For a bull trend to perpetuate it occasionally needs to climb a wall of worry. Bearish investors are always on the lookout for a theme that will provide them with an opportunity to short a stock or sector. If prices rise, investors who shorted-shares will need to cover, perpetuating the bull-trend rally. This concept has recently played out when it comes to large-tech and communication stocks which have seen their stock prices temporarily decline as regulatory scrutiny has become the next wall of worry.
Congress is Always Looking to Flex in Muscles
Congress always needs a whipping boy. Social media outlets continue to be the target of congressional frustration and more recently have been drawing the ire of several oversight committees. Most recently, Facebook and Google have been accused of engaging in anti-competitive, monopoly-style tactics. The House of Representations antitrust panel found during a 16-month investigation that these two companies relied on dubious, harmful tactics to achieve their dominance in web search and social networking. The Department of Justice announced on October 20, that it will file an antitrust lawsuit against Google.
Social media platforms, like Facebook, and Snapchat, have repeatedly found themselves in the United States government’s crosshairs as their power has continued to grow since the 2016 elections. Social media companies have no designated oversight authority that regulates their activities. If these companies get slapped with new rules, regulations, and fines it could trigger a broad market selloff for stocks. This fear has recently been priced into some of the more attractive large-cap tech shares which have provided an excellent buying-point within a long-term bull trend.
Buying Opportunity in Snapchat
Snap Inc, is an American company and maintains several products and services, namely Snapchat, Spectacles, and Bitmoji. The share price is in the midst of a bull trend but recently pulled-back into oversold-territory as the wall of worry gained traction. SNAP is scheduled to release quarterly earnings results after the closing bell on October 20, 2020. The social media concern is expected to report earnings per share of $-0.05 versus $-0.04 a year ago, on revenue of $549 million. Analyst estimates of SNAP’s earnings have remained unchanged over the past 30-days, and the company is expected to begin turning a profit in 2021.
From a technical analysis perspective, SNAP share price is in a strong uptrend as seen on the combo chart of the 30-minutes and daily chart provided. I see SNAP with potential measured move using a Fibonacci extension to reach $39 per share before the year-end.
Notice the oversold zone on the SNAP chart shaded lime green. That is the first oversold pullback after a new trend takes place. The 30-minute price chart saw both an RSI below 30 and a fast stochastic below 20, which is an ideal low-risk entry point. The daily chart of SNAP also shows that the share price is fast approaching its all-time high which occurred right after its IPO. A break of this level will lead to an acceleration in price to its target Fibonacci level near $39 per share.
Netflix Has its First Oversold Pullback in a Fresh New Uptrend
I believe that Netflix’s business model of providing subscriptions to streaming entertainment is benefitting substantially from COVID-19. The company is scheduled to report financial results after the bell on October 20, 2020. The company is expected to deliver earnings per share of $2.13 versus $1.47 per share a year ago. Revenue is forecasted to rise to $6.38 billion. The average earnings per share estimate have climbed slightly more than 1% during the last 7-days. Growth estimates are expected to expand by nearly 45%. Global subscriptions are forecast to rise sharply higher as the U.S. unemployment rate surged and more people were stuck at home during the pandemic.
The technical picture shows that NFLX recently dipped as the wall of worry drove prices down temporarily. NFLX is in a fresh new uptrend and just had its first oversold zone pullback. The 30-minute chart reflects a decline where the fast stochastic printed a reading below 20 representing an oversold situation. A breakout of the tight range capped by resistance near $560 a share will lead to a test of target resistance with an upside Fibonacci target of $742.
The Bottom Line
For stock prices to continue to rally they generally need to take a pause. During these pauses, new information can arise that allows bearish investors to short these stocks generating a wall of worry. For me, this represents an excellent opportunity to purchases shares especially during their first dip in a fresh uptrend. Both SNAP and NFLX have experienced recent dips, generated by the wall-of-worry associated with new potential congressional oversight concerning antitrust regulations.
Both NFLX and SNAP are scheduled to deliver financial results after the closing bell on October 20. Both stocks have exhibited behaviors that show that the bull-trend is intact and I expect the price to continue to target higher Fibonacci target levels as these stocks continue to climb the wall-of-worry.
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Chris Vermeulen
Chief Market Strategist
www.TheTechnicalTraders.com
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