Twitter Inc (TWTR) Stock: Why Is It Rising?

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Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares have surged significantly in the premarket on Wednesday, and the stock looks like it will open up with a gap to $50. This is the first time since March the stock has opened over $50, which makes investors wonder why. A report from 24/7 Wall St by Jon C. Ogg and Chris Lange tries to answer the question, saying there may be “multiple issues ahead of and after a holiday weekend.”

All started in August

Twitter shares dropped after March as many expected that the company will not be able to significantly expand its user base. Compared to the May low of $29.51, the share price has surged by 70% to $50.02. The 52-week high on December was $74.73, around 50% higher than Tuesday’s opening price.

Since August, Twitter shares have moved up a good bit, opening the month at $45.01 and closing below the $50 mark at $49.75. The stock hit $50 intraday on the last day of the August.

Factors pushing Twitter Inc’s stock

Last week, two Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) directors offloaded around 90,000 shares, with those exercised stock options adding up to more than $4 million. The transaction occurred nearly a month after the company’s strong earnings report.  Another factor that might have led the stock upward is the news that the company has added 12 new advertising markets in the Central and Eastern Europe. Even though this development might not huge news, but could provide a strong base in the coming days.

Twitter’s stock gain might also have been triggered by news that Snapchat received funds from the famous venture capital outfit Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with a whopping $10 billion valuation. Given that Snapchat has a $10 billion market value with almost zero revenue, then Twitter with a market capitalization of $30 billion and expected revenue of more than $1.3 billion in 2014 and $2.25 billion in 2015 is just too low, reasons the author.

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) also has over $1.27 billion in net operating losses, which can be carried forward to lower future tax bills. A decline in the short interest for Twitter in August might also have helped the share price a bit.

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