What happened
Uber Technologies (UBER -0.38%) took its investors on a lucrative little ride Tuesday, as its share price accelerated more than 4% higher. This came after an analyst reminded the market that the stock is a No. 1 pick of his in its category for 2023.
So what
Early this morning, Roth MKM's Rohit Kulkarni put a little fuel injection into his Uber price target. He significantly increased it to $59 per share from the previous $46. He maintained his buy recommendation as he did so.
The foundation of this is the analyst's new profitability estimates for both full-year 2023 and 2024. Kulkarni has raised his forecasts for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and earnings per share (EPS) by 15% for the two years.
He also waxed enthusiastic about Uber's rising free cash flow. Lastly, he said "potential non-fundamental catalysts" such as stock buybacks and being included in the benchmark S&P 500 index could also add value.
Now what
Given all this, Kulkarni was compelled to reiterate his opinion that Uber is the top internet stock on the market today -- even after a long bull run that has seen its share price rise by over 90% so far in 2023.
Can that rally continue? Much will depend on Uber's second-quarter earnings release, scheduled to be discussed in a conference call on Aug. 1 before market open.
Expectations are fairly high for the company, with analysts collectively estimating that it will be able to narrow its net loss considerably (to $0.01 per share, from the year-ago deficit of $1.33). They also believe Uber will show a notable 16% year-over-year jump in revenue, to $9.34 billion.