Twilio Analysts Hike Price Targets As Cloud Company Reports Beat-And-Raise Quarter During Pandemic

Twilio Inc TWLO, a cloud communications platform-as-a-service company, reported stellar first-quarter results Wednesday, sending its shares higher into record territory.

The Twilio Analysts

Wells Fargo Securities analyst Michael Turrin maintained an Overweight rating on Twilio shares and lifted the price target from $140 to $175.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Alex Zukin reiterated an Outperform rating and increased the price target from $140 to $180.

Rosenblatt Securities analyst Ryan Koontz maintained a Neutral rating and hiked the price target from $80 to $150.

Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall maintained an Overweight rating and increased the price target from $125 to $160.

We Remain Big Fans of The Twilio Story, Wells Fargo Says

Twilio's results show the puts are much stronger than the takes, given commentary around increasing overall usage and emerging use cases around telehealth, remote contact center, mass notification and distance learning, Wells Fargo analyst Turrin said in a Thursday note. 

The analyst also noted a much more diversified business model than in years past, with less than 10% exposure to travel, hospitality and ride share.

"We remain big fans of the Twilio story given the innovative, extensible nature of the company's underlying platform."

Even after the post-earnings pop, the rest of the year presents a "favorable setup for TWLO shares" as 2H comps ease and the world of communications steps through a significant transformation, according to Wells Fargo. 

See also: 10 Software Top Picks For 2020: Do You Own Them?

New Use Cases Set The Company Up For Longer, Durable Growth, RBC Says

Twilio's 57% year-over-year revenue growth and strong earnings reflected a net benefit from accelerating digital transformation trends, RBC analyst Zukin said in a Thursday note. 

New customer signings rose 25% over the first the first 11 weeks in the second quarter, the analyst said.

New use cases in education, retail and health care set the company up for longer durable growth, he said. 

Within the impacted industries, Zukin sees scope for a meaningful rebound given the low current volumes.

"We get the sense that the company is enthusiastic about incremental growth in the healthcare vertical and sees the potential for Video APIs being a long-term growth driver."

RBC said it continues to see upside to Twilio numbers, with its upside scenario calling for 42% growth in calendar year 2020 and 34% growth in 2021.

RBC Says Its Long-term Positive Outlook For CPaaS Segement Is Enhanced

Twilio's net expansion rate of 143% in the first quarter alleviated concerns, as the company's SendGrid acquisition clearly delivered customer revenue synergies, Rosenblatt analyst Koontz said in a Thursday note.

As opposed to Rosenblatt's expectation that Twilio would suffer from a COVID-19-driven consumer spending slowdown, the company saw a surge in revenues across the board, the analyst said.

He attributed the strong showing to customers increasingly depending on Twilio to maintain customer engagement through digital channels.

The company affirmed and doubled down on its plan to increase fiscal year 2020 spending in sales and marketing, IT infrastructure and lower cost R&D expansion, Koontz said.

These, according to the company, are critical to achieve significant scale and improve their competitive position, the analyst said. 

"Our long-term positive outlook for the Communication Platform-as-a-service, or CPaaS, segment is only further enhanced by these results."

Morgan Stanley Encouraged By Expansion In Twilio's Opportunity Set

The value proposition of CPaaS shined through in Twilio's quarter, Morgan Stanley analyst Marshall said.

Twilio is a share gainer in a high-growth market, the analyst said. 

Despite Twilio's high-single-digit exposure to travel/hospitality/ride, the benefits of CPaaS more than made up for this, as other verticals had increased needs for communication solutions, according to Morgan Stanley. 

"While company is more uncertain on how their vertical mix impacts revenue in the 2H as travel resumes and workers return to work, we were encouraged by expansion of TWLO's opportunity set."

TWLO Price Action

At last check, Twilio shares were soaring 35.95% to $166.42.

Related Link: Morgan Stanley Sifts Through Software Sector, Flags 'Picks