Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
Shares of Google's parent company Alphabet jumped as much as 5% Wednesday to touch record highs while FANG stocks—which include Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet—staged a broad rally.
The bullishness comes as KeyBanc raises its price targets for a group of companies that derive most of their revenue from digital advertising.
KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson noted a strong environment for online ad sales this year, with revenue growth that is expected to be "driven by re-openings, budget shifts, and strength among new formats."
Patterson raised his price target for Alphabet from $1,970 to $2,060, saying the company is "well-positioned to benefit from a recovery in COVID-19-affected sectors," including travel. Google is now up over 30% from its September low.
Patterson also raised his price target for Facebook from $340 to $345, citing similar advertising optimism, but cautioned that "concerns around regulation could create a near-term overhang on shares."
Netflix added to the positivity surrounding FANG stocks with an impressive earnings release on Tuesday.
The video-streaming giant revealed it added a record 37 million paid subscribers in 2020.
The streaming giant also lauded its cash flow generation—which topped $1.9 billion on the year—and teased stock buybacks to investor cheers. Shares rose over 15% at intraday highs on Wednesday.
Jim Cramer called Netflix's recent showing "a remarkable quarter" in an interview with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla and David Faber, trumpeting the firm's award-winning original content.
The Netflix news follows a JPMorgan note sent out on Monday, which called for investors to pick up 'FANG' stocks, and shrug off 'FANG' fatigue.
"We are Overweight all 4 FANG names, but our ranking is: 1) GOOGL; 2) FB; 3) AMZN; 4) NFLX, with GOOGL and FB both top picks for 2021," the note said.
JPMorgan cited advertising acceleration, margin stabilization, and e-commerce and streaming adoption as keys to ongoing FANG success. The bank holds a $330 price for Facebook, a $4,100 target for Amazon, a $628 target for Netflix, and a $2,050 price target for Google.
Here's how much each FANG stock gained at intraday highs:
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