Twitter Losing Followers From Analysts Amid Competition From Snapchat

Twitter Inc TWTR's stock was trading lower by nearly 5 percent Thursday morning after the company was on the receiving end of two negative reports by Wall Street analysts.

Evercore ISI: More Risk Than Reward, Downgrading To Sell

According to a team of analysts at Evercore ISI, Twitter is certainly a "very exciting" social media platform, but the stock's valuation should be of concern for investors.

Specifically, Twitter's stock has "more risk than reward," especially when considering similarly scaled social media peers are showing accelerating (Snapchat) growth or steady (Instagram) growth.

Related Link: Twitter Is More Risk Than Reward Right Now; Evercore Downgrades Stock To Sell

Meanwhile, the analysts noted they haven't seen any "transformational" changes to the platform in 2016. By comparison, Snapchat overhauled its Discover experience and chat which also doubles as a "clear push to after Twitter creators and influencers."

The analysts also noted that Twitter's revenue guidance implies just 5 percent growth next quarter, a concerning outlook especially when considering the pending NFL streaming deal and an assumed boost to usage from the Olympics and U.S. presidential election.

Shares were downgraded to Sell from Hold with a price target lowered to $17 from a previous $18.

CLSA: Snapchat's Ramp Coming At Twitter's Expense

Analysts at CLSA met with an ad tech company that focuses on brand advertising. Following the meeting, the analysts were incrementally negative on Twitter's outlook.

According to the tech company, Snapchat has been ramping its business "very quickly" especially in video advertising. Snapchat is also planning on offering ads in its newsfeed, and this will put pressure on Twitter to maintain its portfolio of advertisers on its social media platform.

On the other hand, the impact on YouTube and Facebook Inc FB is expected to be "limited."

At time of writing, Twitter was down 3.35 percent at $19.50.

Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.