Baird Starts Facebook (FB) at Outperform, "In the Same League as Google and Amazon"
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Price: $24.31 -2.99%
Rating Summary:
25 Buy, 14 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 18 | New: 13
Rating Summary:
25 Buy, 14 Hold, 1 Sell
Rating Trend: = Flat
Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 11 | Down: 18 | New: 13
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Baird initiates coverage on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) with a Outperform rating and $37 price target.
The firm said Facebook is uniquely positioned to capture an increasing share of the $500 billion global advertising market, by leveraging its robust collection of data.
The power is in the data the firm comments: "We believe that Facebook is the gravitational center of social media, providing an online identity for nearly one billion active users. Facebook collects an unprecedented amount of personal data and is in the early stages of monetizing these assets via targeted advertising. We expect growth to be largely driven by new ad formats, higher ad pricing, the launch of a third-party ad network, and increasing transaction-related revenues. Profit margins should also move higher due to the inherent operating leverage in the model."
A focus on technology and user experience puts Facebook in the same league as Google and Amazon, the firm said.
"We expect Facebook to continue down the "Google Path," allowing the hacker culture to guide management decision making, which should in turn help the company adapt to changing Internet trends and ultimately drive better monetization.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Facebook click here. For more ratings news on Facebook click here.
Shares of Facebook closed at $29.60 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $26.83-$42.99.
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The firm said Facebook is uniquely positioned to capture an increasing share of the $500 billion global advertising market, by leveraging its robust collection of data.
The power is in the data the firm comments: "We believe that Facebook is the gravitational center of social media, providing an online identity for nearly one billion active users. Facebook collects an unprecedented amount of personal data and is in the early stages of monetizing these assets via targeted advertising. We expect growth to be largely driven by new ad formats, higher ad pricing, the launch of a third-party ad network, and increasing transaction-related revenues. Profit margins should also move higher due to the inherent operating leverage in the model."
A focus on technology and user experience puts Facebook in the same league as Google and Amazon, the firm said.
"We expect Facebook to continue down the "Google Path," allowing the hacker culture to guide management decision making, which should in turn help the company adapt to changing Internet trends and ultimately drive better monetization.
For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Facebook click here. For more ratings news on Facebook click here.
Shares of Facebook closed at $29.60 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $26.83-$42.99.
Join StreetInsider.com FREE and get immediately alerted when news breaks on your stocks and other market items - JOIN NOW
*NEW - Download StreetInsider's FREE iPhone and iPad App - Click Here
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