INVESTMENT HACKS
It seems a week can’t go by without Mark Zuckerberg putting his foot in his mouth. In response to last week’s article from the New York Times, which alleged that Facebook had hired a high-power DC PR firm to manage the fallout from accusations that Russia manipulated the platform to interfere with the 2016 Federal elections, Zuckerberg said that he hadn’t known about it until he read it in the paper. It’s hardly a convincing denial.
Facebook, Inc. (FB – Research Report) has taken a series of body blows in recent months, driving the share price down from its peak of $217 to its current level of $131. At the same time, the company has retained its ‘Strong Buy’ consensus from the analysts, with 28 of the last 34 reviews recommending the stock. Five analysts hedged their bet and gave FB a ‘Hold;’ only one says to sell the stock. The $188 average price target equates to a 42% upside.
View FB Price Target & Analyst Ratings Detail
Let’s take a look at what top analysts are saying now:
Consulting with the Analysts
A Lone Bear
We’ll start with the bad news, from Pivotal Research’s Brian Wieser (Track Record & Ratings). In an October 30 statement to Barron’s magazine, Wieser suggested that “revenue deceleration is inevitable as Amazon.com (AMZN) gains ground in what has been a cooling market.” Wieser also points out “[T]he considerable financial resources Facebook is pouring into security measures to protect consumer data.” Finally, Wieser makes the astute observation that these problems have not just popped up overnight; Facebook has simply been ignoring privacy concerns for years.
In a more recent report, responding to the Times story and Zuckerberg’s bungled response, Wieser says, “The latest news does not cause us to alter tangible financial expectations for Facebook, but it does enhance risks related to revenue and expense trends as well as the potential for managerial changes. We maintain our Sell rating on Facebook with a $125 price target.” Wieser’s price target represents a 6% downside from FB’s current share price.
