Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $109.82, but opened at $113.17. Twilio shares last traded at $111.80, with a volume of 279,631 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Twilio from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Twilio from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Twilio from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Twilio from $74.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Twilio from $77.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Twilio has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.61.

Twilio Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $103.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of -43.14, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Khozema Shipchandler sold 10,834 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.58, for a total value of $1,230,525.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 244,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,823,806.18. This trade represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Aidan Viggiano sold 6,552 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.55, for a total transaction of $743,979.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 153,910 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,476,480.50. This represents a 4.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,527 shares of company stock valued at $2,844,655 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Twilio

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Twilio by 21.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,431 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 4,753 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Twilio by 0.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,511 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Twilio by 8.7% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 38,105 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 3,040 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Twilio during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,316,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Twilio by 543.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 43,554 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 36,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.27% of the company's stock.

About Twilio

Twilio Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides customer engagement platform solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Twilio Communications and Twilio Segment. The company provides various application programming interfaces and software solutions for communications between customers and end users, including messaging, voice, email, flex, marketing campaigns, and user identity and authentication.