Barclays 'cautious' on Twilio, more positive on Hubspot, others ahead of Q2 results
jaanalisette
Ahead of the start of second-quarter earnings season, investment firm Barclays previewed investor sentiment on several software stocks, noting it is "cautious" on Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) and more constructive on Hubspot (NYSE:HUBS).
Analyst Ryan MacWilliams - who has an equal-weight rating on Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM), Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM), Twilio (TWLO) and Hubspot (HUBS) and an overweight rating on Five9 (FIVN) - said the group is seeing mixed sentiment, with some viewed more favorably than others.
For Atlassian (TEAM), MacWilliams said there is a "debate" as server end-of-life is driving uncertainty for fiscal 2024. 
"We think shares could be lower if TEAM guides Cloud rev. on a quarterly basis (given migration unpredictability) even with a FY24 total rev. growth guide of ~20% (in-line with Street)," MacWilliams wrote, adding the caveat that earnings could serve as a "clearing event" for investors.
For Twilio (TWLO), MacWilliams said it could be a better buy into the results, but the firm is "cautious" on company-specific headwinds. Comparisons for the third-quarter from 2022 present an easier guide, MacWilliams added.
Five9 (FIVN) is seen as "well positioned" as contact-center-as-a-service checks continue to be positive and the pipeline for large enterprise deals is "robust."
Zoom (ZM) is starting to look more attractive to Barclays, though MacWilliams conceded that investors are having a hard time getting positive on the stock.
"We think a possible ZM catalyst could be the reinstatement of its buyback, and we think enterprise sales efficiency could improve under new leadership," MacWilliams wrote.
Hubspot (HUBS) continues to see "strong" sentiment, as the recent NFIB Small Business Optimism Index showed an uptick in the health and optimism for small and medium-sized businesses, a positive read-through for Hubspot, the analyst said.
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