The major financial center of the United States thinks that Facebook is untouchable, MarketWatch reported on Thursday.
The social media giant is untouchable, as how analysts have put it. Now the sixth most valuable S&P 500 component, the company's stock hit a 52-week intraday high. Its userbase, which Wedbush analysts call "insurmountable" for other companies, is one of Facebook's biggest advantages. "Facebook is a great company, period," the analysts wrote.
"There are little holes, if any, to poke into this story," James Cakmak, an analyst with Monness, Crespi, and Hardt wrote. He calls this a juxtaposition of user growth and overall rising ad sales - total advisers are up 50% from a year ago, which is Facebook's "perfect storm". Compared to its peers, Twitter and Yahoo, Facebook stands out with shares that have risen up to 9% Thursday and have gained 14% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained just 2.7%.
"We wouldn't read too much into this as management has made similar commentary in the past, if nothing else to keep expectations in check," Susquehanna analysts wrote. The analysts have also reiterated a positive rating and increased their price target to $145 from $140.
Saying that Facebook may have too much going for it, the Pacific Crest analysts were lightly less enthusiastic compared to others. "With a premium valuation for FB and lack of a "wall of worry" to climb, we remain sector weight, but it is impossible to deny Facebook's momentum," the analysts wrote.
Facebook is obviously and clearly bucking the tech slump and poised growth for Instagram, but the stock is already trading at 13 times its sales and is unlikely to go much higher, Pacific Crest analysts have also stated. Their notion was also echoed by other analysts, who think that growth could be hurt by users defecting to other platforms.
