Shares of Twitter (TWTR) are on the rise on Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter results, beating both earnings and revenue expectations. The microblogging platform also said that its total monetizable daily active Twitter users grew by 5M from the third quarter to 192M. Following the news, several Wall Street analysts raised their price targets on the stock, with Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry saying he believes that the acceleration in growth will continue and his peer at JPMorgan adding that the upcoming February 25 analyst day could be an additional catalyst for shares.

RESULTS: Twitter reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 38c and revenue of $1.29B, both better than estimates of 31c and $1.19B, respectively. The company also said that average mDAU was 192M for the quarter, compared to 152M in the same period of the previous year and compared to 187M in the third quarter. Average U.S. mDAU was 37M for the fourth quarter, compared to 31M in the same period of the previous year and compared to 36M in the previous quarter. Average international mDAU was 155M for the fourth quarter, compared to 121M in the same period of the previous year and compared to 152M in the previous quarter.

For the first quarter, Twitter sees revenue between $940M-$1.04B and expects GAAP operating income to be between a loss of $50M and break even. For fiscal year 2021, the company expects stock-based compensation expense to be between $525M-$575M and capital expenditures to be between $900M-$950M. "As we enter 2021, our objectives are similar to previous years and our success will best be measured by our ability to grow our audience and deliver financial results in line with our guidance. We expect to grow headcount by more than 20% in 2021, especially in engineering, product, design, and research," Twitter added.

On January 8, the company announced its decision to suspend President Donald Trump's account. In an interview with CNBC Squawk Box's Becky Quick on Wednesday, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said Trump's ban from the platform is a permanent one, even if he decides to seek public office again.

ACCELERATION IN GROWTH TO CONTINUE: Following the quarterly results, Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry raised the firm's price target on Twitter to $78 from $55, while keeping a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst continues to believe that the acceleration in growth at Twitter driven by product innovation and ad tech investments will continue. He believes the risk/reward in owning Twitter remains favorable.

JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth also raised his price target on Twitter to $77 from $65 and reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares. The analyst believes his "bull case is playing out mostly as expected" given the "sharp" advertising recovery, continued solid engagement, underlying activist efforts helping to improve operational discipline, and the upcoming February 25 analyst day as an additional potential catalyst for shares.

Susquehanna, MKM Partners, Oppenheimer, and KeyBanc also raised their price targets on Twitter's shares, while keeping Buy-equivalent ratings on the name.

ON THE SIDELINES: Keeping an Equal Weight rating on the stock, Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak raised the firm's price target on Twitter to $54 from $50 after the company reported what he called "strong results." Advertiser and agency incremental adoption of the new MAP 2.0 offering is "likely to be important to determining how fast revenue can really grow" through 2021, said Nowak, who will be looking for more color around further improvements in engagement, user growth, and ad products at the company's analyst day on February 25.

Voicing a similar opinion, Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion raised the firm's price target on Twitter to $61 from $45, while keeping a Neutral rating on the shares. The company benefited from monetizable daily active user growth thanks to the U.S. elections as well as from its improvements to products and advertising load, the analyst told investors in a research note. Champion added that Twitter management appears pleased with the progress of Topics and Fleets, and feels confident in the content moderation programs that the company has put in place.

Maintaining Neutral-equivalent ratings on the name, Piper Sandler, Mizuho, UBS, Stifel, Truist and Wedbush also upped their price targets on Twitter's shares.

BARCLAYS KEEPS UNDERWEIGHT RATING: Barclays analyst Ross Sandler raised the firm's price target on Twitter to $52 from $36 but kept an Underweight rating on the shares after the company reported revenue and EBITDA that were 8% and 21% above consensus and guided above for the first quarter. Sandler acknowledged that this was the first quarter in a few years where Twitter grew broadly in-line with the overall digital advertising space, a testament to some of the changes underway.

PRICE TARGET: In late morning trading, shares of Twitter have gained about 8% to $64.52.