Shares of Twitter (TWTR) are on the rise after CNBC's David Faber said on air that the company is closer to selling itself after receiving a number of expressions of interest. Salesforce (CRM) and Alphabet's Google (GOOG, GOOGL) are believed to be two of the potential suitors for Twitter, Faber added. Following the report, Salesforce's Chief Digital Evangelist Vala Afshar tweeted about the social media company's value.

CLOSER TO SALE: According to CNBC's David Faber, Twitter has received expressions of interest and may receive a formal offer soon. Nonetheless, no deal is imminent despite the company's Board of Directors' interest in potentially pursuing a sale, according to sources familiar with the matter. Twitter is said to have engaged in talks with potential suitors, including Salesforce and Alphabet's Google, Faber added. The possible buyers should be interested not only in the data Twitter generates but also in its place as a media company, Faber noted. A few minutes after Faber's report, Salesforce's Chief Digital Evangelist Vala Afshar commented on Twitter's value, with a tweet saying: "Why @twitter? 1 personal learning network; 2 the best realtime, context-rich news; 3 democratize intelligence; 4 great places to promote others."

LOGICAL BUYERS: Earlier in the month, SunTrust analyst Robert Peck speculated on potential suitors for Twitter, with Alphabet among the names alongside Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL), Adobe (ADBE), AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), Comcast (CMCSA; CMCSK), Walt Disney (DIS), 21st Century Fox (FOXA), CBS (CBS), and Alibaba (BABA). However, the analyst reiterated his belief that an acquisition of Twitter is unlikely in the near-term.

SLUMPING ADVERTISER INTEREST: Last night, RBC analyst Mark Mahaney downgraded Twitter to Underperform following a survey of advertisers that showed interest in the microblogging platform appears to be declining. Notably, just 26% of respondents indicated plans to boost Twitter spend, while 28% said they plan to decrease, which is "the weakest result we have seen and the first time we have seen a negative skew towards spending," according to Mahaney. Nonetheless, the analyst noted that Twitter remains a "unique asset with a strong value proposition to core users."

WHAT'S NOTABLE: After a deal with NFL to stream live 10 Thursday night football games, Twitter announced a partnership with Bloomberg Media to stream live the 2016 U.S. presidential and vice presidential debates.

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Twitter have gained about 22% to $22.67. Meanwhile, Salesforce's stock has dropped more than 3% to $72.28 per share.