Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne has slightly bumped up his estimates for Spotify's (SPOT) premium net adds and ad-supported MAUs for the year following Q1 results and Q2 guidance, saying he sees the expanded Hulu offer in the U.S. and the potential extension of free trials providing some upside that is partially offset by the launch of Google's (GOOGL) YouTube Music. While he said he would "certainly take YouTube seriously," Swinburne notes Google Play music has not previously slowed down Spotify, nor have Apple (AAPL) and Amazon's (AMZN) presence. "Time will tell how much of [Google's] relaunch is aimed at building a business versus appeasing the music industry," concludes Swinburne, who keeps an Overweight rating and $190 price target on Spotify shares.

Deutsche Bank raised the firm's price target on Spotify to $400 from $340 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported "very strong" Q1 results and a "very encouraging" Q2 outlook, which will lead to materially higher consensus gross margin and EBIT estimates, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says sizable gross margin beat builds conviction in Spotify achieving its investor day target of 30% gross margins on the earlier side of the fiscal 2025-2027 range.

Tuesday's total option volume of 40.6 million contracts resulted in net open interest growth of 5.36 million calls and 4.67 million puts. Tesla (TSLA), AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC), Amazon (AMZN) and Ford (F) saw the greatest growth. Top five new positions opened include 40k Wal-Mart (WMT) May-24 59 calls, 37k AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC) Sep-24 8 puts, 36k AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC) Sep-24 7 puts, 28k Ford (F) 4/26 weekly 13 calls and 26k Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) May-24 20 calls.

HSBC analyst Joseph Thomas raised the firm's price target on Spotify to $355 from $310 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's gross profit and EBIT for Q1 came in well ahead of expectations as it executes against its strategy to minimize costs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the guidance implies a strong step-up in margins for Q2. It is now more bullish on Spotify's ability to monetize its audiobook offering.

Loop Capital analyst Alan Gould raised the firm's price target on Spotify to $300 from $250 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The company's Q1 results demonstrated "impressive profit and cash flow growth", though there was a small miss on ad-supported subscriber metric, partially due to some pull forward in Q4 and an over-correction on marketing spend, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Audiobooks are also a drag on profits, but Podcasting should be profitable for the year, though it contributed a small loss to Spotify during the quarter, the firm added.

Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt raised the firm's price target on Amazon.com to $225 from $220 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. The firm thinks Amazon is well positioned this year with multiple drivers of sustainable margin expansion in place. The company has reported operating income ahead of Street estimates for five consecutive quarters, and Wedbush estimates Q1 operating income of $11.6B, approximately 5% above consensus. Heading into results, the firm is looking for sustained advertising momentum given positive feedback from advertisers in its Q1 Digital Advertising Survey and from digital advertising agencies, accelerating AWS growth and incremental commentary on AI-related demand, and ongoing improvements in both North America and International retail margins.

Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris raised the firm's price target on Spotify to $350 from $290 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company reported Q1 results that were highlighted by the company's largest ever operating income quarter and expanding gross margin. The company's Q2 profitability guidance was "similarly strong," the analyst added in an earnings recap note.

Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Spotify to $400 from $310 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. A year ago, Spotify's long-term profitability was in question, the firm notes. Now, it's a question of "how good?" margins can get. Wells believes strong profit growth supports its 41-times EV/EBITDA multiple.

Citi analyst Ronald Josey raised the firm's price target on Amazon.com to $235 from $215 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst "materially" raised operating income projections on Amazon following an analysis of the company's Advertising and Retail businesses. Citi now projects operating income to reach 10% margins in 2025 on continued advertising strength and improving retail efficiencies. Given faster shipping speeds, the firm believes conversion rates are improving as Amazon's retail business benefits from its regionalization approach with shorter transport distances as the overall cost to serve comes down. Amazon remains one of its top picks across the internet sector.

Apple saw sales of its iPhones fall 19.1% in the first three months of the year, CNBC's Ryan Browne reports, citing data from Counterpoint Research. Meanwhile, Huawei saw a 69.7% surge in smartphone sales in the country during the same period, Counterpoint said. Reference Link