Cowen & Co.’s Social Media Analyst Talks About Twitter’s ‘Well Publicized’ Woes

Courtesy of Benzinga.

John Blackledge of Cowen & Co. is clearly no fan of Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).

Speaking to CNBC during Monday morning’s “Squawk On The Street,” Blackledge reaffirmed his $13 price target on Twitter’s stock and Perform rating.

According to Blackledge, Twitter’s woes have been “well publicized.” Specifically, the analyst is modeling for Twitter’s ad revenue growth to decelerate in the third quarter and be down in the fourth quarter. Moreover, the company is not growing its user base or engagements and is also having trouble pressing up its ad loads.

Related Link: Google Is “The Only Potential Acquirer” Of Twitter As Social Media Boom Nears End

Nevertheless, Blackledge acknowledged that if another client is interested in Twitter’s assets and acquiring the company, it is possible a buyout could occur near current levels. However, he also added that an acquisition of Twitter by Google/Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) “doesn’t make sense” given the already existing relationship between the two companies.

Blackledge also questioned if Alphabet’s investors would approve if Google uses a big chunk of its approximate $30 billion in cash sitting in the United States to buy Twitter. Investors may be more comfortable if Alphabet would use the cash to buy back its own stock or pursue other acquisitions.

Shares of Twitter were trading lower by more than 3 percent at $21.93 early Monday afternoon, however, by time of publication, they had rebounded to $22.95, up 1.46 percent.

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