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Snapchat shares sink after celeb's negative tweet
Snapchat lost around $1.3bn of its value overnight after Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian's sister for those not keeping up with the family, tweeted about the app.
Reality star Jenner tweeted on Thursday to her legion of followers "Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?".
Although it may seem like an innocent tweet, the celebrity's influence, with 24.5m followers on Twitter and 104m on Instagram apparently caused Snapchat's shares to fall up to 7.2% at the Wall Street open, recovering a few points throughout the session. The stock lost 6% in just a few hours.
Snapchat is going through a rough patch regardless of Kylie Jenner. Facebook's tactic to copy most of its strategies and include them in their Instagram stories feature is taking its toll.
Investors are also weary about the amount of criticism that the new platform display is receiving, although director Evan Spiegel said that the users only need some time to get used to it.
Even so, analysts like Citigroup downgraded the stock on Tuesday and cited negative user engagement trends, of which la Jenner typified.
"While the recent redesign of its flagship app could produce positive long-term benefits, the significant jump in negative app reviews since the redesign was pushed out a few weeks could result in a decline in users and user engagement, which could negatively impact financial results," Citi's Mark May said in a statement.
Shares in the firm were up slightly in pre-market trade on Friday, though analysts did not comment on whether this was linked to a follow-up from a repentant Kardashion that Snap was still her "first love".