Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) Shares Gap Up to $37.99

Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR – Get Rating) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.99, but opened at $38.92. Twitter shares last traded at $37.87, with a volume of 161,444 shares changing hands.

TWTR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of Twitter from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 5th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Twitter from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 26th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Twitter in a research note on Friday, March 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Twitter from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Twitter from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $54.20 in a research report on Tuesday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.45.

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 6.58 and a current ratio of 6.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a PE ratio of 162.88 and a beta of 0.58.

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 28th. The social networking company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.96. Twitter had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 3.77%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Twitter, Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, major shareholder H R. H. Prince Alwaleed Bin Saud acquired 490,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.73 per share, for a total transaction of $19,957,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,590,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,933,876.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce Falck sold 20,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.89, for a total transaction of $981,173.41. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 346,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,926,206.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 553,231 shares of company stock worth $21,200,076 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Twitter by 70.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,085 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 14,951 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Twitter by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,785 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al acquired a new stake in shares of Twitter in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,004,000. NorthCoast Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Twitter by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCoast Asset Management LLC now owns 10,412 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Twitter by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 37,683 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 16,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.72% of the company’s stock.

Twitter Company Profile (NYSE:TWTR)

Twitter, Inc operates as a platform for public self-expression and conversation in real-time. The company's primary product is Twitter, a platform that allows users to consume, create, distribute, and discover content. It also provides promoted products that enable advertisers to promote brands, products, and services, as well as enable advertisers to target an audience based on various factors, including who an account follows and actions taken on its platform, such as Tweets created and engagement with Tweets.

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