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Amazon Plans For Branded Television Put Pressure On Roku, Vizio Shares

A news report that e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) plans to sell its own branded television in the U.S. has shaken up the smart TV market. Rival TV firms Roku (ROKU) and Vizio (VZIO) saw their shares fall on the news. But Amazon stock rose on Friday.

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Like Roku, Amazon currently licenses its smart TV operating system to television manufacturers to use with their brands. But now Amazon plans to offer an Amazon-branded Fire TV in the U.S. as soon as October, Insider reported Thursday. Since late 2020, Amazon has been selling an Amazon Basics TV in India.

Amazon's U.S. television would come with the company's Alexa voice assistant and have screen sizes in the range of 55 to 75 inches, the news report said. It would be built by China-based TCL and perhaps others.

"The idea appears to be 'owning the living room' as a hub for entertainment and retail purchases," Wells Fargo Securities analyst Steven Cahall said in a note to clients.

Companies currently selling televisions running Amazon's Fire TV operating system include Best Buy's (BBY) Insignia brand and Toshiba.

Roku, Vizio Shares Fall

On the stock market today, Roku stock fell 1.2% to 342.27. Vizio stock dropped 2.9% to 19.22. Amazon stock climbed 0.4% to 3,478.05.

An Amazon-branded smart television "has been speculated for some time," Bradley Gastwirth, Wedbush Securities chief technology strategist, said in a note to clients. "Clearly Amazon is looking to significantly broaden its position in the home."

Amazon already offers a streaming video service, Amazon Prime Video, to its Prime subscribers.

Seattle-based Amazon has become a major player in the consumer electronics market. It sells Echo smart speakers, Fire TV streaming devices, Ring security cameras and other gadgets.

Amazon Stock Consolidating

For the past eight weeks, Amazon stock has been consolidating with a buy point of 3,773.18, according to IBD MarketSmith charts. That buy point is 10 cents above the stock's all-time high of 3,773.08, reached on July 13.

Amazon stock tumbled 7.6% on July 30 after the company reported disappointing sales for the second quarter.

Amazon stock ranks No. 6 out of 54 stocks in IBD's Retail-Internet industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. It has an IBD Composite Rating of 85 out of 99. IBD's Composite Rating combines five separate proprietary ratings into one easy-to-use rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.

Follow Patrick Seitz on Twitter at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.

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