BNP Paribas Exane is warming up to two of the ‘Magnificent 7’ tech giants. Top Analyst Nick Jones initiated coverage on Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) with Outperform ratings. The 5-star analyst believes both companies remain well-positioned to benefit from long-term growth across cloud, advertising, and artificial intelligence, with meaningful upside still ahead.
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It is worth noting that Jones ranks 172 out of more than 10,000 analysts tracked by TipRanks. He has a success rate of 52%, with an average return per rating of 29.4% over a one-year timeframe.
Analyst Sees Growth Ahead in Cloud, Ads, and AI
Jones said Amazon continues to lead in e-commerce and AWS cloud, and he expects both areas to support steady growth. He noted that AWS remains one of Amazon’s biggest strengths because of its scale, customer reach, and consistent profit. He set a $320 price target, which signals about 41% upside from current levels.
From there, Jones pointed to Amazon’s growing advertising business. In his view, ads still have room to grow, and he expects Amazon to keep gaining share in the digital ad market. As more brands use Amazon’s retail and streaming platforms, he sees advertising becoming a larger part of the company’s earnings.
Jones then addressed worries about Amazon falling behind in AI. He called those concerns overblown. He said Amazon is already building AI across its products and AWS. He expects these efforts to help the company over time.
Alphabet Seen as an AI and Cloud Winner
The analyst said Alphabet remains strong in Search and YouTube, and he expects both areas to support steady growth. He noted that Search still holds a dominant position, while YouTube continues to benefit from rising video ad demand.
Jones pointed to Google Cloud as a key growth driver. In his view, the business is gaining momentum and could become a bigger part of Alphabet’s revenue over time.
He also acknowledged earlier worries about rising competition and some uncertainty around its AI plans. He said those challenges weighed on the stock earlier, but sentiment has started to improve. He believes Alphabet is now showing clearer progress in AI, which could help the stock continue to recover.
The analyst set a $355 price target, signaling 12% upside from current levels.
Which Magnificent 7 Stock Is a Better Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, both stocks hold a Strong Buy rating. Amazon offers higher upside at around 30%, based on the average analyst price target. Meanwhile, Alphabet is trading slightly above its average target, implying about 2% downside from current levels.
Still, Alphabet stands out with a Smart Score of 10, showing strong support from analysts, hedge funds, and market trends.
