Northland analyst Darren Aftahi says Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) have recently added new features that focus on improved local search as well as tools enabling easier business-consumer communication. Facebook and Google are now more "Yelp-like" than ever, Aftahi tells investors in a research note. And while Apple's (AAPL) new "swipe right" feature could drive a near-term surge in Yelp (YELP) app downloads, it may translate into lower engagement on the Yelp app over longer term, the analyst argues. He remains cautious on Yelp's growth prospects and cut his price target for the stock to $17.75 from $21.50. Shares of the local business review site closed yesterday down 25c to $23.10. Aftahi has an Underperform rating on the stock, his firm's equivalent of a sell.

Snap (SNAP) is expected to report results of its first quarter on Thursday, October 25, with a conference call scheduled for 5:30 pm EDT. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Amazon (AMZN), Rogers Communications (RCI), and the National Hockey League announced a "milestone two-year agreement" in Canada to bring hockey fans Monday night NHL hockey exclusively on Prime Video. "Prime Monday Night Hockey will stream all national regular season Monday night NHL games in English for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 NHL seasons. The deal is the NHL's first exclusive national broadcast package with a digital-only streaming service in Canada. The Prime Monday Night Hockey package, produced by Prime Video, will feature a new broadcast team offering in-depth analysis and play-by-play coverage, and stream live exclusively to Prime members in Canada," the companies stated.

UBS analyst Stephen Ju raised the firm's price target on Amazon.com to $215 from $198 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the Q1 results on April 30. Expectations for revenue seems to be at the high-end of the guidance range of $143.5B, operating income between $13B-$13.5B, and AWS growth is at 15%-16%, the analyst tells investors in a research note. In addition, 2024 will be the first year in some time in which most if not all of the overhangs on Amazon shares should lift to clear the way for the stock to continue to outperform, UBS adds.

Meta (META), Google (GOOGL), Snap (SNAP), and Amazon (AMZN) all benefit from the U.S.' ban of TikTok, The Washington Post's Will Oremus reports. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticized TikTok's Chinese roots in 2019, part of Meta's broader campaign, Oremus writes. Reference Link

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Welcome to "#SocialStocks," The Fly's weekly recap of Wall Street's reactions to social media stock news.  TIK TOK BAN... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to report results of the third quarter of its fiscal year 2024 after the market close on Thursday, April 25, with a conference call scheduled for 5:30 pm ET. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

"Game On" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. NEW RELEASES: This... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

TikTok Policy issued the following statement on the enactment of "the TikTok Ban": "This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired." Publicly traded companies in the social media space that compete with TikTok include Meta Platforms (META), Alphabet (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS) and Snap (SNAP). Reference Link

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.

Jefferies raised the firm's price target on Yelp to $43 from $42 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. In a preview note for the U.S. Internet group, the firm says it will be looking for signs of sustainability in elevated ARPU growth at Yelp, especially as locations/app MAUs remain in decline.

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.

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.