Options Activity in Facebook (FB) Implies 'Increased Bullish Positioning' into September -Susquehanna

Facebook in talks with publishers on supporting subscription models

July 19, 2017 9:24 AM EDT

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) is in early talks with several news publishers about how its social media site can better support subscription business models, the company's head of news partnerships, Campbell Brown, said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement comes a day... More

Wall Street at new highs as tech breaches dot-com era record

July 19, 2017 7:34 AM EDT

By Rodrigo Campos and Kimberly Chin

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The major U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs on Wednesday helped partly by technology stocks, which surpassed a long-standing mark, despite gains on the Dow being capped by a sharp drop in IBM shares.

The S&P 500 tech sector broke its previous record closing high that had held since March 2000 in the midst of the dot-com and Y2K tech stocks bubble. It has been the best-performing sector this year with a 22.8 percent advance.

Vertex (NASDAQ:... More

Facebook (FB) EPS Estimates Positively Revised At Goldman

July 19, 2017 7:15 AM EDT

Goldman Sachs maintains Buy on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) price target of $180.00.

Analyst Heather Bellini raises her estimates ahead of earnings citing potential for the recent pace of innovation to positive impact results.

FY 2017 EPS estimate rises from $4.89 to $4.96, FY 2018 EPS estimate rises form... More

NBC News to launch twice-daily show on Snapchat

July 19, 2017 6:13 AM EDT

By Jessica Toonkel

(Reuters) - Comcast Corp's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBC News is launching a twice-per-day news show on Snapchat, the company said on Wednesday, part of its push to attract younger viewers who tend to watch TV on mobile devices.

Comcast's NBCUniversal invested $500 million in Snapchat owner Snap Inc (NYSE: SNAP) during its initial public offering as it seeks to boost its digital offering.

Broadcast news outlets like NBC News face an aging audience. The median age of NBC Nightly News, for example, is... More

Facebook (FB) PT Raised to $185 at Needham & Company

July 19, 2017 6:13 AM EDT

Needham & Company raised its price target on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) to $185.00 (from $165.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

Analyst Laura Martin commented, "We raise our 2Q17, 2017 and 2018 estimates for FB, as well as our Target Price to $185 (from $165), as user growth has outpaced our... More

Google redesigns mobile search app with personalized 'feed'

July 19, 2017 3:04 AM EDT

By David Ingram

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google on Wednesday announced an overhaul of its search app on mobile phones to include a personalized feed of links about hobbies, travel, sports and other topics, a move that puts the search company into more direct competition with social networks such as Facebook.

Google, the world's largest search engine and a unit of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL), said the changes would begin rolling out in the United States on... More

Silicon Valley mostly quiet in internet surveillance debate in Congress

July 18, 2017 4:25 PM EDT

By Dustin Volz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Alphabet Inc's Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and other major technology firms are largely absent from a debate over the renewal of a broad U.S. internet surveillance law, weakening prospects for privacy reforms that would further protect customer data, according to sources familiar with the matter.

While tech companies often lobby Washington on privacy issues, the major firms have been hesitant to enter a fray over a controversial portion of the Foreign... More

'FAANG' stocks to put overall drag on second quarter earnings

July 17, 2017 3:54 PM EDT

By Kimberly Chin

(Reuters) - The high-flying "FAANG" stocks are expected to be an overall drag on second quarter earnings growth despite their stock performance bolstering the S&P 500 this year.

The S&P 500 index is expected to see earnings growth of 8.2 percent for the second quarter, but if the five FAANG stocks -- Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and... More