By Senad Karaahmetovic
Bank of America has reiterated the firm’s positive stance on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), which BofA still sees as the top value stocks within the Internet sector.
Still, Bank of America acknowledges that Street estimates for Alphabet/Meta advertising revenues are likely too high for 2023. Moreover, Increasing TikTok competition and AVOD could capture over $5 billion from industry growth.
As a result, the bank lowered estimates on GOOGL and META to reflect mild recession and FX headwinds. These slashed estimates are then reflected in lowered price targets - $196 per share on META stock and $114 on GOOGL shares.
On the other hand, EPS is expected to prove to be more resilient given cost-cutting activities.
“While the outlook for 2023 advertising revenue has deteriorated over the past 6 months, we think negative sentiment and lower valuations make for a more attractive investment backdrop, Alphabet’s Performance Max and Meta’s Reels monetization can be important revenue drivers in 2023,” Bank of America said in a client note.