Instagram's Video Push Highlights Why Twitter (TWTR) Stock Is A Strong Buy

Shares of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) hit a new all-time high on Wednesday after the company’s photo-sharing app Instagram rolled out a new long-form video feature. The move helps demonstrate just how important video has become, and shows why fellow social media firm Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) looks like a strong buy stock at the moment on the back of its own live video push.

Instagram launched its new IGTV yesterday that allows users to upload hour-long video content, up from its previous one-minute limit, in a move that seems aimed at taking on the likes of Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube and Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP) . But while investors decide if they are ready to jump back into Facebook stock, despite its recent data scandal woes, it’s worth diving into why Twitter stock is worth buying (also read: Should You Buy Facebook Stock At New All-Time High? ).

Live Video

Twitter grew its daily active user base by 10% in Q1, while its monthly active user base climbed by 3% to reach 336 million. Now while these user figures don’t come close to matching Facebook or Instagram, the company’s video-based initiatives are in full-force and benefit from every added user.

Twitter streamed more than 1,300 live broadcasts last quarter and also announced that it signed more than 30 new partnerships, including deals with the likes of Fox Sports (NASDAQ:FOXA) , NBCUniversal (NASDAQ:CMCSA) , Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) , and Disney (NYSE:DIS) —featuring a ton of ESPN programming and a FIFA World Cup partnership.

Twitter’s push into streaming sports, which is one of the last things people need to watch live, is also expected to pay off. The company now has partnerships with MLS and MLB for live games, after experimenting with the NFL’s Thursday Night Football.

The key here is that live video attracts more advertisers, and like Facebook, Twitter makes most of its money from advertising. The company’s advertising sales—which accounted for roughly 86% of Twitter’s $665 million total Q1 revenues—climbed 21% from $474 million in the year-ago period to $575 million. Meanwhile, the social media company’s international ad revenue surged 52%.

Price Movement

Moving on, some investors might be shocked to see that the previously struggling social media company has seen its stock price skyrocket over the last year. Coming in Thursday, shares of Twitter had soared nearly 151% over the last year, which not only crushes the S&P 500’s 14% climb but also tops Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) 74% surge.

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Narrowing the focus, TWTR has climbed roughly 46% over the last three months, which tops Netflix’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) 36% growth. Investors should also remember that despite Twitter’s strong year-long run, the company is still well below its all-time high that it reached shortly going public in 2013. This means it might have an easier time keeping its current streak alive, especially considering it is expected to expand its bottom line significantly.

Outlook

Twitter is expected to see its adjusted Q2 earnings skyrocket 112.5% to touch $0.17 per share, based on our current Zacks Consensus Estimates. The company’s fiscal 2018 earnings are projected to soar by 70.5% to reach $0.75 per share.

Investors should also note that Twitter has received 11 earnings estimate revisions for Q2, with 100% agreement to the upside, all within the last 60 days. Meanwhile, during this same time frame, Twitter earned 14 upward revisions for fiscal 2018, with almost 100% agreement.

The company, which had struggled to grow its top line, is projected to see its Q2 revenues pop by nearly 22% to hit $698.93 million. For the current fiscal year, Twitter revenues are projected to hit $2.93 billion, which would mark a roughly 20% surge.

Bottom Line

Twitter is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and sports an “A” grade for Growth in our Style Scores system. The company is also expected to expand its EPS figure at an annualized rate of 23.1% over the next three to five years. Therefore, Twitter stock might be worth considering at the moment.

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Zacks Investment Research

Written By: Zacks Investment Research