How Cowen Analysts Nailed Twitter and Glu Mobile

After the markets sizeable almost 6% sell off, investors were glad to see some buying and calm come back into the markets. The Emerging Markets (EM) have given cause for concern, economic numbers were poor, and some earnings reports cast doubt on the equity bull market being tired. Two back-to-back days have helped. Some incredible calls at Cowen on the long and the short side paid off huge.

Glu Mobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLUU) is their top pick in gaming, and a small cap stock investors dream with a tiny $304 million market cap. The company absolutely blew out their earnings when they reported and the stock jumped almost 30% Thursday after the freemium mobile game specialist delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and forward guidance. Revenue for the quarter was adjusted and rose 62% year over year to $42.8 million, which translated to adjusted net income of $0.07 per share, compared to a $0.05 per-share loss in the same year-ago period. Meanwhile, analysts were only looking for a breakeven quarter on sales of $32.2 million.

The Cowen team was WAY early to this top trade. In fact they made it one of their top media and gaming ideas back in December. Other firms have now dog-piled this trade, but the Cowen team was one of the few companies we found making the big play call last year. They still rate the stock a strong buy, it is still one of their top picks and have upped their price target to $6. The Thomson/First Call estimate has also jumped to $5.80. Glu Mobile were trading at $5.05 in late-Friday trading.

Twitter, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTR) was battered after earnings, and if the Cowen team continues to stay right, there is more pain to come. The company put an initial sell on the stock in January when they initiated and have never looked back. While most companies were somewhat bullish, especially the underwriters, the Cowen analyst were skeptics from the get-go. While acknowledging the value of the brand they simply could not buy the huge valuation, and they were right. They pointed out the challenges around user metrics in the fourth quarter were likely to raise more questions around whether Twitter can become a truly mainstream product. They also think overall engagement concerns are likely to overshadow monetization strength in the near term.

Bottom line? Cowen made an a very bold call and smacked the ball out of the park on Twitter. The Cowen price target for the stock is an incredibly low $32. The consensus is at $49.83, and Twitter shares were around $53.20 in Friday afternoon trading.

At 24/7 Wall Street we keep a close eye on our research database to see who is making the calls that are making the money for investors. Firms like Cowen are more boutique in nature, and often come up with big winners on the long and short side for investors. That is where top-notch research pays off. They sure proved it on these two top trades.