Twilio helps companies communicate with their customers.
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Software company
Twilio
was up almost 15% in premarket trading Thursday after announcing a stock buyback program days after proposing job cuts.
Shares gained 14.7% at $75.75. They’re still down more than 60% in the past year.
Twilio (ticker: TWLO) said it would buy back $1 billion in shares, the first such move in more than four years. It will buy $500 million in stock in the next six months, and CEO Jeff Lawson will personally buy $10 million worth of shares as soon as his next trading window opens.
On Monday, the company said it would lay off about 17% of its workforce and to pursue further cost cuts. It reported a fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday but also said it would turn a profit in the first quarter that would be higher than analysts’ expectations.
Twilio provides tools to help companies communicate with customers via messaging, email, voice, and video.
Analysts at KeyBanc raised their price target for the shares to $89, and they rate them Overweight.
RBC Capital Markets also upgraded the stock’s rating, but gives it a “sector perform” grade with a target of $75.
“We were encouraged by management’s emphasis on driving margin improvement,” said RBC analysts led by Rishi Jaluria. “On the other hand, we believe Twilio has a long path to a turnaround.”
Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
Credit: marketwatch.com