Trading Nation

Twitter has lost a third of value since June high, but one technician is buying the dip  

Trading Nation: Twitter's wings clipped
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Trading Nation: Twitter's wings clipped

Twitter shares have lost altitude.

The social network has been in a tailspin since the summer, losing more than one-third of value after hitting 52-week highs in June.

One technical analyst foresees a bounce.

"I actually am pretty constructive on Twitter at current levels," Mark Newton, technical analyst at Newton Advisors, told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Thursday. "The stock is down about 35 percent since June. However, this followed a time when the stock almost tripled in price last year, and so it's actually been consolidating a bit."

Twitter advanced more than 47 percent in 2017, its best year since going public in 2013. Even with its autumn lull, its shares are up 30 percent for 2018.

"I'm a buyer of the stock on pullbacks. Ideally right down there at $28 to $28.50 for me is a good level but I would start really nibbling on a 4 percent move," he said.

A 4 percent pullback from the current price above $31 would take Twitter shares down to around $30, a level it has not broken below since October. A drop to $28 would mark an 11 percent decline.

"I like it technically and I'm buying with the expectation that it's going to rally back to the mid- to high $30s," added Newton.

But Erin Gibbs, portfolio manager at S&P Global Market Intelligence, says there are no signs a bottom is in for Twitter yet.

"When you look at these valuations, there's a lot of room for them to drop and they've been dropping for over 18 months on a valuation basis as their profit growth slows further and further. Combine that with negative news and I really don't see a stop just yet for the drop in the stock," Gibbs said on "Trading Nation" on Thursday.

Twitter currently trades at 36 times forward earnings, down from its peak of nearly 60 times in June. It has an elevated valuation compared with the 17 times multiple on the XLC communications services ETF.

"It's trading pretty close to its target price so there's definitely room for it to drop further, and in general just growth momentum stocks are out of favor right now," Gibbs added.

Gibbs says she prefers Facebook or InterActive Corp over Twitter as a way to play the interactive media space.

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