Snap reported disastrous third-quarter numbers
Social media stocks are taking a step back today after Snapchat's parent company Snap (SNAP) gapped lower on a dismal third-quarter earnings report. The firm forecasted no revenue growth for the current quarter, and the slowdown in the digital ad market is taking a toll on other social media names like Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR).
Right after the open, META is 2.4% lower to trade at $128.34, while TWTR is off 4.2% to trade at $49.87. Options traders are blasting both equities early on in the session. Meta stock has already seen 114,000 contracts cross the tape double what's typically seen. Meanwhile, 243,000 calls and puts have been traded on Twitter, which is three times the intraday average.
Analysts were quick to dish out bear notes for Meta stock, with Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities cutting their respective target prices to $170 and $180. Coming into today, the 12-month consensus target price of $210.15 is a 65.5% premium to last night's close.
On the charts, META has gradually been chopping lower, hitting a five-year low in mid-October. Now, the equity is saddled with a more than 62% year-to-date deficit. Meanwhile, TWTR is trading well above its annual lows and holding above its 320-day moving average. Year-to-date, Twitter stock is 15.3% higher.