Media Recovery

Dec 18, 2020

Alphabet, Twitter Top Online Media Recovery Stocks For 2021: BofA   Share: With the coronavirus vaccine rollout finally underway, analysts and investors are turning their attention to potential recovery stocks to buy in 2021. This week, Bank of America media analyst Justin Post named Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL ) (NASDAQ: GOOG ) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR ) his top two online media recovery plays heading into the end of the year. Post is projecting 22% global online advertising revenue growth in 2021 and online advertisers will compete for their share of $411 billion in total spending next year. The top five online media stocks are already up an average of 125% year-to-date, so Post said he prefers investors buy stocks that still have the most recovery upside ahead. Vaccines and reopening will drive rotation within the sector. More shopping features will be integrated within online advertisements. Online video consumption and advertising will continue to accelerate. 5G wireless network rollouts will enable new products and services. Regulatory battles over antitrust actions and content management will continue under a new administration. Post prefers Alphabet over Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB ) in 2021 due to Google’s easier comps. “We prefer Google for accelerating search growth as depressed verticals like travel and local entertainment rebound, Cloud optimism (new customers and three-year profit contribution potential), and YouTube strength (more eCommerce capabilities),” Post wrote in a note. While Alphabet is Post's top mega cap stock pick, Twitter is his preferred mid-cap recovery play given it has the most negative investor sentiment of the group and will benefit from a return of live events and branded advertising spend in 2021. Bank of America has a Buy rating and $2,000 price target for Alphabet and a Buy rating and $58 target for Twitter Benzinga’s Take: While the pandemic may have helped accelerate the rise of online advertising, it has also accelerated the downfall of traditional media spending. The same week Post named his top online media stock picks for 2021, Bank of America downgraded traditional media stocks ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC ), Discovery Communicatons (NASDAQ: DISCA ) and iHeartMedia Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT ). Latest Ratings for TWTR