Share

Twitter shares sink to historic low

New York - Twitter shares plummeted to their lowest level since the company's November Wall Street debut after the company added fewer new users than expected.

Around midday, shares of the microblogging company were down 10.4% to $38.18 on the New York Stock Exchange, after earlier falling to $37.24, its lowest price since its November 7, 2013 introduction on Wall Street.

Though still above its initial public offering price of $26, Twitter has lost more than half its value since peaking at $73.31 in December 26.

Investors were troubled by data showing the company had 255 million active monthly users in March, below the 257 million projected by Wall Street, said BMO Capital Markets.

Twitter reported a $132.4m loss for the quarter, or 23 cents per share.

Excluding $126m in stock-based compensation, Twitter broke even, besting the three cents per share loss expected by analysts.

Revenues of $250.5m exceeded the $241.4m forecast by analysts.

Investors were "unforgiving" towards the low user numbers despite "solid" results otherwise, said Deutsche Bank in a note.

"The company continues to execute near-flawlessly around items in its control like revenue and expenses, but sentiment remains pinned on lackluster (user) growth," said Deutsche Bank.

BMO said it was lowering its target for Twitter to $42 from $53, citing the "reset in valuation" of growth-oriented tech stocks.

The Nasdaq has underperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 since early March on concerns many trendy stocks have risen too far too fast.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.01
+0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.78
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.41
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.45
-0.4%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.4%
Platinum
931.20
+0.6%
Palladium
990.50
0.0%
Gold
2,341.71
+0.4%
Silver
27.66
+0.8%
Brent-ruolie
89.01
+1.1%
Top 40
68,437
0.0%
All Share
74,329
0.0%
Resource 10
62,119
0.0%
Industrial 25
102,531
0.0%
Financial 15
15,802
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders