Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares partially recovered in late Wednesday afternoon trades before falling back down again and settling just above $27 per share. Meanwhile analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald released their latest report to investors.
They’ve maintained their Buy rating and increased their price target for the stock to $33 from $28. They said the increase is largely due to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s new strides in mobile development, including user engagement and the monetization of its mobile services. Cantor Fitzgerald analysts believe Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) will be one of the main beneficiaries as mobile advertising grows. As a result, they expect the company as a whole to see its revenue increase.
The analysts cite comScore’s Mobile Metrix, which shows an acceleration in time spent using Facebook on mobile devices. In November mobile usage of Facebook increased 12.4 percent month over month, compared to just a 6.4 percent increase recorded in October. They also note that Facebook’s mobile growth beat Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s mobile growth significantly. Mobile use of Google only increased 3.6 percent in November.
Meanwhile the analysts also applaud Facebook’s monetization of its mobile offerings. During the third quarter, mobile advertising was about 14 percent of the company’s ad revenue after just eight months in operation. Cantor Fitzgerald has been tracking data in this area and has seen an increase in the “volume and frequency of ads in the mobile newsfeed.”
They also believe Facebook’s attempt at stepping into e-commerce will generate about $100 million of revenue next year. The Gifts feature was just rolled out recently, and they believe Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is in the perfect position to take advantage of the revenue that can be earned through e-commerce.
