Axiom Downgrades Twitter On 'Increased Risk'

In a report published Wednesday, analyst Victor Anthony of Axiom downgraded

from Buy to Hold. The price target has been lowered from $63 to $45. The analysts believe the company's risk profile has increased, following the revenue miss in Q1 and lack of visibility into MAUs. "We continue to believe that there is enormous longer-term potential for Twitter, and overtime, product enhancements and advertiser products should drive user and revenue growth. However, near-term operating risks are exerting pressure on revenue growth, and MAUs have begun to slow once again," the analyst explained. Axiom has reduced its revenue and adjusted EBITDA estimates for the company for 2015, following the Q1 revenues coming in lower than the guidance. However, the EBITDA for the quarter was above the guidance and the consensus, with above-consensus EPS. Twitter has reduced its 2Q15 revenue and EBITDA guidance to below the consensus expectations. "Management blamed the revenue shortfall on lower revenues from direct response advertisers, who walked away from spending due to higher bids. Growth of mobile App downloads, a direct response ad unit, was strong but declined sequentially," Axiom reported. Twitter has also announced a partnership with

's Doubleclick platform to enhance attribution and measurement across devices. The aim is to help marketers better evaluate their ROI. "Twitter also announced the acquisition of TellApart for an undisclosed sum," the analyst said.