Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) could set the price for its initial public offering even higher than the price range that was announced previously—and even higher than the increased price range revealed today. That’s according to a report from Lee Spears and Sarah Frier of Bloomberg.
Twitter’s IPO is oversubscribed
Their sources say Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s IPO is already oversubscribed several times at $25 per share. The company’s underwriters are expected to stop accepting orders for it tomorrow at noon Eastern before they set the final price on Wednesday.
Twitter increased its IPO range to between $23 and $25 per share today, suggesting that demand for its shares is higher than expected. If the company sells all of its shares for $25, it would raise approximately $1.75 billion in the stock sale.
This would assign Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) a market value of up to $13.6 billion. According to Bloomberg, that value is 11.8 times Twitter’s estimated 2014 sales of $1.15 billion. The initial valuation was 9.5 times 2014 sales, according to analyst projections. Bloomberg compares Twitter’s value to that of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s multiple of 11.5 times and LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD)’s multiple of 12.2 times.
Survey suggests investors are skeptical about Twitter
In spite of these indications that Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s IPO is in high demand, a survey today from the Associated Press and CNBC (via NBC News) suggests that investors remain skeptical about the micro-blogging site’s potential. The poll said almost half of active investors do not think Twitter would be a good investment. The poll defined “active investors” as those who had made adjustments to their portfolios within the last year.
And this sentiment appears to be strongest among respondents with higher income. About 56% of those whose incomes were $75,000 per year said they doubted Twitter’s investment prospects. Many investors have said that they’re going to wait and see what the company’s price looks like. However, with all of the news today regarding demand for Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR)’s shares, more of them may end up deciding to take the leap.
