Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015

More than a year ago, while the big boys on Wall Street were rating Groupon a ��uy,��we casted serious doubts about the company�� future in a Gurufocus article, Groupon�� Wild Profits Face Challenges. At the time, Groupon is trading in the $20s, now the stock tumbled to about $5. Some of us are wondering-- is Groupon a bargain now?

Groupon (GRPN) operates as a local commerce marketplace on the internet that connects merchants to consumers by offering goods and services at a discount on a global basis. The company�� philosophy is simple: We treat our customers the way we like to be treated. And it all starts with a fair price. But a great price is only half the battle - it's also got to be a great product or service.

Andrew Mason was the mastermind behind Groupon. The discount deal on e-commerce business was the original idea of his. Mason set up Groupon for the convenience of consumers and internet users in North America and internationally. What Mason failed at was sustaining Groupon�� profitability, as he was running a business with a rigid approach, rarely making necessary internal and external adjustments to the company�� business model. On top of this, Mason also displayed frequent unprofessional conduct when giving interviews and taking part in important meetings. Mason�� missteps, despite being the company�� founder, resulted in his being relieved of his duties recently by Groupon.

Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015: Google Inc.(GOOG)

Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) finally playing nice with TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO  ) .

  Shares of TiVo soared 8% yesterday after the DVR pioneer reached a settlement with Google's Motorola Mobility unit, but the stock's getting slammed this morning after the amount that it will be receiving will be far less than what was originally projected.

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Of course, the gyrations of momentum traders are always something to behold.�But when we look at stocks like Google (GOOG),�we’ve seen tens of billions of dollars added to the market cap in just a very short time. There is simply no rational way to come up worth any reasonable, or even unreasonable, estimate of business value for either of GOOG stock.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Google is an Internet giant that provides valuable search and advertising services to a growing user base worldwide. The company’s�Android OS is set to make an impact on another major industry. The stock has been exploding higher in recent years and is currently trading near all-time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been rising, which has left investors pleased about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its strong peers and sector, Google has been a relative year-to-date performance leader. Look for Google to continue to OUTPERFORM.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Google is an Internet giant that provides valuable search and advertising services to a growing user base worldwide. The company has removed Rap Genius lyrics from Google search. The stock has been exploding higher in recent years and is currently trading near all time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings and revenues have been rising, which has left investors pleased about recent earnings announcements. Relative to its strong peers and sector, Google has been an average year-to-date performer. Look for Google to OUTPERFORM.

Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)

Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MONEYMORNING.COM]

  A big player here is Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), a global provider of security, storage, and systems management solutions with an extensive focus on managing consumer data and information.

• [By Reuters]

  Peter Parks, AFP/Getty ImagesThe 12-story building in Shanghai's northern suburb of Gaoqiao where a Chinese military-led hacking group allegedly conducted a series of attacks on U.S. companies networks. BOSTON -- Cybersecurity company FireEye has acquired Mandiant, the computer forensics specialist best known for unveiling a secretive Chinese military unit believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks on U.S. companies. FirEye (FEYE) shares jumped more than 20 percent after Thursday's announcement of the $1.05 billion cash-and-stock deal, which FireEye said closed Monday. It unites two companies with relatively new technologies for thwarting cyber attacks, and brings together two of the most-respected executives in the security industry: FireEye CEO Dave DeWalt and Mandiant founder Kevin Mandia. While sales of older anti-virus products have been on the decline, security experts expect strong growth in both FireEye's cloud-based systems for detecting malicious software and Mandiant's software that analyzes cyber attacks. About a year ago the two companies entered into a technology development agreement that made it easier to deploy their products together. With the merger, FireEye will gain Mandiant's team of forensics investigators. "They have these very strong Navy 'cyber' Seals who respond to breaches and are very good at what they do," DeWalt said about Mandiant. He had previously served as chairman of Mandiant's board. "My aim is to create the strongest security company in the world," DeWalt said in an interview. FireEye, which has yet to post a profit, said the acquisition will be immediately accretive to earnings and expects the combined company's revenue to grow about 50 percent this year. In comparison, Symantec (SYMC), the biggest maker of anti-virus software, has said it expects fiscal 2014 revenue to drop 3 percent to 4 percent. Mandiant is best known for its forensics services. The company rose to prominence in February 2013 when it pu

Top Small Cap Companies To Invest In Right Now: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  AllThings D also reports that bids have to be at least $1 billion, and DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV  ) is said to be ready with a bid of at least that much. Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC  ) , Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO  ) , and the private-equity firms KKR, Guggenheim Digital, and Silverlake Partners are also ready to compete.

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  Contrary to popular belief, Yahoo is well managed. Yahoo is currently making a lot of wise long-term decisions. But that still won�� be enough in an economic environment that is likely to weaken in the near�future.

Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015: eBay Inc.(EBAY)

eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sean Williams]

  Reason No. 1: It will give brick-and-mortar retailers new life.
  The clear winner of this type of legislation would be brick-and-mortar retailers that have been previously crushed by the "showrooming effect." One of the best examples of this is big-box retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY  ) , which has seen sales slow as consumers used its stores to figure out which items they wanted to buy, then turned to online retailers such as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) for their purchases since the sale price was often lower and, as a bonus, there was no sales tax in most instances.

• [By Tamara Rutter]

  eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) is taking window shopping to a whole new level this month. Forget virtual window-shopping. The online retailer is stepping out of its comfort zone and into New York's shopping scene, with what it calls "shoppable windows." eBay stock has gained a modest 1% so far this year, which is notably lower than rival online retailer Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) near 7% gain. However, eBay's innovative launch of interactive storefronts could give the stock momentum going forward.

• [By Sean Williams]

  This week, we'll turn our attention to the retail marketplace and I'll show you why eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) CEO John Donahoe is truly at the head of the class among his peers.

• [By Kevin Chen]

  eBay's (NASDAQ: EBAY  ) �StubHub has struck its second Major League Soccer (MLS) partnership with the Portland Timbers to become the team's official fan-to-fan marketplace.

Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015: IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI)

IAC/InterActiveCorp engages in the Internet business in the United States and internationally. The company�s Search segment develops, markets, and distributes various downloadable toolbars; provides search, reference, and content services through its destination search and other Websites, including Ask.com and Dictionary.com; and aggregates and integrates local advertising and content for distribution to publishers on Web and mobile platforms, as well as markets and distributes mobile applications through which it provides search and additional services. Its Match segment offers subscription-based and advertiser-supported online personals services through its Websites comprising Match.com, Chemistry.com, OurTime.com, BlackPeopleMeet.com, and OkCupid.com, as well as through mobile applications and Meetic-branded Websites. The company�s ServiceMagic segment offers Market Match service that matches consumers with service professionals; Exact Match service, which enables con sumers to review service professional profiles and select the service professional that meets their specific needs; and 1800Contractor.com, an online directory of service professionals. This segment also offers Website design and hosting services. Its Media and Other segment operates CollegeHumor.com, an online entertainment Website that targets young males; Vimeo, a Website on which users can upload, share, and view video; and Pronto.com, a comparison search engine. This segment also engages in the creation of video content for various distribution platforms; and operates as an Internet retailer of footwear and related apparel and accessories, as well as focuses on multimedia business. The company was formerly known as InterActiveCorp and changed its name to IAC/InterActiveCorp in July 2004. IAC/InterActiveCorp was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  AP/Jim Mone Is Bitcoin a slam-dunk as the currency of the future? The Sacramento Kings seem to think so. The NBA team recently became the first pro sports franchise to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Basketball fans will be able not only to purchase tickets and merchandise online with the digital cryptocurrency, but also to use it to buy souvenirs at the arena come game time. The team is the latest in a growing number of commercial entities finding a slot in their virtual cash registers for Bitcoin. Little by little, momentum is building for a widespread acceptance of the upstart currency. Overstocking The Kings' drive towards the Bitcoin basket comes a week after the big online retailer Overstock.com (OSTK) announced it would start accepting payments in the currency. The move was an instant hit -- the first day the company had the nifty Bitcoin button as an option in its shopping cart, its customers used it to make more than 800 transactions for total sales of around $130,000. Overstock.com was by no means the first online marketplace to accept the currency. Numerous web retailers have been doing so for some time. It's a natural fit, %VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks in a way, since Bitcoin exists solely in the digital realm. Customers booking flights on discount travel operator CheapAir.com, for example, can use Bitcoin to buy their tickets, as can love seekers on dating site OkCupid, owned by IAC/InteractiveCorp (IACI). These digital players are going to have plenty of company. Earlier this month, online games purveyor Zynga (ZNGA) started to dip its toes in the water, announcing that it was testing Bitcoin payments for some of its titles in conjunction with specialist transaction facilitator BitPay. But if Overstock.com didn't get there first, it's still the largest and most prominent e-retailer to take the Bitcoin plunge thus far. This is a big win for the currency and its advocates, and Overstock.com will surely be followed by more well-known comp

• [By WALLSTCHEATSHEET.COM]

  IAC/InterActiveCorp provides information and entertainment services through its wide portfolio of websites to consumers and companies across the globe. The stock has been moving higher in recent years and seems to be getting ready to test all-time high prices. Over the last four quarters, earnings have been mixed while revenues have been increasing, which has pleased investors. Relative to its peers and sector, IAC/InterActiveCorp has trailed in year-to-date performance. Look for IAC/InterActiveCorp to catch up and OUTPERFORM.

• [By Timothy Lutts, Publisher, Cabot Heritage Corporation]

  In 2004, TripAdvisor (TRIP) was purchased by conglomerate Interactive Corp (IACI), which spun off its travel businesses under the name of Expedia in 2005. In December 2011, TripAdvisor was spun off from Expedia in an IPO.

Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)

Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Bleeker, CFA]

  Lyons and Eric also discuss whether original programming in the vein of companies like Netflix� (NASDAQ: NFLX  ) and Amazon� (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) is a worthwhile pursuit for Apple. For the full video of this installment of the weekly Tech Review, click here. Or, watch the segment on Apple TV below.�

• [By Chris Hill]

  Yum! Brands' (NYSE: YUM  ) �second-quarter profits fall 16%. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) benefits from a rise in e-commerce. Costco's (NASDAQ: COST  ) same-store sales in June rise 6%. And Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) scraps plans for three new stores in Washington, DC. In this installment of Investor Beat, Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Isaac Pino discuss four stocks making moves today.

• [By Douglas A. McIntyre]

  The Xbox has to fend off competition from both Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) and Nintendo. The new Sony PlayStation 4 has done relatively well. Nintendo’s Wii U sales have been crushed. However, Microsoft can reasonably claim it is the leading maker of game consoles in the world. And the Xbox finally has the chance to be the Trojan horse that Ballmer wanted it to be. With Xbox features like a content library of premium video and the ability to act as an advanced set-top box, Microsoft has the chance to challenge Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) in the content delivery business, as well as cable and satellite TV firms at the center of the living room.

• [By Alyce Lomax]

  The eyebrow-raising aspects go beyond the simple fact that this consumer segment isn't an easy one, especially taking into account the renowned "showrooming" effect that drives customers to Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) .

Top 5 Internet Stocks To Own For 2015: Internap Network Services Corporation(INAP)

Internap Network Services Corporation provides information technology (IT) infrastructure services. The company operates through two segments, Data Center Services and IP Services. The Data Center Services segment provides colocation services, which include physical space for hosting customers? IT infrastructure network and other equipment, as well as offers associated services, such as redundant power and network connectivity, environmental controls, and security. This segment also offers managed hosting services that enable its customers to own and manage the software applications and content, as well as provides and maintains the hardware, operating system, collocation, and bandwidth. The IP services segment provides patented performance Internet protocol (IP) service; XIP acceleration-as-a-service solution; and flow control platform, a premise-based intelligent routing hardware product for customers, who run their own multiple network architectures, known as multi-homi ng. In addition, this segment offers content delivery network services that enable its customers to stream and distribute media and content, such as video, audio software, and applications to audiences through points of presence, as well as offers capacity-on-demand services to handle events and unanticipated traffic spikes. Internap Network Services Corporation provides its services and products through 76 IP service points, which include 20 CDN POPs and 1 standalone CDN POP, as well as through 37 data centers across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. It serves the entertainment and media, financial services, business services, software, hosting and information technology infrastructure, and telecommunications industries. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.