What happened
After a multiday slide starting Dec. 22, fuboTV (FUBO -3.57%) shareholders finally caught a break today when the company announced preliminary fourth-quarter earnings that were better than expected this morning. At the same time, the stock also got another bullish analyst note from Needham.
As a result, the suddenly active streaming stock was up 22.4% as of 12:18 p.m. EST.
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So what
Fubo said it now expected fourth-quarter revenue of $94 million-$98 million, up 77%-84% from the year-ago quarter and well above its prior guidance of $80 million-$85 million. Paid subscribers also jumped 72% to 545,000, exceeding guidance at 500,000-510,000 subscribers.
CEO David Gandler said, "fuboTV's strong preliminary fourth quarter 2020 results exceeded what was already expected to be a record year for the company, and demonstrate continued consumer excitement for the company's live TV streaming offering."
Separately, Needham analyst Laura Martin reiterated her buy rating and $60 price target on the stock, saying that the recent sell-off, which knocked off more than 60% of its value in just two weeks, was due to the expiration of an insider lockup period on Dec. 30, which released 88 million shares. Martin believes that the stock has now bottomed out and fundamentals should resume driving the price action.
Now what
Fubo has emerged as a battleground stock in recent weeks as analysts have lined up on both sides of the stock with some calling it an epic short and others seeing it as a long-term disruptor. The company is focused on sports streaming and is aiming to include sports betting in its platform. Online gambling stocks saw huge gains in 2020, and exposure to that sector helped drive Fubo shares as high as $62.29 last month.
Streaming is a highly competitive market, but Fubo's investors include legacy media heavyweights like Disney, ViacomCBS, AMC Networks, and Comcast-owned Sky. Given the high expectations, disruptive potential and heavy short percentage, the stock is likely to remain volatile for the foreseeable future.
