MKM Partners also reiterated its "buy" rating on the social media name
Shares of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) are up 2.6% to trade at $44.95, after Goldman Sachs lifted its price target on the social media stock to $55 from $40 -- a more than 25% premium to last night's close at $43.87. The brokerage firm said the company's efforts to delete fake accounts are "contributing to incremental ad dollars flowing onto the platform."
This outlook was echoed by MKM Partners, which reiterated its "buy" rating on TWTR stock, saying getting rid of "bad actors" and rampant bot use on the network is a good thing. The analyst in coverage also suggested this could improve Twitter's handle on artificial intelligence, and have "game-changing potential" for the user experience.
Looking closer at the charts, Twitter initially sold off earlier this week on news of the account scrub, but found a foothold in the $42-$43 range -- home to its mid-June bull gap and rising 30-day moving average. Despite the recent dip, the shares have been rallying hard over the past year, up 128% in the last 12 months. What's more, the stock recently flashed a buy signal.
There's plenty of skepticism to be unwound, too, which could fuel more upside for TWTR stock. And those wanting to bet on more upside for the shares may want to consider doing so with options. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 46% ranks in the 20th percentile of its annual range, meaning short-term options are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.
What's more, Twitter stock has consistently rewarded premium buyers over the past year. This is based on its elevated Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) reading of 97 (out of a possible 100), which indicates the equity's has tended to make outsized moves compared to what the options market was expecting.