The fourth quarterly results of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW) were a combination of positive and negative elements. However, analysts at the FBR Capital gave weighage to the positive side of the story. The research firm upgraded the rating on the shares of the company to ‘outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’. Further, analysts at FBR raised the price target of Monster to $6.80 from $4.50, which represents 24% upside on the company’s previous day closing price.
Read why analyst may see a swing in the momentum for MWW.
Analysts Saw Positive
The research firm cited strong booking trends as a growth driver for the company. Following the FBR thumps up, the shares of Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW) moved higher by nearly 7% to close at $5.48. The global online employment solution service provider had reported its fourth quarter results a day earlier. It posted earnings per share of $0.07, which surpassed the street’s estimates of $0.06 per share. However, the company missed achieving revenues in line with the market consensus as it reported $186.20 million revenues versus the estimate of $192.62 million.
During the earnings release, Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW) reported strong bookings in North America from Enterprise and Staffing accounts. However, its international revenue inched down by 9% during the fourth-quarter. It said that the EBITDA margin of 14% was primarily led by North American Careers segment. The company lost bookings in Europe due to currency fluctuations. Mobile traffic strengthened during the period, showing 27% increase year-over-year, while over 40% of traffic is driven by mobile. The company guided EBITDA margin of 18-22% for 2015 while EPS in the range of $0.05-$0.09.
Diversion From Negative
As investors and analysts were pleased with the company’s performance, Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW) was successfully able to divert the attention away from its cost reduction initiatives. Announced under the head “Reallocate to Accelerate”, the company that helps in gaining employment will take away jobs of 300 of its employees across the globe. Nevertheless, the stock of the company ran in a positive direction, surging by 7% to close $5.48.
Technicals
The year of 2011 didn’t go well for as it dropped from $26 to $6 levels but the bear market took a much more benign form since then. New lows are being registered every year but the comparatively shallow depth suggests bearish exhaustion. Effectively the stock is stuck in the range of $4-$8 and the recent surge in volume along with the price produces the possibility of a retesting of the upper boundary in the coming days.
