Facebook's stock surges above 50-day moving average after bullish analyst call
Shares of Facebook Inc. rallied 3.3% in afternoon trade Tuesday, putting them on track to close above a widely followed technical threshold, after J.P. Morgan said the social media company remained one of its "favorite" names of 2019. The stock set to close above its 50-day moving average, which many Wall Street chart watchers use to define the short-term trend, for the first time since July 25, 2018, when it closed at a record $217.50. The 50-day moving average currently extends to $140.05, according to FactSet. J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated his overweight rating, saying while investor sentiment remains negative, given privacy and data concerns, slowing growth, regulation and "extremely negative" PR, he believes the core Facebook user is sticker than many think. He said recent metrics are mostly stable and his survey work has showed solid engagement while Instagram continues to grow rapidly. He also thinks revenue deceleration is "manageable," while earnings growth should accelerate and valuation "compelling." The stock has lost 9.4% over the past three months while the Nasdaq Composite has lost 10.9% and the S&P 500 has given up 10.8%.
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