Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is now down 3.4% from where it traded before announcing the embattled Dick Costolo is stepping down as CEO, and will be replaced at least on an interim basis by chairman Jack Dorsey. Shares have slumped to new 52-week lows on a day the Nasdaq is off 1%.
Amid widespread speculation Dorsey could remain Twitter's CEO permanently, Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal (a major Twitter shareholder) has said he'd support Dorsey if he become permanent CEO; prior remarks made to the Financial Times suggested otherwise.
Advertisers are hoping the CEO change will speed the pace Twitter rolls out new ad options and improves targeting."When you talk to Twitter, you can throw some great ideas on a whiteboard, but there seems to be a lack of urgency," says the CEO of search ad services firm adMarketplace. The company is 6 weeks removed from missing Q1 revenue estimates and cutting its full-year sales guidance, while blaming the performance of direct-response ad formats such as app install ads.
Update (12:47PM ET): Axiom Capital's Victor Anthony has cut his Q2 MAU forecast by 7M to 302M (below a 310M consensus), and his target by $5 to $40.
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