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META, AMZN, or NFLX: Which FAANG Stock is Wall Street’s Best Bet in 2023?

META, AMZN, or NFLX: Which FAANG Stock is Wall Street’s Best Bet in 2023?

Last year, macro pressures hammered tech stocks and even the mighty FAANG (Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), previously called Facebook, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), and Google’s parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL, GOOG)) were not spared. However, FAANG stocks have started 2023 on a positive note due to improved investor sentiment. Using TipRanks Stock Comparison Tool, we’ll place Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Netflix against each other to pick the most attractive FAANG stock as per Wall Street experts.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Shares of Meta Platforms have jumped 19% year-to-date, although they remain significantly below the 52-week high. A slowdown in ad spending due to macro pressures, rising competition from ByteDance’s TikTok, and Apple’s iOS privacy changes hurt Meta in 2022. Moreover, investors are concerned about the billions of dollars the company invested in its Metaverse projects.

However, Meta bulls remain optimistic about the company’s extensive customer base (2.93 billion users on average accessed at least one of Meta’s Family of Apps – Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, per day in September 2022). Moreover, Meta is taking initiatives to lower its costs and increase the monetization of its apps.  

Is Meta Stock a Buy?

On Wednesday, Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju increased his price target for Meta Platforms stock to $180 from $145. Ju reiterated a Buy rating for the stock based on his updated thesis that highlighted “potential for positive operating margin and FCF [free cash flow] growth inflection starting in 3Q23 and accelerating thereafter.”

The analyst also sees the potential for better-than-anticipated ad revenue growth backed by increased monetization of Instagram, Reels, and other features. He also noted a possible moderation in Meta’s investments in Reality Labs as the company looks for greater efficiencies.

Overall, Wall Street’s Moderate Buy consensus rating for Meta Platforms is based on 29 Buys, seven Holds, and three Sells. The average price target of $149.03 for Meta stock implies 4.1% upside potential.  

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Amazon’s growth rate slowed down following the reopening of the economy as pandemic-induced tailwinds faded and macro pressures hurt consumers’ spending. The company’s lucrative cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), helped in offsetting the weakness in the retail…

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