Move over Netflix, Twitter’s on an even bigger tear.
The social network’s shares surged as much as 12 percent after a long-term bear decided that the stock should no longer be sold. Netflix jumped 10 percent after reporting subscriber growth that topped estimates.
“Constructive advertiser conversations, improving user growth, and positive revisions make a more compelling risk/reward” for the stock, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak wrote in a note upgrading Twitter to an equal-weight. He had the stock at underweight, or an equivalent sell, for 2 1/2 years. The analyst raised his price target to $29, but said shares could hit $40 if user growth accelerated or the company found new ways to boost advertising revenue. The stock traded at $31.66 as of 2:45 p.m. in New York.
Wall Street appears to be opening up to Twitter’s stock after years of underperformance. Morgan Stanley’s upgrade is the eighth it has received since reporting a third-quarter earnings beat in October. It’s gotten one downgrade in that time as the stock surged 84 percent.
The options market is currently expecting a 14 percent move on Twitter’s first-quarter results, which are scheduled for next week.
