Is Twitter the 'Harvey Weinstein of Social Media?' Here's Why Its Stock Price Plummeted on Thursday. One study found that an abusive tweet was sent to women every thirty seconds on the network.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Is Twitter the "Harvey Weinstein of social media?"
Short-seller Citron Research suggested as much after an Amnesty International report found that an abusive tweet was sent to women every thirty seconds on the network. Citron, which makes money if Twitter's share price declines, called the platform "toxic" and suggested that advertisers should stay away. The stock fell 11.05 percent -- the biggest decline on the Entrepreneur Index™ today.
The broader stock market failed to rebound from the rout yesterday when the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the fourth time this year. The Entrepreneur Index™ was down 2.13 percent with weakness across the board. Four of 60 stocks had gains on the day, and only one was greater than one percent.
Technology stocks were generally lower, though Facebook (0.12 percent) managed to eke out a small gain after falling more than seven percent yesterday. TripAdvisor Inc. (-2.89 percent), Adobe Systems Inc. (-2.66 percent) and salesforce.com (-2.62 percent) had the biggest declines.
Investors don't seem to like the idea of Tesla buying an Ohio manufacturing plant that General Motors plans to close next year. CEO Elon Musk raised the possibility earlier this year and again yesterday in a series of tweets with Ohio Governor John Kasich. Tesla shares were down 5.3 percent and have fallen more than 15 percent in the last five trading sessions.
Hess Corp. and the entire oil and gas sector continue to suffer from the free-fall in the price of oil. West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped more than four percent today and is down a staggering 40 percent in the last ten weeks. Hess' stock fell 5.54 percent today and is also down 40 percent over the same period.
L Brands can't seem to break out of its tailspin. The maker of Victoria's Secret lingerie was down 5.62 percent and is off 25 percent so far this month. For the year to date, the stock is down 57 percent. Other retailers were also weak today. Walmart was down 3.61 percent, Dollar Tree Inc. fell 2.85 percent and Bed Bath & Beyond declined 4.2 percent.
Chipotle Mexican Grill was down 6.15 percent and has fallen 18 percent in the last week. Other notable declines on the Entrepreneur Index™ included business services company Cintas Corp. (-3.74 percent) and cosmetics-maker Estee Lauder Companies (-2.83 percent). The REITs were also weak today with SL Green Realty Corp. (-3.75 percent) posting the biggest loss.
Tyson Foods set a new 52-week low this morning but ended the day up 1.27 percent -- the biggest gain on the Entrepreneur Index™ today.
The Entrepreneur Index™ collects the top 60 publicly traded companies founded and run by entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial spirit is a valuable asset for any business, and this index recognizes its importance, no matter how much a company has grown. These inspirational businesses can be tracked in real time on Entrepreneur.com.
