Benzinga | Nov 30, 2021 04:43PM EST

Piper Sandler Sees Twitter Gaining From Focused, Full-Time CEO

Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) recently announced that Jack Dorsey was stepping down as CEO and named CTO Parag Agrawal the successor. Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion called the change a "modest positive," "not a complete surprise," and "appropriate" given the complexity of managing the company and the demands of a CEO role.

* Agrawal as CTO deserves credit for recently improved product velocity, but he is less well known to the investment community, and it will "take time to understand his plans," added Champion.

* Twitter should benefit from a more focused, full-time CEO, said Champion, who has a Neutral and a $70 price target On Twitter, implying a 52.9% upside.

* Additionally, Twitter stakeholder Elliott Investment Management expressed confidence in incoming Chairman Bret Taylor and incoming CEO Parag Agrawal as the right leaders for Twitter at this pivotal moment.

* Elliott founder and billionaire investor Paul Singer was against Dorsey running Twitter and Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), calling for him to step down as CEO of one of them.

* Related Content: Who Is Parag Agrawal, Twitter's New Under-The-Radar CEO?

* Price Target: TWTR shares traded lower by 0.02% at $45.78 in the premarket session on the last check Tuesday.