Twitter makes impressive New York Stock Exchange debut

NEW YORK -- Twitter had a strong public stock debut Thursday in the most highly anticipated initial public offering since Facebook's last year.

The stock closed at $44.90 on its first day, giving Twitter a value of more than $31 billion based on its outstanding stock, options and restricted stock that'll be available after the IPO. It opened at $45.10 and traded as high as $50.09 in the morning. Although the closing price fell 20 cents short of the opening price, it's still 73 percent above the $26 IPO price.

The high price comes despite the fact that Twitter has never turned a profit in seven years of existence. Revenue has been growing, but the company is also investing heavily in more data centers and hiring more employees.

Twitter is trading under the ticker symbol "TWTR."

Here's a running account of Twitter's first day of trading, presented in reverse chronological order. All times are EST.

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* 4:25 p.m.: @Twitter stock debuts strong, even as @AP @CNBC poll released earlier showed skepticism.

Twitter's stock had a strong first-day showing. It's worth noting that it faced skepticism from potential investors and the broader public leading to Thursday's debut.

According to an Associated Press-CNBC poll released Monday, some 36 percent of Americans say buying stock in the 7-year-old company would be a good investment, while 47 percent disagree. Last May, ahead of Facebook's IPO, 51 percent of Americans said Facebook Inc. would be a good investment. Just 31 percent didn't agree.

That said, 64 percent of the people polled said they don't own stocks, bonds or mutual funds at all.

Barbara Ortutay, New York, @BarbaraOrtutay

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* 4:15 p.m.: AP's @liedtkesfc posts photo from Twitter co-founder @noah Glass' home: pic.twitter.com/2DduLFRbNZ

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* 4:10 p.m.: $TWTR's closing price of $44.90 gives Twitter a value of more than $31 billion.

It's actually 20 cents lower than the opening price, but still 73 percent higher than the $26 IPO price.

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* 4 p.m.: First day of trading is done. Twitter soars about 73 percent from IPO price, keeping most of gain from opening.

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* 3:55 p.m.: As Twitter's first trading day nears an end, keep in mind at least one analyst believes $twtr is now a "sell."

Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser slashed his rating on Twitter Inc. from "buy" on Thursday after the stock opened at $45.10, about 50 percent above his price target of $30.

His price target valued the company at 21 times its free cash flow in 2018, a multiple that exceeded even Facebook at 17 times and Google at 16 times. With a stock price of $45, Twitter would be worth 32 times its 2018 free cash flow, which he wrote in a research note was "overly optimistic."

Wieser told AP's @BarbaraOrtutay that he still has a very positive view of the business, but believes the company isn't worth as much as it has been trading at.

"The market can beg to differ," he said.

Ryan Nakashima, Los Angeles, @rnakashi

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* 3:35 p.m.: Twitter has no shortage of co-founders. AP's @liedtkesfc tries to track down the one who wasn't @NYSE for opening

Here's his account:

While Twitter founders Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone were in New York celebrating the company's stock debut Thursday, a former partner involved in Twitter's creation was in the midst of a home improvement project on the other side of the country.

At least that's how it looked when I swung by the home of Noah Glass, @noah, in San Francisco's Mission District neighborhood.

More on the founders: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/flock-feathered-twitters-nest

Michael Liedtke, San Francisco, @liedtkesfc

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* 3:25 p.m.: @Twitter CEO @DickC says growth is just a question of connecting with potential new users

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo appeared on CNBC ahead of his company's trading debut at the NYSE to talk about his company and its potential for growth.

CNBC's David Faber said that joining Twitter made sense for Faber and a lot of other people early on. But he asked how the company planned to keep growing and attract users outside of its traditional base.

Costolo said that it's all about making connections with people and helping them see how Twitter fits into their lives.

"It's all about, for us, helping people bridge that gap between 'I've heard about Twitter,' to getting exactly where you and so many other people here today are."

Bree Fowler, New York, @APBreeFowler

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* 2:50 p.m.: In Asia, @Twitter has competition from local companies, reports AP's @YKLeeAP

Led by Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and India, Asia was the fastest growing region for Twitter in summer 2010, according to Semiocast, a Paris-based social media research company. But growth has slowed in South Korea and Japan, a red flag for Twitter as both countries are wealthy and have high rates of mobile device usage -- now the predominant way Twitter is accessed.

New mobile applications from companies such as South Korea's Kakao Corp. and Japan's Line Corp., have experienced explosive growth, making them potent competitors for eyeballs and advertising.

Youkyung Lee, Seoul, South Korea, @YKLeeAP

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* 2:30 p.m.: @Twitter now among the most valuable media companies, notes AP's @rnakashi

Like Twitter, the other large media companies in the country rely to some extent on advertising revenue. As of mid-afternoon, Twitter's value is nearly $33 billion, after including options and restricted stock that'll be available after the IPO.

The market value of other media companies: CBS Corp., $34.7 billion; Discovery Communications Inc., $30 billion; Viacom Inc., $38.8 billion; The Walt Disney Co., $120 billion; Time Warner Inc. $60.3 billion.

Ryan Nakashima, Los Angeles, @rnakashi

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* 2:10 p.m.: @NYSEEuronext has congratulated @Twitter "on a successful (hash)NYSEIPO! We're excited to be your partner."

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* 1:55 p.m.: Looking back at Twitter's IPO price, here are some quick facts from @Dealogic.

Twitter priced its IPO at $26, raising $1.82 billion. If the offering's underwriters fully exercise their option to buy more shares, the IPO's value will rise to $2.09 billion. That would make it the second-largest Internet IPO by an American company on record, following Facebook Inc.'s $16 billion, but beating Google Inc.'s $1.92 billion.

The research firm Dealogic says Twitter's IPO is set to be the third-largest U.S.-listed IPO so far this year, behind Plains GP Holdings at $2.9 billion and Zoetis' $2.6 billion.

Bree Fowler, New York, @APBreeFowler

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* 1:40 p.m.: @Twitter soars while drop in overall market pulls down rest of Internet cos.

Twitter shares are flying high, but other Internet companies are having a tough time getting off the ground.

While Twitter's debut likely helped send shares of Facebook Inc. down, the overall tech industry also took a hit as the markets pulled back from record levels on worries that the Federal Reserve could soon start curtailing its economic stimulus program.

Bree Fowler, New York, @APBreeFowler

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* 1:20 p.m.: Will Twitter's stock keep going up? There is risk of Twitter burnout. #TwitterHaters

There's plenty of evidence online about the celebrities who tire of Twitter. The long list of Twitter quitters includes everyone from Alec Baldwin to Miley Cyrus to "Lost" co-creator Damon Lindelof, though some eventually return.

Some get overwhelmed by followers spewing hatred. Others get addicted to interacting with huge fan bases and need to pull away. Even non-celebrity users complain of the amount of time spent posting and replying and vow to close accounts to get on with their lives.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/user-burnout-could-threaten-twitters-prosperity

Ryan Nakashima, Los Angeles, @rnakashi

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* 1:05 p.m.: Twitter chairman @jack makes reference to first tweet in Vine video post

About two hours ago, Twitter chairman and co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted this: "just setting up our $twtr --https://vine.co/v/hI1nP3vQOBI" The link is to video on Twitter's Vine app, showing traders shouting on NYSE trading floor.

The tweet, of course, is a reference to the world's first tweet, which was sent by Dorsey on March 21, 2006, and read "just setting up my twttr." Dorsey uses "$twtr" in Thursday's post in a reference to the stock's ticker symbol. Putting a dollar sign before it is a common way to refer to stocks on Twitter.

Barbara Ortutay, New York, @BarbaraOrtutay

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* 12:50 p.m.: @Twitter is trading very heavily in its first day on @NYSE.

About 82 million shares of Twitter have exchanged hands already. To put that in perspective, Twitter only sold 70 million shares in its IPO. One way to think about it, every share issued in Twitter's IPO has been traded more than once, and the session isn't half over yet.

Of course, not every investor who got shares of Twitter at the $26 IPO price is selling Thursday. Many large institutional investors are buy-and-hold firms. If every investor had sold at the debut, the stock would not have opened at 73 percent above the IPO price.

Ken Sweet, New York, @KenSweet

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* 12:35 p.m.: @TDAmeritrade official says stock debut is flawless

"It's gone on pretty flawlessly," says JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at online brokerage TD Ameritrade.

For one, he says, the broader market's downturn isn't affecting Twitter much. Trading is also tight, rather than volatile, which indicates that people feel like it was "pretty fairly priced," he says.

Barbara Ortutay, New York, @BarbaraOrtutay

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* 12:15 p.m.: Learn more about @vivienneharr, @sirpatstew and @bostonpolice official who rang @NYSEEuronext opening bell

Bree Fowler, New York, @APBreeFowler

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* 11:55 a.m.: @Wedbush analyst @MichaelPachter says high debut price suggests #TwitterIPO was managed well.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says the surge "clearly shows that demand exceeds supply of shares.

"It's impossible to know what the real value is," he says.

Still, he acknowledges that the price is "pretty high" and not something he was expecting.

Barbara Ortutay, New York, @BarbaraOrtutay

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* 11:45 a.m.: It's #BusinessAsUsual at @Twitter headquarters, though employees seem happy.

Although Twitter's fortunes are already soaring on Wall Street, there haven't been any audible whoops of joy emanating from the company's San Francisco headquarters yet. But almost every employee walking in and out of the building is grinning.

Twitter seems to know that it needs to accelerate its revenue growth to support its lofty stock price. A few employees just came out to usher in a group of advertising agency representatives. #TheNewReality

Michael Liedtke, San Francisco, @liedtkesfc

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* 11:30 a.m.: @Barclays official in charge of stock debut speaks with AP's @KenSweet, admits being "a little nervous."

It was the biggest IPO of the year for Glenn Carell, the Barclays Capital official in charge of Twitter's stock debut. He has been doing it for 21 years and says, "I was a little nervous, but it went well."

Twitter hired Barclays to be its "designated market maker," which supervises the trading of a company's stock on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO process itself was managed by three other investment banks.

Ken Sweet, New York, @KenSweet

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* 11:05 a.m.: RT (at)KenSweet: Twitter took a long time to open due to the deal size. Goldman also likes to take its time.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase are the three investment banks in charge of Twitter's IPO.

After debuting at $45.10, the stock is now trading at $47.85, or 84 percent above the IPO price.

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* 10:55 a.m.: AP's (at)BarbaraOrtutay notes that the $31 billion value puts Twitter in the ballpark of Yum Brands and Deere & Co.

It's also slightly below State Street Corp.

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* 10:53 a.m.: The opening price values Twitter at $31.3 billion.

To calculate its value, the AP is using 694.8 million shares that Twitter is expected to have outstanding after the IPO, counting restricted shares and stock options it plans to issue to employees. At the $26 IPO price, the value was more than $18 billion.

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* 10:51 a.m.: Twitter stock opens at $45.10, 73 percent above IPO price.