Twitter Stock Downgraded Twice As Service Deemed Niche

Shares of Twitter Inc. fell 2% in premarket trade Monday after two banks downgraded the stock. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and Monness Crespi Hardt lowered their ratings on Twitter's stock to neutral from buy. SunTrust, which maintained an $18 12-month price target on the stock, said user growth and engagement continues to be challenged, despite new products and services released by Twitter over the last year in an attempt to improve the site's usability. Monness Crespi Hardt said any improvements the company has made have been incremental, hardly enough to attract the mass market or improve the monetization of its service. "We believe, barring any changes, Twitter was, is, and will continue as a niche product in terms of engagement and content contribution," said Monness Crespi Hardt analyst James Cakmak. Shares of Twitter were on track to open around $17.79 on Monday. While they're up slightly over the last three months, they're down more than 48% from 12 months ago.