Twitter Inc (TWTR) shares surged in after-hours trading yesterday, fueled by the rumor that Disney is once again considering taking over the struggling social platform. Betaville’s Ben Harrington reported that the companies are now going ahead with the deal after agreeing on a price. According to Harrington, the takeover price will be set somewhere in the high $20s.
Is Disney reconsidering Twitter (TWTR)’s bid?
Twitter Inc (TWTR) stock reacted to the news, popping 4% after-hours trading to $18 per share even though Betaville attached a disclaimer to the report saying that it should be taken as “market gossip that hasn’t been tested through formal journalistic channels.” Wall Street is eagerly waiting for Twitter to be acquired. The company is set to report its earnings on Thursday morning, and according to analysts, there will be nothing exciting about it. However, there is a little hope as the company has historically outperformed estimates for the past seven quarters.
Analysts are expecting the company to report adjusted earnings of 9 cents, a drop from 10 cents per share in the third-quarter of last year. Revenue is expected to come in around $603.8 million, an increase from $569 million in the previous year’s third quarter. According to Youssef Squali of Cantor Fitzgerald, monetization is expected to decline, just as it did in the second quarter.
Does Twitter (TWTR) need a full-time CEO?
Investors and analysts would also like to know if the company is in need of a full-time chief executive after its disappointing performance.
James Cakmak, an analyst at Monness, Crespi, Hardt, said in a note, “We believe it is imperative for Mr. Dorsey to come on board full-time given his sway as a founder, and if he’s not willing to do so, then we argue Twitter needs to find someone else who will.”
Also there are reports that Twitter Inc (TWTR) could soon announce plans to lay off around 8% of its workforce. This will reportedly result in the exit of about 300 employees. According to Bloomberg, the layoff announcement may come before the results on Thursday morning. Mounting losses and around a 40% drop in the share price has made it difficult for the company to pay its engineers in stock, noted Bloomberg. Further, competitors like Alphabet’s Google and Facebook are almost crushing Twitter Inc (TWTR) to death.
On Tuesday, Twitter Inc (TWTR) shares closed down 4.27% at $17.26. Year to date, the stock is down more than 22%, while in the last year, it is down 43%. The stock has a 52-week high of $31.87 and a 52-week low of $13.73.
