Why Twitter Stock Is Under Pressure Today

Twitter Agrees To Pay $809.5 Million To Settle Class Action Lawsuit

Shares of Twitter found themselves under pressure after the company announced that it had entered into a binding agreement to settle class action securities lawsuit for $809.5 million. This lawsuit commenced back in 2016. The copmany stated that it settled the lawsuit “without any admission, concession or finding of any fault, liability or wrongdoing”.

According to the press release, Twitter intends to use cash on the balance sheet to pay $809.5 million. This amount is expected to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2021. Twitter finished the previous quarter with more than $4 billion of cash on the balance sheet, so the settlement will not have a serious impact on the company’s liquidity.

What’s Next For Twitter Stock?

With a market capitalization that is close to $50 billion and more than $4 billion of cash on the balance sheet, Twitter can easily deal with a $809.5 million hit. At this point, current valuation valuation levels and general market sentiment present bigger risks for Twitter stock.

Analysts expect that Twitter will report earnings of $0.9 per share in 2021 and $1.2 per share in 2021, so the stock is trading at roughly 50 forward P/E. Analyst estimates have started to move lower in recent weeks, which may serve as an additional bearish catalyst for Twitter.

It remains to be seen whether Twitter will be able to trade at 50 forward P/E in case general market pullback continues and investors start to pay more attention to valuation levels. In this environment, it may be hard to justify paying 50 times future earnings for an established company in the digital space. At the same time, many traders may be ready to buy stocks after notable pullbacks, and Twitter shares have already declined from the $73 level in July to $60.

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