Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) continued its strong gains in the wake of its positive earnings report on Wednesday, rising an astounding 31 percent in pre-market trading Thursday morning. As is the case with many earnings reports which cause some serious movement in stock prices, investors have latched onto one of the main elements of Facebook’s report. This time around, it’s the company’s efforts in mobile monetization.
Facebook take steps in mobile
Wednesday’s results indicated revenue of $1.6 billion, with about 656 million of that revenue coming from mobile advertising. That’s compared to the first quarter’s mobile revenue of about 374 million. Mobile ad revenue rose 76 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, and 41 percent of the company’s overall revenue was from mobile devices, compared to 30 percent in the previous quarter.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on the company’s investor call on Wednesday that it wouldn’t be long before they had more mobile revenue than desktop revenue. Analysts from several firms, including RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney and Jefferies analyst Brian Pitz, said the social network’s mobile growth was the key driver in the company’s growth during the quarter. Analysts generally agree that mobile is the future for a company like Facebook, so the June quarter progress in mobile marked a major milestone for the company.
Analysts raise price targets for Facebook
Reuters’ Saqib Iqbal Ahmed reported that at least eight firms have raised their price targets for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), some by as much as $9 per share. RBC Capital Markets, Cantor Fitzgerald and JPMorgan all raised their price targets over the company’s initial public offering price of $38 per share. The company’s shares have not hit that price since their debut on the market.
JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth increased his price target for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) from $35 to $44 per share, saying that mobile is no longer a headwind for the company, but rather, a tailwind.
