/The%20Twilio%20logo%20on%20a%20smartphone%20screen%20with%20stock%20charts%20in%20the%20background_%20Image%20by%20Piotr%20Swat%20via%20Shutterstock_.jpg)
San Francisco-headquartered Twilio (TWLO) has been in a sharp uptrend this year, but a senior Stifel analyst believes the stock is not out of juice just yet.
On Friday, J. Parker Lane upgraded the cloud communications platform to Buy and raised his price target to $260, indicating potential upside of about 20% from current levels.
At the time of writing, Twilio shares are trading at 2x their price in late February.
Stifel Sees Twilio Stock as an AI Beneficiary
Lane recommends investing in TWLO shares at the current price primarily because the company “has the right tools in place to capitalize on the artificial intelligence (AI) cycle.”
The firm’s aggressive investments in both core competencies and AI offerings position it to “drive durable, long-term growth,” he told clients in a research note today.
As businesses continue to scale intelligent, real-time customer communication ecosystems, Twilio “finds itself in the right place at exactly the right time,” the analyst added.
Note that TWLO has recently soared past its major moving averages (MAs), indicating bulls are now firmly in control across multiple timeframes.
Q2 Earnings Could Drive TWLO Shares Higher
Stifel remains positive on Twilio shares also because the company’s restructuring efforts are broadly expected to improve margins over time.
According to him, its quarterly earnings scheduled for Aug. 6 could prove a near-term catalyst that drives the share price higher. Consensus is for TWLO to report $0.59 in earnings per share (EPS) — up an exciting 40.48% on a year-over-year basis.
Investors should also note that Twilio had roughly $900 million authorized for future buybacks at the end of its fiscal first quarter, which could boost EPS over time and provide additional support for its stock price.
That said, the cloud communications company does not currently pay a dividend.
Wall Street Remains Bullish on Twilio
Other Wall Street analysts seem to agree with Stifel’s constructive view of TWLO stock.
According to Barchart, the consensus rating on Twilio is “Strong Buy,” with price objectives as high as $300, signaling potential upside of nearly 40% over the next 12 months.
On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
/A%20corporate%20sign%20for%20SK%20Hynix%20by%20Tada%20Images%20via%20Adobe%20Stock.jpeg)
/Server%20racks%20by%20dotshock%20via%20Shutterstock.jpg)
/Netflix%20open%20on%20tablet%20by%20rswebsols%20via%20Pixabay.jpg)