Bank Of America Analyst Picks Q2 Internet Sector Winners And Losers

With Internet stocks down an average of 13 percent year-to-date, one analyst on Wednesday picked some likely winners and losers lined up for the second-quarter earnings season.

"There have been few places to hide" from recent sector weakness, Bank of America's Justin Post said in a note.

Shares have dropped generally on valuation concern, and Post is still leery of overpriced issues.

Based on general industry data, Post thinks the online travel sector and social media should see the strongest gains, while e-commerce companies are likely to post mixed results.

Among large caps most likely to beat Wall Street views, Post picks Facebook FB and Expedia EXPE.

Sector large caps at risk of failing to meet street expectations in Post's view include Amazon AMZN, Netflix NFLX and Zynga ZNGA.

Although investors have worried that loss of teenage fans may hurt Facebook, Post says the company has continued to gain advertising market share as well as user time on the Internet. Post sees earnings of $1.54 versus the Street's $1.42.

Expedia will gain from its recent Travelocity acquisition and strong fundamentals in the U.S. hotel market. Post expects earnings of $1.47 compared with the consensus $1.44.

Amazon's profits may be pressured by its recent investments in local delivery service, cloud computing and new content for its website. Post forecast earnings of $2.66 while the Street expects $3.41.

Netflix results will be weighed down by recent efforts to penetrate Europe in the face of strong competition from existing players and a relatively lower cost there for pay television. Post predicts earnings of $4.69 compared with a consensus of $4.93.

Online gamer Zynga may still wow Wall Street with a major hit, but Post isn't immediately optimistic and expects a second-quarter loss of $0.01 per share, compared with the Street's expected profit of $0.02.