Wednesday Market Insights: Twitter Inc (TWTR), Apple Inc. (AAPL), eBay Inc (EBAY), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG), AT&T Inc. (T)


Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is sinking more than 15% in pre-market trading, down to $15.03 after the struggling social media company posted earnings yesterday afternoon that failed to demonstrate a meaningful turnaround in user growth. The company posted revenue of $594.4 million, a 36% y/y increase, but still falling short of expectations of $607.8 million. While many have been concerned about the company’s ability to grow its user base, the company posted 310 million monthly active users, or MAUs. While this is only a 2% year-over-year increase, it’s better than a decrease that many investors feared. The company also posted disappointing guidance, predicting second quarter revenue between $590 million and $610 million, substantially lower than the estimate of $678 million.

Following the earnings report, analyst Doug Anmuth of JP Morgan downgraded the company from Outperform to Neutral, cutting his price target from $26 to $18. Anmuth believes the company’s product changes intended to drive user growth and advertising revenue have not been as successful as expected and points to increasing competition from the likes of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram.

As of this writing, 12 analysts polled by TipRanks are bullish on Twitter, 15 are neutral, and 3 are bearish. The average 12-month price target for the stock is $23.68, marking a 33% potential upside from where shares last closed.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is falling more than 7% in pre-market, down to $96.61 after the company posted fiscal second quarter earnings yesterday after market close that fell short of many expectations. While analysts were ready for the company to post its first year-over-year declines since 2003, they were not ready for the misses reported this quarter. The tech giant posted earnings of $1.90, marking a 20% decrease from the same quarter of last year and falling short of the $1.99 consensus. Likewise, revenue came in short at $50.6 billion, missing estimates of $52 billion and marking a 13% decrease from the same quarter of last year. Management attributes this to a strong dollar and a stagnating smartphone market for the time being, but assured that both factors will pass. The company’s guidance continued to disappoint, forecasting fiscal third quarter revenue between $41 billion and $43 billion, missing the consensus of $47.42 billion.

Analysts are already rushing to weigh in on the stock, remaining bullish on the iconic tech company, for the most part. Abhey Lamba, analyst for Mizuho, reiterated a Buy rating on Apple this morning with a $120 price target. After noting the sub-par earnings figures, the analyst stresses, “We look beyond the current cycle and remain grounded in our analysis of customer LTV supporting a fundamental value of the stock meaningfully higher than current levels. “

As of this writing, 31 analysts polled by TipRanks are bullish on Apple and 4 are neutral. The average 12-month price target is $132.72, marking a 27% potential upside from where shares last closed.

eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) is up over 1% in pre-market trading after the company reported its Q1:16 earnings yesterday after market close. The company reported revenues of $2.14 billion and earnings of $0.47 per share, compared to analysts’ estimates of $2.08 billion and $0.45, respectively. In Q1, the company has been working to optimize its product offerings and platform as well as incorporate more small businesses, which has helped gross merchandise volume increase 1% to $20.45  billion. The number of active buyers also increased by 3.8% to 162 million for the quarter. The company’s ticket selling subsidiary, StubHub, also displayed impressive 34% y/y growth, reporting revenues of  $177  million. Meanwhile, its classifieds segment increased 15% y/y, reporting $186 million in sales. The company raised the low end of its FY revenue guidance to $8.6 billion to $8.5 billion.

According to TipRanks, out of the 21 analysts who have rated the company in the past 3 months, 7 gave a Buy rating, 2 gave a Sell rating, and 12 remain on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target for the stock is $27.58, marking a 13% upside from where shares last closed.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) is down more than 5% to $421.01 in pre-market trading after the Mexican food chain posted earnings yesterday, revealing its first ever quarterly loss. The company posted a net loss of $(26.4 million), compared to a net income of $122.6 million in the same quarter of last yer. Following a quarter plagued by E. Coli and norovirus outbreaks associated with the chain, the company posted a 30% decrease in same-store sales, earnings of $(0.88) and revenue of $835 million. While this is a narrower loss than the $(0.90) expected by analysts, revenue fell short of the analyst consensus of $868 million. Chipotle is focused on recovering by regaining the trust of consumers. The chain has already opened nearly 60 new locations in the new quarter with aims to open more than 200 by year end.

BTIG analyst Peter Saleh downgraded Chipotle from Buy to Neutral, noting that the sales initiating to drive sales recovery are not working as quickly as planned. While Saleh expects Chipotle to get back on its feet, the timing remains uncertain.

As of this writing, 9 analysts polled by TipRanks are bullish on Chipotle, 10 are neutral, and 6 remain bearish. The average 12-month price target is $471.58, marking a 5.75% potential upside from where shares last closed.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is falling over 1% in pre-market trading after the company released Q1:16 earnings yesterday after market close. The company posted total operating revenues of $40.53 billion earnings of $0.72 per share, topping estimates of $40.47 billion and $0.69, respectively. While the company added 328,000 DirecTV subscribers in Q1, this gain was offset by the 382,00 U-verse TV customers lost as part of its phasing out. Furthermore, the company added only 129,000 postpaid customers, those who pay monthly, vs estimates of 287,000 net adds.

Following earnings, analyst Mike McCormack of Jefferies weighed in in the stock with a Buy rating and $4 price target. He stated, “AT&T reported strong profitability in a low volume quarter, though some subscriber metrics were weaker than expected. Headline adj. EPS of $0.72 was ahead of Street consensus of $0.69 as Wireless and Entertainment margins drove the outperformance. Postpaid handset additions were weaker than expected, though improved retention strategies, and a diminishing feature phone base should drive 2H16 improvement.”

According to TipRanks, out of the 11 analysts who have rated the company in the last 3 months, 9 gave a Buy rating, 1 gave a Sell rating, and 1 remains on the sidelines. The average 12-month price target for the stock is $41.70, marking a 9% upside from where shares last closed.

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