Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been the talk of Wall Street ahead of its earnings release tonight. BTIG analysts Richard Greenfield and Brandon Ross upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and set their price target at $68 per share. They sent out their upgrade after closing bell on Tuesday.
BTIG likes Facebook’s mobile advertising
The analysts said they based their upgrade on the view that the social network’s mobile advertising is improving. They also said that users don’t appear to be cutting back on usage despite the increased ad load. In addition, they see Instagram as “an asset that may redefine what advertising means,” especially on mobile devices.
Greenfield and Ross wrote more details about their upgrade on their blog and suggest that even users who are bored keep using the site, potentially as “a cure for boredom.” They said they underestimated just how sticky Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s site is in terms of a messaging and photo sharing site. After surveying users of all ages, they found that even those who said they are not satisfied with the social network keep using it every day.
Instagram could fuel growth for Facebook
The BTIG analysts also suggest that Instagram is still not fully appreciated and that it will fuel continued growth at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). The photo sharing site has said it wants to make advertising “creative and engaging” and will start by limiting it to just a few brands which “are already great members of the Instagram community.” Instagram has also said wants to make it easy for consumers to offer their feedback on the ads they see.
The Facebook-owned company said it thinks offering an easy feedback system will result in advertising that’s even better than on Facebook itself. According to Instagram, it aims to improve user experience and offer an even better advertising platform than what Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) already offers.
