(Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. found its first official bull on Wall Street, who made yet another a comparison to Amazon.com Inc. as Uber focuses more attention on markets outside its core ride-hailing business.
Uber is just "scratching the surface of the full monetization potential" of its platform given opportunities in food-delivery, freight and autonomous vehicles, Wedbush Securities analyst Ygal Arounian wrote in a research note.
"Saying it's just a ride-sharing platform would be undervaluing the value of the entire company which has the DNA to become a game changing consumer distribution ecosystem over the coming years," said Arounian, who gave Uber an outperform rating and $65 price target.
Uber plans to raise as much as $9 billion next week in what is expected to be the biggest initial public offering so far this year. The San Francisco-based company is offering 180 million shares at $44 to $50 apiece, according to a regulatory filing last week.
Read more: Uber Is Said to Ready Its Pitch as the Amazon of Transportation
Read more: Uber Analyst Sees ‘Big Problems' in Amazon Comparison: ECM Watch
D.A. Davidson took a more cautious approach in initiating coverage on Wednesday with a neutral rating and $53 price target. Uber's revenue growth opportunities are counterbalanced by an "uncertain" path to profits and shrinking margins, analyst Tom White wrote in a research note.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeran Wittenstein in San Francisco at jwittenstei1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper
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