You may have heard of Snapchat (certainly your kids or your younger nieces and nephews have) and its parent company, Snap Inc (SNAP).
The youth-targeted social messaging and live-streaming app IPO'd in 2017, but quickly disappointed investors with a slow decline from its early highs near $28 into the mid-teens (how appropriate, given their demographic).
Well, after a nearly year-long decline, SNAP shares are roaring back in a big way. The stock surged higher this week on its first earnings beat (the company still reported a loss of -13 cents per share) and increased revenue Y-O-Y.
Here is the SNAP chart I shared yesterday on Twitter, with the following note: "There's the high volume, gap up move after earnings. Buyers, Wall St. proving their interest. Powering out of last year's downtrend."
As noted earlier this year on Twitter, I could see a potential new uptrend shaping up in SNAP but my entry into the stock, on the initial trendline break, was just too early. That quick burst of strength faded and I was soon stopped out for a loss.
You know the old saying on Wall Street - "too early is just another way of saying wrong.". Now the stock is providing us with a message, "something has changed!", and the buying interest to go along with it.
If SNAP can hold on to some of its newfound momentum and continue moving higher in the coming weeks, then we may see a real turnaround taking shape. As it stands, the stock is now trading at 6-month highs on strong volume, an encouraging sign.
Now let's take a quick look at today's earnings season standout, Twitter (TWTR).
The company reported its first-ever quarterly profit (finally!) and the stock jumped 25% higher in early morning trading. As of this writing, midday New York time, TWTR is up 17% on the day. If the stock can close above $30, it will mark Twitter's highest closing price since late 2015.
This new uptrend in TWTR is gaining momentum. Here is an updated chart that shows the stock's recent upward progress and its slow climb out of a 2-year downtrend. Note the green uptrend arrows signaling a series of higher highs and higher lows, plus the recent 2-year high.
We don't know which company will ultimately "win" the social media landscape, but we can plainly see by the charts that SNAP and TWTR are signaling that they are back in the game. Only time, and price, will tell if these stocks (not to be confused with their underlying companies) are strong enough to hold their recent gains and continue higher.
Longtime Finance Trends readers have heard me say this about TWTR in prior years:
"...While I have been an avid user of Twitter since 2009, I have never owned the stock. I have owned Facebook shares in the past, despite never having used the service (in fact, I can't stand Facebook).
Why? Because I am a trader who prefers to buy stocks in uptrends. That means I want a stock that will continue to move higher. I want to own stocks that are being bought by professional investors and are increasingly being discovered by the wider investing public..."
TWTR and SNAP are showing us that things have recently changed for the better. Wall Street is starting to bet on these two social media stocks again. That means Facebook (FB) is not the only game in town anymore, so we have to change our minds and act accordingly.
For me, that means I have to be willing to step in and buy SNAP again. Maybe not today or tomorrow morning, but soon, given the proper risk vs. reward setup and a stop loss in place. It means I also have to look at TWTR as a stock to buy instead of a perennial loser. I can manage my risk and get over my hesitation with small initial long positions.
More on that (how to pull the trigger and buy or sell) in a future newsletter!
