For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 27, 2014 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the RetailMeNot (SALE-Free Report), Google (GOOGL-Free Report), eBay (EBAY-Free Report), Groupon (GRPN-Free Report) and Expedia (EXPE-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
RetailMeNot Plunges on Google Platform Upgrade
Shares of digital coupon marketplace RetailMeNot (SALE-Free Report) plunged nearly 19% on fears of a 33% reduction in visibility following Google’s (GOOGL-Free Report) Panda 4.0 search engine upgrade.
Google announced the change on May 20, following which, a digital marketing software provider Searchmetrics published a report mentioning the names of companies that would either win or lose as a result.
Google is making the change in order to increase the relevance of search results by making them less spammy. According to Searchmetrics, the upgrade is a major one, impacting not just RetailMeNot, but also companies like IAC Interactive and eBay (EBAY-Free Report).
Company officials said that the impact on RetailMeNot was overstated and pointed out that the company had effectively dealt with search engine algorithm changes in the past.
RetailMeNot is not a coupon-selling site like Groupon (GRPN-Free Report), although there are similarities. Unlike Groupon, it is not restricted to smaller, local sellers but includes deals from many well-known companies. People with the intention to buy something visit its marketplace for the best deal and are able to complete the purchase immediately. The convenience of the exercise has drawn millions of users from across the world. RetailMeNot also generates some revenue from advertising on its properties.
This kind of news highlights the important role of search engines in driving business to content and marketing websites. Google has punished big players like Expedia (EXPE-Free Report) in the past when they fell short of its required standards. But those companies are better equipped to deal with such issues. Relatively smaller players like RetailMeNot may find it more challenging to alter their content to meet Google’s standards.
However, it would no doubt be more profitable to fall in line with Google because the company remains the leading provider of search services (67.6% of search queries in April 2014). This is more than twice the volume serviced by the number two player Microsoft (18.7%).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Get the full Report on SALE - FREE
Get the full Report on GOOGL - FREE
Get the full Report on EBAY - FREE
Get the full Report on GRPN - FREE
Get the full Report on EXPE - FREE
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
http://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Read the analyst report on SALE
Read the analyst report on GOOGL
Read the analyst report on EBAY
Read the analyst report on GRPN
Read the analyst report on EXPE
Zacks Investment Research