Mediaboss Marketing

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports. They currently have a $229.00 target price on the social networking companys stock. Zacks Investment Researchs price target suggests a potential upside of 4.41% from the companys previous close.

According to Zacks, Facebooks shares have outperformed the industry in the past year. Growth in Instagram Stories and Feed, and Facebook News Feed is expected to aid mobile ad revenues. The companys initiatives to improve privacy, transparency and authenticity of ads are likely to boost user trust and engagement. The launch of Facebook View app, Facebook Pay and catalogs in the WhatsApp Business app aimed at small businesses is noteworthy. Meanwhile, estimates have been stable ahead of the companys fourth-quarter earnings release. The company has a mixed record of earnings surprises in the recent quarters. However, a persistent mix shift toward Stories is anticipated to hurt ARPU. Also, the companys rising regulatory headwinds, including the antitrust investigation and the EUs investigation of Libra, are concerns.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Credit Suisse Group restated an outperform rating and set a $270.00 price objective (up previously from $260.00) on shares of Facebook in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Jaffray Companies began coverage on Facebook in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an overweight rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. HSBC began coverage on Facebook in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a reduce rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Facebook from $247.00 to $240.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group set a $231.00 price objective on Facebook and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and forty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Facebook presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $235.15.

Facebook stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $219.33. 7,348,133 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,129,395. Facebook has a 52 week low of $140.84 and a 52 week high of $218.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.66 and a current ratio of 4.66. The firm has a market cap of $623.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.05. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $203.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.83.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.21. Facebook had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 27.08%. The business had revenue of $17.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $17.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. Facebooks quarterly revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Facebook will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Facebook news, CAO Susan J.S. Taylor sold 1,133 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $224,991.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,505 shares in the company, valued at $298,862.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 118,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.62, for a total transaction of $21,758,970.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,472,240 shares of company stock valued at $278,644,107. Company insiders own 14.53% of the companys stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in Facebook by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the social networking companys stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in Facebook by 1.0% during the third quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the social networking companys stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Personal Wealth Partners boosted its position in Facebook by 12.9% during the third quarter. Personal Wealth Partners now owns 481 shares of the social networking companys stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Facebook by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,730 shares of the social networking companys stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its position in Facebook by 1.3% during the third quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 4,424 shares of the social networking companys stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.76% of the companys stock.

About Facebook

Facebook, Inc provides various products to connect and share through mobile devices, personal computers, and other surfaces worldwide. The company's products include Facebook that enables people to connect, share, discover, and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and messages; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, groups, and businesses across platforms and devices; and WhatsApp, a messaging application for use by people and businesses to communicate in a private way.

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Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Lowered to Sell at Zacks Investment Research - Riverton Roll