Top 5 Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now

With shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) trading around $298, is AMZN an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework:

T = Trends for a Stock’s Movement

Amazon serves its customers through its retail websites and focus on selection, price, and convenience. The company also manufactures and sells Kindle devices. Amazon offers programs that enables sellers to sell their products on the company’s websites — including the sellers’ own branded websites — and fulfill orders through them. It also offers platforms that allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Online commerce has been on the rise because of the convenience, efficiency, and relatively low prices offered.

Amazon may be able to sell e-books for its popular Kindle e-readers for even less, now that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has lost a trial accusing the tech giant of colluding with publishers to raise the price of e-books. Apple has been found guilty of breaking anti-trust law, after the firm�� agreement with publishers forced Amazon to raise e-book prices or risk losing the rights to sell certain titles. Amazon is a leader in the Internet commerce space, so look for them to continue to see rising profits as more consumers and companies opt for this method of shopping and selling.

Top 5 Net Payout Yield Companies To Watch In Right Now: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)

Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea] and earnings growth (which came in better than expected on the last reported quarter), profit margins and other profitability ratios.

  Additionally, I will evaluate which institutional investors bought the stock in the recent quarters (institutional backup can tell a lot about a stock), and the initiatives that the company is putting in motion in order to ameliorate its sales and margins.

  Earnings

  The first step is analyzing Symantec Corp�� earnings growth. I am looking for companies that are able to expand both their quarterly and annual earnings by more than 15% a year. Last quarter the company generated 13% quarterly EPS growth when compared to the same quarter last year. Thus, I am not encouraged by SYMC�� numbers. Past growth winners (Apple, Baidu, etc.) generated consistent quarterly EPS growth above 15% and I am certainly looking for that level before investing.

  In addition, SYMC generated three-year average annual EPS growth of 10%. This is an important metric to follow in growth stocks because it highlights how well the stock grew in the past years. I like to invest in companies that are growing consistently.

  Revenue

  Let's take a look at SYMC麓s revenue growth. This is a key metric that needs to be analyzed before investing in a company, as it is one of the scarce figures that cannot be modified through accounting tricks and similar dodges.

  The company reported a 5% quarterly revenue drop year over year. On the contrary, I look for companies that generate more than 15% in quarterly growth.

  When betting on a company, an investor wants to see sales grow or improve over time ���nd not just in the last reported quarter. Looking at the company�� financials in comparison to previous years will give participants a much better idea of how well a company is doing. Symantec Corp generated a three-year average annual sales growth rate of 4%.

  A New Strategic Plan

  Accepting the problems in its

• [By Shauna O'Brien]

  On Thursday, Morgan Stanley reported that it has downgraded security and storage management company Symantec Corporation (SYMC).

  Morgan Stanley has cut its rating on SYMC to an “Equal Weight.” Analysts believe that the company lacks near term catalysts.

  Symantec shares were down 55 cents, or 2.18%, during pre-market trading Thursday. The stock is up 34% YTD.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Of course, banks can't know when an attack is merely disruptive, and when it may be covering for criminal activity. Security company Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC  ) has commented that these assaults have become a way for hackers to distract banks while funds are illegally withdrawn. Though most of the thefts have occurred in Europe, where attacks have progressed from website outages to actual bank heists, at least one U.S. bank, Citigroup, disclosed some losses due to cyber thievery earlier this year.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Symantec Inc. (NASDAQ: SYMC) reported second fiscal quarter 2014 results after markets closed on Wednesday. For the quarter, the network security software maker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50 on revenues of $1.64 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.45 on revenues of $1.7 billion. Second-quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.44 and $1.69 billion in revenues.

Top 5 Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  I’m Marc Bastow, a Yahoo (YHOO) shareholder as of January. I bought into YHOO back in January — partly because I believed the company had untapped potential in the online world, but mostly because I felt your charisma and marketing vision would carry Yahoo toward a better future (and stock price).

• [By Jeff Reeves]

  Unlike blanket sites like HotJobs from Yahoo (YHOO) or Monster Worldwide (MWW), Dice is compartmentalized with properties that includes tech portal Slashdot, oil and gas site Rigzone and finance site eFinancial Careers and medical career site Health Callings.

• [By Rich Smith]

  It's a lesson Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO  ) learned again this week.

  No soup for Yahoo!
  For some time now, Yahoo! has been angling to make a big buy in France. New CEO Marissa Mayer had her eye on online video website and Google rival Dailymotion, which France Telecom (NYSE: ORAN  ) was looking to unload.

Top 5 Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: eBay Inc.(EBAY)

eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Sparks]

  "India is one of the world's most promising and problematic Internet markets," wrote Brad Stone and Kartikay Mehrotra in a recent�Businessweek article. They're spot on. The combination of very undeveloped Internet and e-commerce infrastructure; adoption of Internet-connected devices in droves; and a massive population of 1 billion people all set the stage for opportunity -- albeit with significant risk. eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) thinks it can buck system, but it may take a while.

• [By Steven Russolillo and Chris Dieterich Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Facebook]

  Facebook�� wait to join the S&P 500 was roughly in line with Google Inc.(GOOG), which joined less than two years after its August 2004 IPO. Others waited longer. Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN), eBay Inc.(EBAY) and Yahoo Inc.(YHOO) each took over three years to join the S&P 500.

• [By Riddhi Kharkia]

  This is also a cue to the big plans of Facebook regarding e-commerce because it is now transitioning into a holistic platform that provides the sellers with a two-fold advantage, provides an easy portal to effect sales and provides a bounty of information to the business owners/advertisers that helps the companies to leverage their sales by building encompassing sales strategies. Now, the induction of PayPal�� president will be the icing on the cake as Facebook will prove to be a huge challenge to the likes of Amazon (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY).

Top 5 Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)

Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rex Crum]

  Amazon (AMZN) �surged by almost 10%, to end the week at $363.39 a share after the Internet-retailing leader cut its third-quarter loss from a year ago and reported better-than-expected sales figures.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET]

  Amazon is one of the largest Internet commerce companies in the world, and it aims to serve the needs of consumers, companies, and entrepreneurs around the globe. Cramer recently ranked Amazon a Buy; he previously ranked this stock a Buy on October 29. The stock has been flying higher in recent years and is now trading near all-time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been decreasing while revenues have been increasing, which has generally pleased investors in the company. Relative to its peers and sector, Amazon has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Amazon to OUTPERFORM.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  The double-digit drop in same-store sales has triggered a double-digit drop in revenue. J.C. Penney management has not developed the wisdom to shutter dozens of its underperforming stores, which outsiders find amazing. To lure shoppers who have departed for Macy’s (NYSE: M), Target (NYSE: TGT) and another dozen retailers, there is not a single thing J.C. Penney can do — unless it wants to give merchandise away.� Rarely discussed is that J.C. Penney’s drop in online sales is sharper than the one in bricks-and-mortar. That data is buried in J.C. Penney’s press releases and SEC filings. In a world in which Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) continues to grow at a monstrous pace, Internet sales have become a barometer of a retailer’s future. In this department, J.C. Penney has none.