Facebook Inc. has published a series of full-page newspaper ads with the headline, “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere,” Bloomberg reports. This is the latest development in what has become a spiteful public battle between the two tech giants.
The upcoming changes to Apple’s iOS 14 operating system will limit the ability of companies like Facebook (FB) to gather data about mobile users and target them for advertising. Facebook says that most advertisers are small businesses and believes that ads that do not specifically target consumers leads to 60% fewer sales than ads that do target consumers.
Facebook has also criticized the high prices that Apple (AAPL) charges for their smartphones and App Store fees in an attempt to paint itself as a champion for those trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple’s response has been that Facebook has no regard for user privacy. As of next year, Apple has committed to reducing its App Sore revenue cut from 30% to 15% for developers that generate up to $1 million per year. This change, it says, is in support of small businesses. (See FB stock analysis on TipRanks)
Societe General analyst Simon Baker reiterated his Sell rating yesterday but did however raise his price target from $120 to $205, (25% downside potential). Baker is the only analyst with a Sell rating of the 36 analysts to have offered a rating in the last three months and his price target is the lowest on the Street.
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 33 Buys, 2 Holds and 1 Sell. The average price target of $321.06 implies a potential upside of around 17% over the next 12 months.
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