Facebook: Color on Qtr
- FBR Capital notes Facebook's CC ad growth accelerated to 66%, versus 57% in 3Q, and results bested Street estimates across metrics. The tone of comments on how the business is progressing was constructive, and the 2016 expense outlook was not so bad. Results are supportive of firm's thesis that FB offers scarce large-cap media growth and attractive structural exposure to the rise in mobile precision-brand advertising. Maintain Outperform rating and increase tgt to $130 from $125.
- Mizuho Securities notes 4Q marked the third consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue trends, with revenue up 60% YoY (FXN) vs. 57% in 3Q and 50% in 2Q. With nearly 1.6b MAUs, solid engagement on mobile, and new ad formats, firm believes Facebook is becoming a must-buy among advertisers. And with video and Instagram ads gaining traction, firm believe these products are mid-term catalysts for sustained revenue growth.
- Axiom Research increases tgt to $145 from $126. Firm says to buy the stock and hold for the longer term as estimates have yet to reflect contribution from WhatsApp, Messenger, Oculus, the potential for FB to capture a meaningful slice of TV ad budgets through video ads, e-commerce & Search optionality, potential China entry, and the longer-term benefit of expanding Internet usage through Internet.org.
- Pivotal Research notes Facebook reported another stellar quarter with +52% revenue growth and strong profit expansion during 4Q15. With many levers of growth yet to be pulled, firm continues to see many reasons to remain highly optimistic in Facebook. For Facebook as for Google, size begets more size given the constantly improving capacity the company has to capture a growing share of marketer "wallets." Tgt is raised to $136 from $134 and maintains a Buy rating.