Dorsey stock purchase lifts Twitter confidence
SAN FRANCISCO Twitter shares rebounded from an alltime low after interim chief executive Jack Dorsey became the latest insider to buy shares.
In a show of confidence in the future of the company he cofounded, Dorsey bought more than 31,000 shares of Twitter on Monday for about $875,000. Then he promoted the purchase in less than 140 characters.
“Investing in Twitter’s future,” Dorsey wrote in a tweet. He included a link to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing disclosing his purchase.
The market responded. Twitter shares jumped 9% to close at $29.50 on Monday, even though this was a relatively minor purchase for Twitter’s fifth-largest shareholder. Dorsey has almost 22 million shares of Twitter — and he has sold more than 379,000 shares since November.
In another market-boosting move, Twitter announced Monday that it has sealed a two-year content and advertising deal with the National Football League. The deal that includes video highlights and photos from games as they are being played is broadly seen as a way for Twitter to tackle the challenge of stagnant user growth while generating more advertising revenue.
Dorsey is not the only insider buying shares. Twitter board member Peter Currie bought about 9,200 shares for about $250,000 in stock.
Another Twitter board member Peter Fenton bought about $200,000 in stock on Friday. Twitter’s chief financial officer Anthony Noto also bought shares last week. Not all insiders are buying. Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, who is Twitter’s largest shareholder and sits on its board, sold 372,000 shares on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The purchases were designed to shore up support from investors whose confidence in the company has wavered.