Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) blew past Wall Street's expectations in its second-quarter earnings.
Wall Street has subsequently heaped commendation on the company. Its stock, one of the hot tech names that have driven the market's gains this year, is set to open at an all-time high on Thursday.
In the second quarter, Facebook's user base, the largest in the world, grew by 17% year-over-year, with 66% of its 2.01 billion users visiting the social network every day. Its revenues increased 45% from the same quarter a year ago to $9.32 billion, while its earnings per share was $1.32, beating the forecast for $1.13.
Here's a wrap of some of the analyst commentary:
RBC Capital Markets: BULLISH
Rating: Outperform
Price target: $195 ($185 previously)
Comment: "FB might well be the best growth story in tech," said Mark Mahaney.
"Yes, we are incrementally more positive. Core FB is growing extremely well, with almost unprecedented ad revenue growth consistency. More important, we believe that FB’s current low market shares — approximately 15% of global online advertising and 5% of global total advertising — will help it to maintain premium growth for a long time."
Goldman: BULLISH
Rating: Buy
Price target: $205 (previously $180)
Comment: "We maintain our attractive outlook on Facebook, as the company continues to be well-positioned in one of the best secular markets," said the analysts led by Heather Bellini.
"We expect consensus estimates to increase on the back of this quarter’s beat, though management once again pointed to decelerating revenue growth in 2H17 as Facebook ad load reaches saturation. However, we continue to see opportunities for incremental ad load on Instagram, increased engagement from Instagram stories, and (while early) potential for new monetization levers through Messenger and WhatsApp."
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM): BULLISH
Rating: Overweight
Price target: $210 (previously $182)
Comment: "FB continues to show a rare & impressive combination of scale, growth, & profitability," said Doug Anmuth.