Shares of Facebook Inc. rose 0.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after MKM Partners analyst Rob Sanderson boosted his price target to become the most bullish on the social media company, on the belief that the stock already reflects a material slowdown in revenue. Sanderson lifted his price target to $240, which is now the highest target of the 46 analysts surveyed by FactSet, from $200, saying the stock is set up for Facebook to be the best investment among mega-capitalization companies. Consensus expectations for revenue growth deceleration appears “overly conservative” and expectations of a ramp in expenses appears “overly aggressive,” Sanderson said. “Together we think this is an attractive set up: a further de-rating is unlikely,…implying that growth alone will carry the stock higher, but we also think EPS upside is likely,” Sanderson wrote in a note to clients. The stock has lost 4.3% in the past two sessions, amid a broad selloff in the technology sector, after closing at a record $183.03 on Monday. It has soared 52% year to date, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has run up 31% and the S&P 500 has climbed 17%.
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