Last week, the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee passed six Big Tech bills that will make their way to the full House. Some bills will turn out more relevant to particular Big Tech companies than others, but either way, it’s clear the law makers are intent on reining in Big Tech’s influence.
Facebook (FB) is obviously one of the companies under the microscope. The company is accustomed to such scuffles, be it with the regulators, data protection warriors, or even other Big Tech alumni.
In any case, it’s not as if the battle-hardened social media giant is about to step on the brakes in its pursuit of further market dominance, as noted by Monness analyst Brian White.
“As the war on Big Tech has gained momentum, Facebook has been busy expanding shopping experiences across the platform and introducing new ad innovations in recent weeks,” the 5-star analyst said. “Despite some expected headwinds this year, we anticipate Facebook will benefit from improved ad spending and capitalize on accelerated digital transformation with new initiatives.”
One of last year’s new initiatives is expanding its reach. Facebook introduced Facebook Shops in May 2020 and its popularity has been confirmed with more than 300 million monthly visitors and over 1.2 million monthly active Shops.
Last week, Facebook announced that Shops is heading to WhatsApp in certain countries and Marketplace in the U.S. market. Additionally, for products on Instagram Shops, Facebook intends to introduce rating and review options. Going by recent noises made by the company, AI will also take on a bigger role in the Facebook shopping experience. “For example,” White notes, “Facebook announced plans to begin testing new, AI-powered visual search on Instagram, providing users with the ability to simply tap on an image to find a similar product.”
The company has also clocked an opportunity in the increasing popularity of live shopping and intends to try out Live Shopping on Facebook with Live Shopping Fridays. Other developments in the pipeline include testing ads in select mobile apps on the Oculus Platform.
To this end, White rates FB shares a Buy along with a $460 price target. Should the target be met, investors are looking at gains of ~31% in addition to entry into the exclusive Four Comma Club – i.e., companies boasting a market cap over $1 trillion. (To watch White’s track record, click here)
Most analysts agree with White’s appraisal. FB stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 29 Buys, 4 Holds and 1 Sell. The average price target, however, is a more modest one; at $386.61, the figure suggests ~10% upside in the year ahead. (See Facebook stock analysis on TipRanks)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
