Today, shares of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) stock are climbing after Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk disclosed a 73.5 million share position, or a 9.2% stake. As of last Friday’s close, this position is worth around $2.9 billion. It also makes Musk the largest shareholder of TWTR stock.
Of course, this purchase may not come as a surprise to some investors. Musk vaguely teased his involvement last month, tweeting out a poll that asked if Twitter adheres to free speech. In a reply to the poll, Musk stated, “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.”
In addition to this, as the platform’s 10th most-followed user, Elon Musk is extremely active on the platform. The executive tweets daily. Some of his tweets have even gotten him into hot water with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
That said, investors should note that Elon Musk filed a 13G form to disclose his stake rather than a 13D form. This is important because a 13D form indicates an “activist” stake. Based on past tweets, many believed Musk had wanted an active role in revamping Twitter operations. However, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives suggests Musk’s recent passive stake is “just the start of broader conversations with the Twitter board/management that could ultimately lead to an active stake and a potential more aggressive ownership role of Twitter.”
Twitter has undergone several major developments in recent months, headlined by the addition of new CEO Parag Agrawal. Now with Elon Musk on board as the largest shareholder, TWTR stock investors should watch for any significant changes.
5 Investors Betting Big on TWTR Stock
Tracking institutional ownership is important because large funds can provide liquidity and support for stocks. According to WhaleWisdom, which tracks all 13F filers, 956 funds own the stock as of the fourth quarter. This was an increase of 24 funds from the prior quarter. Furthermore, 202 funds reported initiating a new position in Q4, while 156 funds completely liquidated their position. However, the institutional put/call ratio remains high at 1.21, an increase of 16% from Q3.
With that in mind, here are the five largest shareholders of TWTR stock.
- Elon Musk: 73.5 million shares or 9.17% ownership.
- Vanguard Group: 70.4 million shares or 8.78% ownership.
- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS): 70.2 million shares or 8.76% ownership.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 51.8 million shares or 6.48% ownership.
- State Street: 36.4 million shares or 4.54% ownership.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
