Nowadays, anyone can get the necessary information in a jiffy by using the Internet. Knowledge has become more accessible. So, if you have some questions or want to check the correctness of the information, you immediately open the app on the smartphone or enter a request in the PC browser. After that, the search engine gives you the most suitable answers for the question and even filters them according to their popularity and relevance. This is a commonplace process these days and this opportunity has long ceased to be the privilege of advanced users of the World Wide Web. Today, all people equally have the opportunity to use search engines and even choose their favorites.

One of the most popular search engines was created by Russian-based company Yandex. In this article, we will tell you how to invest your funds in Yandex shares, as well as analyze in detail all the strong and weak points of this enterprise.

History

Yandex N.V. is the parent company of Yandex, the Russian IT holding. Interestingly enough, the firm is registered in the Netherlands, but the company founders and most of the team members are based in Russia. Russian Yandex LLC has become a subsidiary of the Dutch corporation.

The company is primarily engaged in the provision of search engines and online services. The most important segments are search engines, e-commerce, online advertising, ads, navigation systems, transport services, and mobile applications.

The company largely focuses on clients from the Russian Federation, Turkey, and CIS countries such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc. The founders of Yandex and most of the team members work in Moscow, Russia.

The search engine Yandex.ru was officially launched on September 23, 1997, at the Softool exhibition in Moscow. The founders of Yandex began developing their own search engine much earlier, back in 1989.

In 1998, Yandex.ru installed contextual advertising* in its search engine for the first time. At that time, it provided users with additional answers to their questions. Later, Yandex made it the key business model of the company.

Yandex became an independent entity only in 2000. Its founders were shareholders of Russian company CompTek. In 2002, Yandex’s net profit rose considerably. In other words, its revenues exceed expenses. Yandex demonstrated steady growth in the last quarter of the year. Remarkably, the company maintains its robust expansion to this day.

Today, Yandex is a leading tech giant and the largest search engine in Russia. It is the fifth-largest search engine worldwide after Google, Baidu, Bing, and Yahoo.

*Contextual advertising is a type of targeted advertising that takes into account a user's requests to display ads.

Yandex shares

The IPO of the company's shares on the NASDAQ exchange took place in May 2011. As a result, Yandex managed to raise $1.3 billion. It was the biggest initial public offering for a dot-com company since Google's IPO in 2004 as well as the largest among issuers.

Amid high demand, the starting price of $22 per share was increased to $25. On the day of the IPO, Yandex sold 16.2% of the total number of issued stocks to investors. After the IPO, the company's shares soared instantly by 55%.

Today, the Russian high-tech giant along with other major shareholders controls more than 60% of Yandex shares. As a result, the main shareholders have a significant impact on the current activities of the company and its future plans.

Yandex shares are traded under the ticker* YNDX on the NASDAQ exchange, as well as on the Moscow, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich Stock Exchanges.

If an individual investor wants to buy Yandex shares, it is necessary to open a trading account with a broker that provides access to major stock markets of the world. It will not take much time. For example, traders spend less than 3 minutes to register an account with InstaForex.

The minimum lot size is 1, which equals 1 share. To calculate the income, use the Forex calculator on InstaForex website.

After registering a live account, you will be able to open long or short positions on Yandex shares as well as stocks of other leading companies. You may also use the InstaForex MT4 platform, an absolute favorite of many speculators. It will be an ideal tool for you when trading stocks.

To come up with a profitable trading strategy, a novice investor needs to undergo minimum online training and understand the basic methods of market analysis.

InstaForex has created a special training course for beginners, which includes basic information about the features and secrets of successful trading in global markets.

Like the vast majority of IT giants, Yandex managed to increase profit during the pandemic. Therefore, its shares also advanced. Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization announced the coronavirus pandemic, the company's shares have surged by 166.85%.

*Ticker is a short name of an asset listed on the exchange.

Factors influencing Yandex shares

Before investing your funds in Yandex shares, you need to analyze several factors that usually affect their value.

First and foremost, it is important to study the news regarding the Russian and US stock markets. For instance, there can be reports about the high-tech sector, as well as the activities of large IT companies. A broad analysis and a clear understanding of the market situation will help you make the most precise forecast of the future price of Yandex’s shares on the stock exchange.

If you are keen on a medium-term or long-term investment, you need to take into account way more factors, namely the global economic and geopolitical situation in the world. For example, in case of increased political tension or the introduction of sanctions against organizations operating in the Russian market, Yandex shares may nosedive.

Additionally, one should carefully study not only Yandex's earnings reports but also the financial results of other companies in the tech sector. If the earnings results of many IT companies show a decline, demand for tech stocks is likely to drop as well. Therefore, Yandex’s shares may sink as well.

Stay up to date with the latest news on Yandex and the state of the IT sector around the world in real-time by using a special Forex Analysis & Reviews section on InstaForex website.

Dividend policy

Oftentimes when a company accumulates retained earnings, it either reinvests it in the business or pays dividends to shareholders. The Yandex management chose the first option, deciding not to make payments to shareholders.

As a permanently growing company, Yandex prefers to invest profits in the development of its own projects, as well as to increase the controlled market share of search engines and advertising on the Internet.

Importantly, the IT giant adheres to this principle from the moment it entered the market. Therefore, Yandex shareholders can earn profit only on changes in the quotes of the company’s shares on the stock exchanges.

Naturally, it makes Yandex shares less attractive to investors who are interested in receiving dividend payments. At the same time, it is important to understand that such a policy facilitates a constant increase in the share price.

Outlook

The company has expanded its services considerably. Thus, users no longer associate it only with the search engine. Nowadays, its clients can use various services of the company to make their life comfortable. These factors as well as the lack of emphasis on monetization allow the company to firmly maintain leadership in the services market.

Yandex is highly likely to expand even more through the acquisition of other companies in this sector. There is no need to say that it will significantly boost the price of its shares.

One of such successful solutions was the integration of Yandex.Taxi services with the Russian branch of Uber. When this news was announced, the company's shares jumped on NASDAQ. On that day, a rise in the quotes exceeded 15%. The upward movement continued for quite a long time.

In the future, the company is focused on creating new software, innovative services, and products by implementing artificial intelligence.

In addition, Yandex has high expectations for the new Yandex.View service, designed to assist customers in conducting quantitative marketing research of certain markets. This unique service is projected to significantly increase the value of Yandex shares as it will help attract lots of new customers.

When developing new digital products, Yandex relies on the experience of such global tech giants as Apple, Amazon, and Mail.ru.

Today, Yandex strives to introduce affordable services into the daily lives of Russian users. Analysts are sure that Yandex will soon expand its presence in the global market, turning from a local firm into an international one thanks to its successful and popular products.

Conclusion

What makes Yandex a successful company is its constant development of new popular products and services. For more than two decades, the company maintains a leading position in the Russian and international market thanks to this strategy. Yandex makes the life of Russian consumers simpler and more comfortable. The company is also trying to expand its presence in the international high-tech market with innovative and high-quality services.

If you have firmly decided to buy shares of this IT giant, go to InstaForex website and register a trading account in just a few minutes. After that, you may invest in shares of any company you want.