Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s strong push into video advertising has made Stifel analysts even more optimistic. They’ve increased their price target for the social network from $95 to $99 a share, which may be the highest price target on Wall Street. They also maintained their Buy rating on Facebook.
Upside for Facebook Inc (FB) in video ads
Analyst Scott Devitt noted in their report that sources within the advertising industry project digital video ad spend to climb at a compound annual growth rate of 21% in the U.S. That would mean spending would increase from $3.6 billion last year to $9.3 billion by 2018.
Globally, he reported that a compound annual growth rate of 29% is expected, which would bring it from $6 billion last year to $21.6 billion by 2018. Devitt added that he sees further upside to these numbers because they include just a 10% penetration of TV ad spending in both the U.S. and around the globe by 2018.
Facebook Inc (FB) is solidly positioned in video ads
The analyst said Facebook and also Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) appear to be the best-positioned companies to benefit from the increase in digital ad spending. He slightly raised his video ad estimates for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) for this year and the coming years.
Devitt added $10 million to his video ad estimate and $7 million to his EBITDA estimate for this year. For next year, he raised his video ad estimate by $33 million and his EBITDA estimate by $19 million. For 2016, he added a remarkable $346 million to his video ad estimate for Facebook. For 2024, he increased his video ad estimate from $5.3 billion to $7.2 billion.
What about Twitter?
Many analysts compare Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) with Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), and Devitt is no different. However, he doesn’t like Twitter nearly as much as he likes Facebook. He said it’s questionable whether Twitter is making any traction.
For one thing, he said Twitter’s monthly visit numbers in the U.S. are 15% those of Facebook. The micro-blogging platform’s engagement is 4% of Facebook’s engagement, according to Devitt. He pointed out that some of Twitter’s products, like Amplify, do set it apart from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), but he thinks they will see “limited traction outside of live events.”
Devitt has a Hold rating on Twitter.
