William Blair: BULLISH
Rating: Outperform
Price target: n/a
Comment: "Over the next 12 months, we believe there is 15%-plus upside to shares based on EBITDA growth. We maintain our Outperform rating."
Baird: BULLISH
Rating: Outperform
Price target: $200 (previously $185)
Comment: "With supply/demand dynamics driving higher pricing, concerns over ad load headwinds should subside, with investor focus shifting to the significant security/content investment ramp in CY18 (modeling expense growth +50% Y/Y), which we view as prudent steps aimed at preserving platform integrity in the minds of users(and regulators)."
Morgan Stanley: BULLISH
Rating: Overweight
Price target: $200 (up from $195)
Comment: "More impressive, FB is delivering this cash flow even while aggressively investing in headcount, ad measurement/improvement, augmented reality, virtual reality, video content, Instagram, Messenger, Whatsapp, Aquila, among other items. We believe this ability to continue to invest in new initiatives will widen FB's competitive lead vs. other platforms...and over time will likely lead to sustained stronger cash flow growth."
PiperJaffray: BULLISH
Rating: Overweight
Price target: $200 (previously $195)
Comment: "Mgmt clearly indicated it is electing to assume responsibility for content on its platform, leading to investments in "safety and security," and will increasingly pay for content (initially via licensing and increasingly via a rev share with content creators). Separately, the company's investments in 10-year technology (AI, AR/VR, etc.) are driving continued OPEX and expansion of owned datacenters is driving a step function higher CAPEX in 2018. We believe this will spark the question of whether Facebook has been over- earning, but the company is ultimately guiding for investment growth it cannot reach."
Macquarie: BULLISH
Rating: Outperform
Price target: $205 (previously $190)
Comment: The bottom line is that despite large expected investments in ’18, we are raising numbers. FB’s unique offerings for advertisers are resonating and as long as users are there, advertisers will follow. While the discussion around security and increased spend will generate a ton of media, the real issue for the model is if the video strategy will succeed. If it does, and FB is able to build a legitimate YouTube challenger, the increased security spend will be a speed bump."
Citi: BULLISH
Rating: Buy
Price target: $210 (previously $200)
Comment: "While mgmt continues to temper expectations, fundamentals remain quite strong and we not only see multiple levers of new growth but also see mgmt’s 2018 opex growth guidance as unobtainable. Moreover, while mgmt can be criticized for not being proactive enough, we view its current handling of the Russia-related issues as responsible and immaterial to the financial outlook. All told, we are raising our revenue forecasts but lowering near-term margins and EPS to reflect mgmt’s 2018 opex guide."
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey: BULLISH
Rating: Buy
Price target: $210
Comment: "These results show market share gains not only from traditional Media companies, but from digital platforms as well; and as we've been suggesting, value and market share gains within IDM continue to accrue to the largest players."
Jeffries: BULLISH
Rating: Buy
Price target: $225 (previously $215)
Comment: "FB is growing nearly 2x the rate of its large cap internet peers while delivering 50%+ operating margins and the stock is up nearly 59% YTD. FB remains our top large cap internet pick and we think that momentum in the name can continue through the end of the year. We see upside to ARPU, MAUs, and Instagram and continue to watch potential margin compression, testing on Video, and investment in security."
Credit Suisse: BULLISH
Rating: Outperform
Price target: $230 (previously $235)
Comment: "Our investment thesis remains unchanged: 1) Facebook will be able to drive long term revenue growth without a material lift in ad loads, 2) Street models continue to underestimate the long-term monetization potential of upcoming new products (Graph Search), 3) optionality/upward bias to estimates from multiple other products including Messenger and WhatsApp."
Source: Business Insider India