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| February 2018 |
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| Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 10:14 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Stifel Bullish on Rapid7 |
Stifel starts Rapid7 (RPD, $26.77) at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $32, calling the company one of the key players within the fast-growing vulnerability assessment market.
Rapid7 shares this morning are up more than 4% on the Stifel coverage. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $27.23.
The firm’s bullish thesis is predicated on the rapid growth of Rapid7’s subscription revenue, driven in large part by demand for the Insight platform.
Stifel thinks Rapid7 can sustain 30%+ ARR growth through 2020, with the company emerging as a nearly pure SaaS security story by that point.
In 2017, Rapid7’s recurring revenue growth came in at 33%. In the latest quarter, the company generated 70% of total revenue from recurring subscriptions.
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| Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 9:57 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Twilio |
Shares of Twilio (TWLO, $35.19) this morning hit a new 52-week high at $35.45. The RSI is up to 81.1.
The 50-day moving average of $27 is advancing to the 200-day moving average of $28.25.
The next significant resistance stands at $38.88 from November 2016.
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| Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 9:54 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Palo Alto Delivers Strong FQ2 Results |
Shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW, $176.76) this morning are up more than 4% after the security solutions vendor last night reported FQ2 (Jan.) numbers that easily beat the consensus estimates.
Just after the open, the stock hit a new 52-week high of $179.11.
Revenue for the January quarter of $542.4 million was above the consensus of $524.8. Top-line growth of 28% accelerated 100 basis points sequentially. Product revenue of $202.2 million was up 20%, acceleration from 14% growth in the previous quarter.
EPS of 97 cents topped the consensus by 18 cents.
For FQ3, Palo Alto sees revenue of $538 million to $548 million, vs. the consensus of $532.7 million. Per-share earnings are expected to come in at 94 cents to 96 cents, vs. the consensus of 81 cents.
JP Morgan raises its PANW price target to $220 from $182, calling FQ2 product revenue growth “a standout.” Deutsche Bank takes its target up to $210 from $180, while OpCo goes to $200 from $180.
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| Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 9:36 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Bernstein: Apple Music in the Spotlight |
Bernstein sees the Music business becoming a key driver of ARPU growth within the Services unit of Apple (AAPL, $179.64).
The firm looks for Apple Music to grow 70% in FY’18 and 50% in FY’19, contributing nearly 500 basis points per year to Services revenue growth. That would enable Apple’s overall music business to become meaningfully accretive to Services revenue and ARPU for the first time in years, says Bernstein.
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| Monday, February 26, 2018, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| BofA/Merrill Positive on NVIDIA |
NVIDIA (NVDA, $247.15) remains a top pick at BofA/Merrill, with the firm pointing to accelerating growth trends in PC gaming, cryptocurrency and game consoles.
The firm views gaming as a secular rather than cyclical market that can expand at a CAGR of 19% through FY’20, powered by broadening adoption, favorable competitive dynamics and new formats (eSports & VR).
New products, improved availability and firmer pricing of gaming GPUs will help offset large modeled declines in crypto-miner demand products, says BofA/Merrill.
The firm calls out the upcoming analyst day on March 27 as the next potential catalyst when the company might launch new gaming products.
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| Monday, February 26, 2018, 9:46 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| MKM Partners Remains Bullish on EA |
MKM Partners reiterates its Electronic Arts (EA, $128.17) price target of $137, saying a recent series of meetings with management reaffirmed its positive outlook on the company’s long-term revenue and EPS growth.
The firm sees a long runway for growth and margin expansion in digital across all areas of EA’s business—including full-game downloads, live services and mobile.
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| Friday, February 23, 2018, 10:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Wolfe Research Sets Amazon PT at $2K |
Wolfe Research upgrades Amazon (AMZN, $1,490) to ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $2,000 based on the company’s growth opportunities in the grocery market.
Amazon can create a positive halo effect for other product categories and drive stronger than expected total revenue growth if it can “get grocery right,” says the firm.
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| Friday, February 23, 2018, 9:51 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Deutsche Bank Bullish on Okta |
Deutsche Bank initiates coverage of Okta (OKTA, $36.44) at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $43, saying the company’s cloud-based ID management system is disrupting legacy players.
While noting the expensive valuation, the firm calls out Okta as the fastest-growing publicly traded software company that it tracked in 2017.
For more on Okta, see TechStock Radar—February 22, 2018.
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| Thursday, February 22, 2018, 10:27 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| A Positive Pre-Announce from Okta |
KeyBanc lifts its Okta (OKTA, $36.14) price target to $43 from $35 after the company last night pre-announced positive FQ4 (Jan.) results in conjunction with a $300-million private offering of convertible senior notes.
Okta now expects FQ4 revenue of $77 million to $77.5 million, above the previous guidance range of $70 million to $71 million.
Okta shares this morning hit a new post-IPO high of $37.24.
For more on Okta, see TechStock Radar—February 14, 2018.
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| Thursday, February 22, 2018, 9:32 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Cowen Lifts Salesforce PT to $130 |
Cowen raises its Salesforce (CRM, $114.70) price target to $130 from $118 based on expectations for a strong FQ4 (Jan.) report. The firm believes the company is well-positioned to achieve 20%+ revenue and free cash flow growth in FY’19.
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| Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 10:10 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Arista Shares See P/E Compression |
Arista Networks (ANET, $246.93) stock has now closed two sessions in a row below the 50-day moving average of $255.74.
There’s short-term support at $246.10, with additional support at $226.76 from early January. The 200-day moving average is trending upward from $195.96.
Over the past week, the 2018 consensus EPS estimate of $6.92 has risen 63 cents, while the 2019 consensus is up 82 cents to $8.25.
Arista shares are down 20% from the all-time high of $311.67 reached on February 15.
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| Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 10:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Dougherty Bullish on Palo Alto |
Dougherty & Co. is bullish on Palo Alto Networks (PANW, $165.97) ahead of Monday’s FQ2 (Jan.) earnings report.
The firm reiterates its price target of $180, saying checks with resellers indicate the company experienced a solid FQ2 performance, driven by strong subscription and firewall sales.
Palo Alto shares this morning hit a new 52-week high at $167.19.
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| Wednesday, February 21, 2018, 9:44 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Citi Ups Salesforce Target to $130 |
Citi raises its Salesforce (CRM, $114.78) price target to $130 from $124, saying the company had a strong finish to FY’18 (Jan.), highlighted by a healthy spending environment and strong large-deal activity.
Salesforce reports FQ4 results on February 28.
The stock this morning hit a new all-time high at $115.67.
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| Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 10:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| UBS Upgrades CyberArk |
UBS upgrades CyberArk Software (CYBR, $48.58), a provider of privileged account security solutions, to ‘Buy’ and raises its price target to $58 from $50 following the release of better than expected Q4 results.
Revenue of $80.4 million beat the consensus estimate of $75.6 million, with growth of 25% accelerating from +18% in Q3 and +14% in Q2. License revenue growth in Q4 accelerated to 19% from just 7.5% in Q3.
The firm sees a 2-1 risk/reward balance on the stock over the next 12 months, noting that the absolute valuation is at two-year trough levels.
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| Tuesday, February 20, 2018, 9:57 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Credit Suisse Lifts Salesforce Target |
Credit Suisse lifts its Salesforce (CRM, $113.15) price target to $130 from $120 ahead of the release of FQ4 results, saying its partner checks indicate a strong finish to FY’18. The firm looks for continued momentum into FY’19.
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| Friday, February 16, 2018, 10:18 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Twilio Shares Surge |
Twilio (TWLO, $32.82) shares so far this week have surged 33%, powered by a strong Q4 earnings report.
The 52-week high of $34.74 was reached last August.
Twilio is a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Small-Cal Portfolio, added in January 2017 at $27.56.
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| Friday, February 16, 2018, 10:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| New Relic Hits New All-Time High |
Shares of New Relic (NEWR, $70.43) this morning traded to a new all-time high at $70.67.
Since we added New Relic, a provider of cloud-based application & infrastructure performance monitoring solutions, to the Tech-Stock Prospector Small-Cap Portfolio in May 2016 at $26.29, the stock is up 167%.
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| Thursday, February 15, 2018, 10:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| A New High for Splunk |
Splunk (SPLK, $94.21) shares this morning hit a new 52-week high at $94.28. The stock has rebounded 14% from last week’s low of $82.63.
In February 2014, Splunk shares hit their all-time high of $106.15. The all-time high close stands at $95.50.
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| Thursday, February 15, 2018, 9:51 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Jefferies Upgrades Salesforce |
Jefferies upgrades Salesforce (CRM, $111.83) to ‘Buy’ and lifts its price target to $132 from $97, saying recent partner checks indicate continued strong enterprise traction, along with well-improved commercial segment momentum.
The firm says Salesforce is benefiting from moderating competition from Microsoft.
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| Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 9:53 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Needham Bullish on Okta |
Needham starts Okta (OKTA, $32.38) at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $38, calling the company’s cloud-based ID management system a foundational security technology.
The firm looks for Okta to extend its lead over competitors by offering scale, always-on capability and ease of use that eclipse any other alternatives.
Okta went public in April 2017 at $17, with the opening trade at $23.75. The post-IPO high of $33.64 was reached in September.
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| Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 9:41 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Wedbush Lifts Splunk Target |
Wedbush raises its Splunk (SPLK, $89.07) price target to $94 from $78 following positive partner checks that point to continued strong demand for the company’s core machine data analytics solutions.
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| Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 9:23 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| MKM Partners Bullish on Facebook |
MKM Partners raises its Facebook (FB, $173.15) 2018 EPS estimate to $7.40 (from $7.05), above the consensus estimate of $7.27.
The firm reiterates its price target of $240, saying the recent pullback has made the stock “highly attractive.”
MKM believes the downside has been overdone, caused by investors debating the impact of an expected decline in engagement. The firm thinks forecasts calling for aggressive revenue growth deceleration are too cautious.
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| Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 10:25 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| KeyBanc Upgrades Paycom |
KeyBanc upgrades Paycom Software (PAYC, $86.46) to ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $105, saying the company’s proven direct sales strategy in the HCM market can sustain 20%+ revenue growth via share gains irrespective of economic cycles.
The firm is bullish on Paycom’s efficient operating model, with greater than 40% EBITDA margin.
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| Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 9:38 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| RBC Capital Ups Arista PT to $310 |
RBC Capital raises its Arista Networks (ANET, $288.46) price target to $310 from $234 based on continued market share gains in the datacenter switch segment.
The firm says recent weakness at Juniper Networks (JNPR) suggests a share shift to Arista. RBC also sees Arista building up its business in the Hyperscale sector at the expense of Cisco Systems (CSCO).
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| Monday, February 12, 2018, 10:32 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Apple |
Apple (AAPL, $159.22) shares are struggling to hold above the 200-day moving average at $158.66 after rebounding from the last week’s low of $150.24.
There’s short-term resistance in the $163 to $164 range.
The 50-day moving average is now trending downward from $170.17.
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| Monday, February 12, 2018, 9:26 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Wedbush Boosts Shopify Target |
Wedbush lifts its Shopify (SHOP, $119.55) price target to $140 from $120, saying the company is well-positioned to benefit from a long growth runway supported by a significant and under-penetrated TAM. The firm also calls out solid execution by Shopify’s high-caliber management team.
Shopify providers a cloud-based e-commerce platform for small and midsize businesses.
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| Friday, February 9, 2018, 11:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Baird Bullish on Amazon Logistics |
Baird reiterates its Amazon (AMZN, $1,328) price target of $1,600, citing a new WSJ report that the company is expanding its shipping and delivery services beginning in Los Angeles.
The firm continues to see transportation & logistics emerging longer term as another meaningful revenue business for Amazon. Baird notes that with just 1% of the market, the company could create a new $5-billion revenue stream.
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| Friday, February 9, 2018, 10:54 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| BofA/Merrill Ups NVIDIA PT to $300 |
NVIDIA (NVDA, $224.41) last night reported FQ4 (Jan.) EPS of $1.72, 40 cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $2.91 billion, vs. the consensus of $2.67 billion.
For FQ1, the company expects revenue of $2.84 billion to $2.96, above the consensus of $2.47 billion.
BofA/Merrill raises its NVDA price target to $300 from $275, saying it now sees long-term EPS power in calendar 2020 approaching $12, vs. its previous forecast of $10 a share. The firm notes that only 26% of U.S. active fund managers own the stock.
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| Thursday, February 8, 2018, 10:16 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Alphabet |
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL, $1,055) remain below the 50-day moving average at $1,093, but are holding above the 200-day moving average at $1,002. There is also support at $1,002 from early December.
The stock is down 11.9% from the all-time high of $1,198 reached on January 29.
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| Thursday, February 8, 2018, 9:51 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| MKM Partners Ups Akamai PT to $84 |
MKM Partners raises its Akamai Technologies (AKAM, $64.45) price target to $84 from $65, noting Q4 upside in cloud security and Web performance products.
The firm also likes the company’s 5% headcount reduction and overall cost restructuring.
MKM looks for the investment in enterprise security products to ramp this year, with meaningful top-line contribution expected in 2019.
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| Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 10:08 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| RBC Capital Ups Akamai PT to $70 |
RBC Capital lifts its Akamai Technologies (AKAM, $67.43) price target to $70 from $55 following the company’s Q4 earnings beat (EPS of 69 cents topped the consensus by six cents on revenue of $663.5 million, vs. the consensus of $649.1 million) and better than expected Q1 outlook (EPS of 67 cents to 70 cents, vs. the consensus of 61 cents).
The firm says Akamai’s 2018 bottom-line outlook (EPS of $2.90 to $3.00, vs. the consensus of $2.64) shows improved profitability despite recent acquisitions, as the company accelerates upside in its key growth segments such as security.
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| Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 9:57 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Goldman Bullish on Arista Networks |
Goldman Sachs initiates Arista Networks (ANET, $277) at ‘Conviction Buy’ with a price target of $320, saying the stock’s premium valuation is supported by strong secular growth in the 100G+ datacenter switching market and solid execution.
For 2018, analysts on average expect Arista revenue to expand 27.7% to $2.1 billion.
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| Monday, February 5, 2018, 10:35 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Argus Boosts Alphabet PT to $1,300 |
Argus ups its Alphabet (GOOGL, $1,110) price target to $1,300 from $1,220, calling out strong growth in mobile search as well as at the company’s next-generation businesses (YouTube, Google Cloud Platform and Play). The firm believes Alphabet is successfully navigating the desktop-to-mobile paradigm shift.
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| Monday, February 5, 2018, 10:14 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Nomura Lifts Amazon Target to $1,700 |
Nomura Instinet raises its Amazon (AMZN, $1,438) price target to $1,700 from $1,360 based on strong fundamentals (including U.S. e-commerce revenue acceleration, Prime expansion overseas and growth momentum at AWS) that signal positive future margin trajectory and profitability.
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| Friday, February 2, 2018, 12:41 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Tableau Shares Pop 10% |
Shares of Tableau Software (DATA, $85.25) today are up more than 10% following last night’s solid Q4 report.
The provider of data analytics solutions reported revenue of $249.4 million, above the consensus estimate of $240.7 million. Per-share earnings of 12 cents topped the consensus by nine cents.
For Q1, Tableau sees revenue of $212 million to $222 million, vs. the consensus of $214.1 million.
Tableau shares today hit a new 52-week high at $86.55.
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| Friday, February 2, 2018, 11:40 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Apple |
Apple (AAPL, $162.93) shares continue to show short-term weakness. The RSI is now in oversold territory at 27.8.
With the stock firmly below the 50-day moving average of $172.69, the next key technical level to watch is the 200-day moving average, which is trending upward from $158.81.
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| Thursday, February 1, 2018, 11:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| A New High for ServiceNow |
ServiceNow (NOW, $154.96) last night reported Q4 revenue rose 42%, acceleration from growth of 39% in Q3 and 38% in Q2.
Subscription revenue rose 44% to $497 million, above the high end of the guidance range of $485 million to $490 million.
UBS lifts its ServiceNow price target to $180 from $168 based on better than expected subscription growth, operating margin and free cash flow margin.
ServiceNow shares this morning hit a new all-time high at $156.54.
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| Thursday, February 1, 2018, 10:14 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Facebook Hits New High on Q4 Results |
Facebook (FB, $192.04) shares this morning are up more than 2% following the release last night of above-consensus Q4 results. Total revenue rose 47%, driven by 48% growth in ad revenue.
BofA/Merrill raises its Facebook price target to $265 from $230, saying Q4 results and management commentary indicate the company’s financial trajectory is on an even stronger path thanks to new ad formats, Instagram momentum, improvements in ad targeting and Messenger monetization.
Morgan Stanley thinks Facebook is still early in its monetization story and remains in control of the pace of its monetization. The firm raises its price target to $230 from $215.
In early trading, Facebook shares hit a new all-time high at $192.24.
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