Finally, a little holiday cheer comes the way of exchange traded funds (ETFs). While brick-and-mortar retailers and the ETFs that track them might be drowning their troubles in egg nog, internet ETFs could actually get a lift from the holiday shopping. More and more people are using the internet to do their gift-giving, if Amazon.com (AMZ) is any indication, according to the Associated Press.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Scott Devitt bumped Amazon up from "Sell" to "Buy." They see Amazon.com as the best-positioned in the e-commerce and Internet sector.
Meanwhile, eBay (EBAY) analysts are saying that listings growth quarter-to-date is looking flat. However, Only eBay at Seeking Alpha is taking a different view of things. By looking at quarter-over-quarter listings, things don’t appear to be nearly as bleak. The author suspects that recent changes to the buying and selling experience on eBay will provide a merry holiday surprise for patient investors.
Among the ETFs that count Amazon.com and eBay as their holdings are:
- First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index (FDN), up 15.4% year-to-date. Both Amazon and eBay make up 10% of the fund.
- PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ), up 19.5% year-to-date. Amazon makes up 1.3% of the fund, while eBay makes up 1.9%.
- Internet HOLDRs (HHH), up 24.7% year-to-date. Amazon is 25% of the fund, while eBay is 28.5%.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.