Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Aegis raised their price target on the stock from $165.00 to $185.00. Aegis currently has a buy rating on the stock. Facebook traded as high as $161.41 and last traded at $161.67, with a volume of 12,063,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.73.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Pacific Crest reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Facebook in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Facebook from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Wedbush set a $185.00 price target on shares of Facebook and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Facebook in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Nomura set a $165.00 price target on shares of Facebook and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.98.

In other Facebook news, Director Jan Koum sold 31,663 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.38, for a total transaction of $5,078,111.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Colin Stretch sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.98, for a total transaction of $109,485.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 80,580 shares in the company, valued at $11,763,068.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,375,974 shares of company stock worth $2,084,877,536 over the last three months. Insiders own 19.08% of the company’s stock.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its stake in Facebook by 20.0% in the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 721 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. D. Scott Neal Inc. raised its stake in Facebook by 1,358.0% in the second quarter. D. Scott Neal Inc. now owns 729 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Facebook during the first quarter worth approximately $121,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its stake in Facebook by 9.5% in the first quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 910 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services raised its stake in Facebook by 10.7% in the first quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 910 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 57.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.52. The stock has a market cap of $475.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.73 and a beta of 0.67.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The social networking company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.16. Facebook had a net margin of 36.45% and a return on equity of 20.27%. The firm had revenue of $8.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 49.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Facebook, Inc. will post $4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

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Facebook Company Profile

Facebook, Inc is focused on building products that enable people to connect and share through mobile devices, personal computers and other surfaces. The Company’s products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus. Facebook enables people to connect, share, discover and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers.