Meta shares rose 17.59% on Thursday after losing nearly half their value this year, as the social media giant surprised Wall Street with a better-than-expected increase in users. The movement influenced several names in the internet and technology sector. Apple, Amazon and Alphabet rose more than 2%.
“Investors seem to be clamoring for good news and Meta’s results helped with that,” said Laura Hoy, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. Analysts seemed mixed in their views on the results.
At least five brokerages lowered their share price targets, while three raised them. Of the 63 analysts covering the stock, 46 have a “buy” or higher rating and only two analysts rate the stock “sell” or lower. The stock’s average target price is $300, well above the current trading price of $200.
Facebook’s daily active users – a key metric for advertisers – reached 1.96 billion, slightly above the estimate of 1.95 billion.
Even as stocks rose, Wall Street analysts took a more cautious tone, citing concerns ranging from the war in Ukraine, changes in Apple’s App Store policy to competition from ByteDance’s TikTok.
“We don’t think Facebook’s overall business has changed much in the last 90 days, but the headwinds linked to iOS changes, TikTok competition and Reels monetization are better understood,” said lead JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth, in note.
Similar movement on the eve
The actions Goal closed higher the day before (28), for the same reason that the shares go up this Thursday. The social media giant’s assets rose 15% in the expanded trading session after publication
Earnings beat Wall Street expectations at $2.72 a share, compared with a market consensus of $2.56 a share, according to Refinitiv data.
On the other hand, the Goal lost about goalof its market value since the beginning of the year, after the announcement in February of a lower-than-expected result in the number of daily active users. The company also made a downbeat forecast for the quarter, citing factors that included changes to Apple’s user privacy protection systems and increased competition from other platforms such as TikTok.
In the most recent results, the Goal predicted second-quarter revenue of between $28 and $30 billion. Analysts, on average, had expected revenue of $30.6 billion.
Total revenue, which includes advertising revenue, rose 7% to $27.91 billion in the first quarter, falling short of analysts’ forecast of $28.2 billion, also according to Refinitiv data.
Net income fell 21% to $7.47 billion in the first quarter, but was above the market average forecast of $7.15 billion.
The company has lowered its 2022 total expense outlook to between $87 and $92 billion, down from the previous scenario of $90 to $95 billion.
Source: CNN Brasil
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