Twitter Stock Trading At Support

TWTR, Weekly
On April 28th Twitter quarterly results were leaked before they were officially due out. As the figures were worse than expected, the stock collapsed during the last hour of regular trading session in NYSE. Company had earlier provided guidance that the first quarter revenue would be $456.8 million which was also the figure analysts had put forward. However, twitter reported Q1 revenue of $436 million and thus missed the expectations and its own guidance. This and the lacklustre growth in the user base were the reasons for an 18% drop in share price on April 28th. At the time of writing TWTR is trading near $37, almost 30% lower than this year’s highest print.

The stock is therefore trading at a steep discount compared to the highest prices paid this year and even to the 200 day SMA at $44.74. This discount is excessive in the light of the projected revenue decline for this year. Twitter is expected to generate revenue of $2.17 to 2.27 billion instead of the market expectation of $2.37 billion. We are therefore talking about at most a 8.43% revenue decline while the stock is trading over 16% below the long term (200 days) average price and 30% below the highest prices paid for the year. Also, the company is expected to have a higher revenue growth in 2015 than Facebook and LinkedIn as revenues are expected to grow by 60% this year. Therefore it is likely that the stock is on institutional value buy list at the current levels and this should provide an opportunity for us as well.
Technically TWTR is now trading relatively close to December 2014 lows with weekly Stochastics firmly in the oversold territory. The December low of 34.62 is in the middle of the lower Bollinger bands (1.5 stdv at 36.29 and 2 stdv at 33.50). This suggests that the stock is trading right above support and the downside is therefore limited while the line of least resistance is to the upside. Nearest support and resistance levels are at 36.07 (January low) and 45.13 (March 9th low).


TWTR, Daily
Stochastics Oscillator has been moving slightly higher as price moves sideways between 36.90 support and 38.20 resistance. The next support at 36.52 was defined as price created a hammer candle on May 6th. The next significant resistance level after 38.20 is the 50% Fibonacci level that coincides with the March 9th low at 45.13 (see the weekly chart).


TWTR, 240 min
Bollinger bands have been narrowing which is typical before a breakout happens. At the time of writing Oscillators (Stochastics, RSI and MFI) are pointing higher but as the upper Bollinger bands acted as a resistance for a rally attempt yesterday and today the stock might move slightly lower before it’s ready to break above the resistance and advance.

Conclusion
Technically TWTR stock is trading at deep discount to long term averages and close to levels that have been able to turn price higher in the past. Twitter is also expected to see healthy revenue growth that even exceeds expected growth for Facebook and LinkedIn. This combined with the technical picture makes TWTR an interesting stock for professional value investors. At the moment TWTR does not represent a trading opportunity but rather is a stock that has good medium to long term potential. When price has dropped massively market participants usually wait until the dust settles before they start buying.  Also, when institutions buy a stock they try to accumulate positions without driving the price higher. That’s likely the reason for the stock has been moving sideways over the last week and it could take a little while before this process is over and the stock is ready to move higher. However, when it does there will be opportunities for small investors and traders alike. I look for series of higher lows to indicate that the institutional accumulation process is nearing completion. Alternatively a fast move close to the 34.62 support would be a reason to look for lower time frame buy signals (as per my Live Analysis Webinars). My Target 1 is at $43.90 (50 week SMA) and Target 2 at $49.80. Should the stock start creating a series of lower highs and keep breaking supports the technical picture would deteriorate and this analysis would need to be revaluated.