Analysts upwardly revised their ratings and price targets on FB, SQ, and TSLA stocks
Analysts are weighing in on social media stock Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), electronic payment specialist Square Inc (NYSE:SQ), and electric car name Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Here's a quick roundup on today's bullish brokerage notes on shares of FB, SQ, and TSLA.
Facebook Stock Retreats After Earnings Flub
FB stock is trading down 1.3% at $149.91, after the company unveiled its first-quarter earnings report. Though beating analysts' estimates on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, Facebook Inc threw Wall Street for a loop when it unexpectedly said it will no longer report non-GAAP numbers, which strip out stock-based compensation. Additionally, Chief Financial Officer David Wehner warned of declining ad revenue growth.
Nevertheless, Facebook stock has received a bevy of post-earnings price-target hikes, including one from Jefferies to $192 from $175 -- in never-before-seen territory. Additionally, Needham boosted its 2017 and 2018 earnings-per-share estimates, saying the "strong get stronger." Longer term, FB stock had surged almost 32% year-to-date heading into today's trading, and hit a record high of $153.63 yesterday. As such, its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) settled Wednesday at 86, suggesting Facebook shares are deeply oversold, and may have been due for a near-term pullback.
Square Stock at Record High After Earnings, PT Hikes
SQ stock has jumped 6.1% out of the gate to trade at a record high $19.40, after Square earnings easily topped expectations. What's more, the results were met with a round of upwardly revised price targets, with Compass Point boosting its target to $23 from $19 -- the most optimistic outlook of the bunch. Square stock had already turned in an impressive performance in 2017, and was up more than 34% before today's session started. Short sellers, meanwhile, are likely kicking rocks. Short interest on Square Inc surged 18.2% in the two most recent reporting periods to 14.9 million shares -- the most since mid-December.
Tesla Stock Pulls Back as Quarterly Loss Widens
TSLA stock is trading 2.3% lower at $303.67, as the company's wider-than-expected first-quarter loss overshadows strong revenue numbers. While analysts have been fairly quiet in the wake of Tesla's earnings, J.P. Morgan Securities raised its price target on the stock to $190 from $185. Nevertheless, this stands at a sharp discount to TSLA stock's current perch, and sits in territory the shares haven't seen since early December. In fact, Tesla Inc shares topped out at a record peak of 327.66 on Tuesday. Should TSLA stock resume its longer-term uptrend, there's plenty of fuel to spark a short-covering rally. Short interest accounts for nearly one-quarter of TSLA's available float, and would take almost a week to cover, at the stock's average pace of trading.