Short-Seller Andrew Left: Twitter's Jack Dorsey Hitting His Stride
*By Carlo Versano*
Twitter has never been more relevant in the national conversation and, despite an uproar over misuse of its platform, it remains the social network to beat in terms of influence, said Citron Research's executive editor Andrew Left.
"Dollars will follow relevancy," the short-seller said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. "\[CEO Jack Dorsey\] has made it clear what kind of platform he wants."
Even as Dorsey shoulders criticism for his refusal to ban the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Twitter's continued global presence in the media landscape will be what ultimately pushes the stock up, Left said.
Left also said he's major fan of Twitter's video product, which the company has used to make streaming partnership deals for [high school football] (https://www.ubergizmo.com/2018/08/adidas-to-live-stream-high-school-football-games-on-twitter/), [live concerts] (https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/01/twitter-stream-concerts/), and [Cheddar's own network](https://www.pscp.tv/cheddar/1DXxyYyAolLxM).
In an [analyst note](https://citronresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TWTR-Just-Made-the-Turn-and-Is-Hitting-Stride.pdf) earlier this week, Citron cited Elon Musk's use of the platform to report Tesla news and raised Twitter's price target to $52. It's the preferred form of communication for President Trump, the note said, and a place for elementary school teachers to communicate with parents. Twitter "has become such a part of the fabric of global communication with limited competition" that it's able to weather storms like the current one with Jones, Left's note read.
Twitter, Left said, isn't the worst privacy offender. "Facebook is the most egregious," he said.
Left said it's only a matter of time before a tech giant ー his money's on Microsoft, Google, or Apple ー makes a move.
"Twitter has nothing but market share to gain from its competitors," he said. "Dorsey's my horsey."
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/citron-researchs-andrew-left-on-why-raised-twitter-target).
Sinead O’Sullivan breaks down Taylor Swift’s genius marketing for The Life of a Showgirl, which just set the record for most albums sold in a single week.
Markets are emerging from a turbulent Q3. Horizon’s Mike Dickson shares insights on interest rates, small caps, and where investors should look in Q4 and beyond
Bambu Ventures's Kyle Pretsch dives into Lemonaid’s $10M buyout, down from 23andMe’s $400M price tag, and what’s next after Chrome Co.’s dramatic pivot.
Former Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers learned all about technology’s volatile highs and lows as a veteran of the internet’s early boom days during the late 1990s and the ensuing meltdown that followed the mania. And now he is seeing potential signs of the cycle repeating with another transformative technology in artificial intelligence. Chambers is trying take some of the lessons he learned while riding a wave that turned Cisco into the world's most valuable company in 2000 before a crash hammered its stock price and apply them as an investor in AI startups. He recently discussed AI's promise and perils during an interview with The Associated Press.
Grove Collaborative’s CEO shares how the company is reinventing everyday goods with sustainability at the core and working toward a plastic-free future.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens shares plans for affordable housing, community-led growth, and why private and public grocery stores could be key to food equity.
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
