Benzinga - by Melanie Schaffer, Benzinga Editor.
Visa, Inc (NYSE: V) was trading mostly flat Thursday as the company heads into its quarterly report after the close.
When Visa printed a fourth-quarter earnings beat on Oct. 24, 2023, the stock was volatile the following day but closed up 0.94% before declining about 3% over the subsequent two trading days.
For that quarter, Visa reported quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share on sales of $8.61 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.24 and the $8.55-billion sales estimate.
For the first quarter, analysts, on average, estimate Visa will report earnings per share of $2.34 on revenues of $8.54 billion.
Ahead of the event, Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev maintained a Neutral rating on Visa and raised the price target from $243 to $265. Read More Here...
From a technical analysis perspective, Visa’s stock looks bullish heading into the event, trading in an uptrend and forming a possible bull flag pattern on the daily chart. It should be noted that holding stocks or options over an earnings print is akin to gambling because stocks can react bullishly to an earnings miss and bearishly to an earnings beat.
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The Visa Chart: Visa’s bull flag pattern was formed between Jan. 3 and Thursday, with the upward-sloping pole created between Jan. 3 and Jan. 22 and the flag forming since. The measured move, if the pattern is recognized, is about 6%, suggesting Visa could be headed toward a new all-time high of $286.
- The stock is also trading in a steep and confirmed uptrend, with the most recent higher high formed on Wednesday at $272.46 and the most recent lower low printed at the $269.91 mark the day prior. The consolidation slightly lower on Thursday may form the next higher low within the uptrend if Visa reacts positively to its earnings print.
- Bullish traders want to see Visa receive a bullish reaction to its earnings and for the stock to burst above Wednesday’s high-of-day on higher-than-average volume.
- Bearish traders want to see the stock suffer a negative reaction to the news, which could cause Visa to fall under the eight-day exponential moving average and consequently, negate the bull flag.
- Visa has resistance above at $272.86 and at the psychologically important $280 mark. The stock has support below at $261.20 and at $250.36.
Read Next: Visa Vs. Mastercard: Which Stock Offers More Upside?
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