Facebook, Inc. FB investors have valid reasons to remain concerned with fatigue among users in its core social media platform, but at the same time the stock is "too cheap to ignore," according to Stifel.
The Analyst
Stifel's Scott Devitt upgraded Facebook from Hold to Buy with a price target lifted from $175 to $202.
The Thesis
Ongoing concerns related to fatigue on Facebook's core platform and possible regulatory actions at the government level takes a backseat to the stock's valuation, Devitt said in the note. Encouragingly, the company's management team prior lack of focus on privacy and security is now being addressed, although a at a slow pace.
Facebook's stock is trading at 18 times the firm's 2019E GAAP EPS (excluding net cash), which is attractive for a company that continues to grow north of 30 percent with a mid-40 percent GAAP operating margin, the analyst wrote.
Moreover, Facebook's stock is trading one turn higher on a GAAP EPS basis compared to Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL and holding that turn relative to the firm's 20 times target multiple on Alphabet yields a valuation of around $200 for Facebook.
A $202 price target is justified using a discounted cash flow valuation model, which assumes a perpetual growth rate of 4 percent and a discount rate of 10 percent.
Price Action
Shares of Facebook were trading around $173.72 Friday morning.
Analysts Speak Up On Facebook's Big Quarter
Facebook Volatility Providing An Opportunity In Some Leveraged ETFs
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
date | ticker | name | Price Target | Upside/Downside | Recommendation | Firm |
|---|
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
