Facebook soared 16% on Thursday, pushing its market cap over $300 billion and vaulting Amazon.com to become the fourth-most valuable technology company.
The stock jump was propelled by estimate-topping fourth-quarter results that showed the growing strength of Facebook's digital advertising business.
Nearly two dozen brokerages raised price targets,
Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schachter raised his price target to $150 from $120.
"The revenue reacceleration was a complete surprise and highlights Facebook's utility for advertisers around the world," Schachter wrote in a research report. "Importantly, management commentary on 2016 revenues and the operating expenses guidance were both very bullish."
Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak raised his price target to $135 from $130. Facebook executives noted on Wednesday that ad revenue from mobile app Instagram "made a contribution," but "core Facebook is really driving the top line." Nowak expects Instagram to add as much as $2.1 billion in revenue in 2016.
UBS analyst Eric Sheridan increased his price target to $130 from $125.
"Facebook's earnings (yet again) demonstrated the power of a platform that has been built to promote global connectivity, innovation around ad unit deployment and investments for future growth at strong incremental margins," he wrote.
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