Intuit Sits At Key Support Ahead of Today’s Earnings

Intuit (INTU) will report earnings after today’s closing bell, as shares sit near a potentially precarious tipping point to the downside. This earnings event marks the end of a difficult three weeks for the financial software company, as shares fell more than 14% from their all-time highs of 813.70. The stock closed near its relative lows from Aug. 12 around 699, but also coincides with a significant old high from November that had not been tested until recently. Shares are holding the line for now, but earnings could be a major catalyst for movement.

Analysts are looking for adjusted earnings per share of $2.65 vs. $1.99 last year (+33.1%) and for revenue of $3.74B against last year’s sales of $3.18B (+17.6%), according to Zacks. The Street seems to have a more bullish outlook for Intuit, which owns TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, Mint, and MailChimp. Out of 22 analysts, all but one rated INTU as Bullish to Somewhat Bullish with one Indifferent ranking according to Benzinga. Meanwhile, Citigroup on Aug. 15 boosted its price target to $815 from $789 and maintained its buy rating.

From a technical perspective, the recent price activity forms a range of about 702 to 715, which also matches up with a smaller volume node according to the yearly Volume Profile study. The 715 level marks not only that previously discussed old highs from November, but also the low point after gap up that formed after last quarter’s earnings, so this could be a key point for the bulls to hold. Examining the options market, the expected move for the Aug. 22 weekly options comes to about 38, suggesting a potential range of roughly 661 to 737, or about 5.4% move for traders to ponder.