
bullish
on
the
stock
despite
concerns
about
its
long-term
growth
within
an
increasingly
competitive
social
media
landscape.
Facebook
still
has
unmonetized
elements
like
messaging
and
short-form
video
that
could
drive
revenue
growth
once
monetized
adequately,
Goldman
said.
Meta
is
reportedly
launching
a
new
text-based
service
on
Instagram
that
will
compete
with
Twitter,
potentially
opening
up
a
new
profit
stream.
The
social
media
network
has
previously
taken
a
hit
to
revenues
after
changes
to
Apple’s
privacy
settings
curbed
tracking
users
online.
Shares
of
Meta
are
expected
to
rise
by
21%
over
the
next
12
months
to
$300
a
share,
according
to
Goldman.