Equities researchers at Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR – Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the social networking company’s stock.
A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TWTR. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Twitter from $80.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 11th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Twitter from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Twitter in a research note on Tuesday, November 30th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Twitter in a research note on Tuesday, February 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Twitter from $65.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.10.
TWTR stock opened at $35.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.27. Twitter has a 12-month low of $31.30 and a 12-month high of $78.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -148.12 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 10th. The social networking company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.17. Twitter had a negative net margin of 3.77% and a negative return on equity of 3.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Twitter will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.
Twitter announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 10th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the social networking company to purchase up to 14% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
In other Twitter news, CFO Ned D. Segal sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.04, for a total value of $220,200.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Montano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $188,550.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,410 shares of company stock valued at $1,217,767. 2.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TWTR. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Twitter by 756.6% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Twitter in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Twitter in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Twitter by 2,000.0% during the third quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Twitter by 601.3% during the third quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.85% of the company’s stock.
Twitter Company Profile (Get Rating)
Twitter, Inc is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. It provides a network that connects users to people, information, ideas, opinions and news. The company’s services include live commentary, live connections and live conversations. Its application provides social networking services and micro-blogging services through mobile devices and the Internet.