Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is perhaps one of the more anticipated earnings reports this week, as the social-network firm is due to release its fourth-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday. But to get a sneak peek at what might be coming in the report, one can look to what some analysts put out in their weekly research notes – and the first clue may be coming from Raymond James, which has put forth a bullish expectation for the stock.
Raymond James’ Aaron Kessler upgraded Facebook Inc. from Market Perform to Outperform and set a price target at $38 per share – which is where the stock started at its IPO last May. Kessler predicted quarterly revenue at $1.57 billion and profits at 18 centers per share, which are above consensus estimates of $1.50 billion of revenue and 16 cents EPS. Kessler added that he expects advertising revenue for the quarter to be $1.35 billion, which is up from the $1.28 billion consensus.
Overall, Facebook Inc. has performed 35 percent better than the S&P 500 over the last three months, and the stock has a 12-month consensus price target of $33.50, which is a 6-percent premium on Friday’s close of $31.54. After the first half-hour of trading Monday, Facebook stock was up more than 2 percent from the open to about $32.20 per share.
What do you think? Is Facebook Inc. truly on its way back? Is this rally from $18 per share legitimate? What do you expect from Wednesday’s earnings report, and what numbers are most important to you? We’d love your feedback in the comments section below.
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