NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Twitter  (TWTR) - Get Report are declining by 0.31% to $51.31 in pre-market trading Wednesday, after analysts at Pivotal Research Group lowered its rating on the company to "hold" from "buy" this morning.

The firm maintained its $51 price target on Twitter, but cited valuation for the downgrade.  

"However, the stock has risen 47% in the past three months and we think it is time to take money off the table as the market momentum that has driven the stock towards what we consider fair value could just as well reverse itself," Pivotal said in a note.

Pivotal analysts also said Twitter has some key business risks including "the need for additional cash, further acquisitions in order to remain competitive in the advertising marketplace, a relatively unproven advertiser proposition, the prospects of wild swings in investor sentiment, difficulty scaling the business profitably, as well as government regulations primarily related to privacy."

Still, analysts added that their view on the operations of the company remains favorable.

San Francisco-based Twitter is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time, where any user can create a tweet and any user can follow other users.

Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:

Twitter is a core holding of Jim Cramer'sAction Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. During the most recent weekly roundup, this is what Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager and Jack Mohr, Director of Research - Action Alerts PLUS had to say about the stock:

Shares traded sharply higher this week on little news. Over the past two weeks, we have heard more and more about the potential for a "Verified Twitter" service and are increasingly inclined to the concept, which has a strong likelihood of being rolled out later this year. The new feature would charge users to become verified (i.e., $1 per year or a one-time $5 fee) in exchange for lower ad load and the ability to uniquely interact with other verified users. Users would be able to select not to see communications from unverified users without permission. Businesses could also pay to become verified (i.e., a one-time $100 fee), which would add validation, credibility and direct conversations to the correct account. Verified Twitter has a few important benefits.

For one, Twitter would address the ongoing concern about anonymous abuse and negative comments that deters participation. Secondly, Twitter would collect credit card and other targetable data from its most active users. Finally, Twitter would have a new revenue source. If 10% of monthly active users (MAUs) paid for verification, it would produce $30 million annually from users. If 10% of businesses paid to be verified, it would produce $300 million in revenue, assuming there are 60 million businesses in high-income countries and that 50% of businesses use Twitter.

We'll see what happens with Verified Twitter, but we think it should be added to the list of potential 2015 revenue catalysts. The list, which keeps us bullish on the name in the near term, includes video, app install/re- engagement ads, a buy button and the logged-out site. Longer term, the company must address deeper engagement issues, but in the near term, product cadence has accelerated and management has a more bullish tone than the Street, which gives hope that it can improve engagement. We reiterate our $55 target.

- Jim Cramer and Jack Mohr, 'Weekly Roundup' originally published 3/20/2015 on ActionAlertsPLUS.com.

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Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates TWITTER INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate TWITTER INC (TWTR) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed, some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, growth in earnings per share and increase in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the stock has had a generally disappointing performance in the past year." You can view the full analysis from the report here: TWTR Ratings Report