In his first Executive Decision segment of Monday's "Mad Money" program, host Jim Cramer spoke with Dillon Lissette, CEO of Utz Brands (UTZ) , the snack food maker that went public last August.
Utz recently announced the acquisition of Truco Enterprises, makers of On The Border tortilla chips. Tortilla chips are the fastest-growing segment of the snack food world, Lissette said, and the acquisition gives Utz a huge boost to what was just 0.3% market share in the category.
Beyond tortilla chips, Lissette was also bullish on the other brands under the Utz umbrella. He said his company's Power Brands were another strong area of opportunity. Utz plans to emphasize digital and social media to target younger consumers.
We wrote briefly about Utz back on July 31 shortly before it went public. Let's check and see if we have an appetite for the charts now.
In this daily Japanese candlestick chart of UTZ, below, we see a mixed picture from limited price history. Prices rallied from August into early September and found some profit taking around $18.50-$19.00. UTZ then traded sideways for about two months before seeing fresh gains and a new high as the minor resistance in the $18.50-$19.00 area was overcome. The trading volume dried up in the sideways price action but has increased this month as prices have rallied. The On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line has made a new high for the move up to confirm the price gains so far this month. The 12-day is not showing us a bearish divergence.
In this daily Point and Figure chart of UTZ, below, we can see the history of trading. The top end of potential support should be $18.50. The $23 area would be my calculation of a price target.
Bottom line strategy: Remembering that we do not have much price history to work with and rely on, aggressive traders could probe the long side of UTZ risking to $17.00
