User engagement on Facebook (FB) is stabilizing, according to a survey, causing a Wall Street analyst to reiterate his rating of outperform on Facebook stock.
X
Baird analyst Colin Sebastian also maintained a price target on Facebook stock of 195. Numerous data privacy scandals hit shares over the past year.
Facebook stock was near 138, up a fraction during morning trading on the stock market today.
A Baird survey of 1,500 U.S. internet users showed a slight sequential uptick in Facebook user engagement in the fourth quarter. It's the third consecutive quarter of improvements following declines on early in 2018. Baird said 36.5% of respondents indicated the same or greater usage in the fourth quarter, up 1% from the third quarter.
"Additionally, Instagram engagement growth is now on par with Facebook among younger cohorts (at Snapchat's expense), a positive given Instagram's contributions to revenue growth," Sebastian wrote in a note to clients. "While we were more cautious through 2018, we are incrementally positive as trust and usage likely stabilize/improve this year."
Facebook Stock Plunge
Facebook stock has plunged roughly 36% since hitting a record high of 218.62 on July 25. The hammer hitting Facebook hardest began with the Data Analytica privacy scandal that surfaced in February. Data privacy issues and combating fake news continue to hurt, causing some users to give up on the social network.
Sebastian said that recent checks with digital marketing partners suggests stable demand from Facebook advertisers. "There is little evidence of an advertising backlash related to recent data- privacy concerns, nor a material shift in ad budgets away from Facebook to other platforms," he said.
Facebook reported mixed results for the third quarter. Revenue of $23.7 billion was slightly below analyst forecasts, though earnings of $1.76 per share topped views. Reasons for the revenue deceleration include a shift toward Facebook properties with lower monetization rates. Facebook also said that core users are nearing saturation in some developed markets.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Facebook Stock, Under Heavy Pressure, Gets Price-Target Cut
Amazon Stock Gets Buy Rating On Growth Opportunities Ahead
Mighty FAANG Stocks No Longer A Sure Bet For 2019 Stock Year
Citron Research Turns Positive On Facebook Stock
Facebook Denies Providing Tech Firms Unauthorized Access To User Data
The post Facebook Surviving Data Privacy Woes As User Engagement Improves appeared first on Investor's Business Daily.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BusinessRss/~3/ZzKhglCrZiQ/
No comments:
Post a Comment