For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 2, 2020 – 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: PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) , Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) , IBM Corporation (NYSE:IBM) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) .
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Millennials to Drive Bitcoin Higher: 4 Stocks to Watch
U.S. stock markets fell for the sixth straight day on Thursday after the coronavirus epidemic sparked fears of a slowdown in the major economies of the world. Following this, investors rotated out of stocks to safer haven assets such as gold and U.S. Treasury bonds.
Bitcoin prices rose 1.4% to $8,902. The world’s favorite cryptocurrency rose along with other popular cryptocurrencies such as ether. While some might argue, like they have in the past, that Bitcoin is all but a fad, millennials have a different take on it when it comes to investing.
Approximately one-third of all the millennials in the country prefer to hold Bitcoin over shares. Further, a staggering 43% of U.S. millennials stated that they trusted cryptocurrency exchanges more than America’s stock exchanges.
A report by Edelman stated that approximately 25% if the country’s millennials who earn at least $100,000 in individual or joint income or own $50,000 worth of investable assets, admitted to either holding or using cryptocurrencies. Further, the report also stated that another 31% expressed their interest in using them.
Quite unsurprisingly, a shift toward alternative banking options such as PayPal and Square (NYSE:SQ) Cash have also popularized Bitcoins. Tech-savvy millennials who find the digital way of doing business efficient and normal choose to take this route.
Bitcoin or ‘Digital Gold’?
It is a norm to save up for the future by investing in gold and bonds, a lesson that has been passed down through generations. However, technology and money have revolutionized the way investing is done in today’s age. Millennials, who vouch for bitcoin democratization, also prefer the world’s numero uno cryptocurrency as a form of investment to save for the future.
A survey revealed that millennials are five times more likely than baby boomers to say that Bitcoin is the best way to save for the future. Such sentiments have only cemented the cryptocurrency’s place as the digital gold of the modern world.
Transfer of Wealth from Baby Boomers to Millennials
Now that it has more or less been established that millennials prefer Bitcoins for long-term savings, an increase in millennials’ wealth should only prove to be a boon for Bitcoin. A generational shift of wealth from the baby boomers, currently the richest generation in America’s history, is set to take place through the 2020s.
After living the American dream and enjoying a long period of economic prosperity, baby boomers are all set to pass on the baton of wealth to the largest generational cohort currently in America, the millennials. It is estimated that millennials would collectively receive approximately $7 trillion from their elders till 2030. This is going to shape up the cryptocurrency space over the next decade, not to mention technology.
4 Stocks to Watch Out For
As with any revolutionary technology, the Lindy effect applies to Bitcoin as well. The Lindy effect is a theory, which states that the future life expectancy of certain non-perishable things such as technology or an idea is proportional to their current age. This means that for every additional period that the technology survives, it ensures a longer life expectancy. This only strengthens the argument that Bitcoins are the future.
In this context, we have selected four stocks that are expected to gain from these factors.
Microsoft Corporation became the first major cloud hosting provider to integrate blockchain into its Azure cloud last year. Furthermore, the company’s affinity for Bitcoin is a known fact. The tech giant, has in the past, also launched the decentralized identity system on Bitcoin.
The company carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is based out of Redmond, WA. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 18.72% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 5.4% over the past 60 days.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
IBM Corporationhas been one of the early providers of the blockchain technology. Broad-based availability of the IBM Blockchain World Wire — a blockchain driven global payments network has driven the company’s performance in the past.
The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and is based out of Armonk, NY. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 4.30% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.2% over the past 60 days.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is another bitcoin-related stock that you must watch. The leader in digital payment process has done well recently to strike a deal with three major bitcoin payment processors, BitPay, GoCoin and Coinbase, to help PayPal merchants accept Bitcoin as a mode of payment.
The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 and is based out of San Jose, CA. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 11.35% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.4% over the past 60 days.
Social media giant Facebook Inc. is another stock worth taking note of. Facebook currently has a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-quarter earnings has increased 2.7% over the past 60 days. It has an expected earnings growth rate of 44.79% for the current year.
5 Stocks Set to Double
Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.
Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>
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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.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Facebook, Inc. (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report
PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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