UPDATE: UBS Investment Research Upgrades Facebook on Multiple Positive Factors

In a report published Friday, UBS Investment Research analyst Eric J. Sheridan upgraded Facebook FB from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $28.00 to $30.00.

In the report, UBS Investment Research noted, “We are upgrading Facebook to Buy & raising our PT to $30 given a) new monetization efforts (2H 2013); b) potential pricing benefits from a more engaging ad product suite; c) positive data on News Feed retargeting ads; & d) recent stock underperformance. We note that Facebook shares have underperformed the S&P 500 and UBS Internet Index by ~22% and ~36% YTD, respectively. Based on our checks, Facebook plans to begin selling Newsfeed video ads in 2H 2013. Our estimates assume that Facebook will be able to monetize daily video ad slots in the seven-figure range. Our checks also indicate that FB will also begin serving ads on Instagram (no advertising to date) during 2H 2013. In both cases, Facebook must be careful not to overly disrupt the user experience.”

Facebook closed on Thursday at $23.90.