SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Meta shares rose 17% on Thursday after losing nearly half their value this year, as the social media giant surprised Wall Street with a better-than-expected increase in users.
The movement influenced several names in the internet and technology sector. Apple, Amazon and Alphabet were up more than 2%.
“Investors seem to be clamoring for good news and Meta’s results helped with that,” said Laura Hoy, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Analysts seemed mixed in their views on the results. At least five brokerages lowered their share price targets, while three raised them.
Of the 63 analysts covering the stock, 46 have a rating of “buy” or higher and only two analysts rate the stock “sell” or lower. The stock’s average target price is $300, well above the current trading price of $200.
Facebook’s daily active users (DAU), a key metric for advertisers, reached 1.96 billion, slightly above the estimate of 1.95 billion.
Even as stocks rose, Wall Street analysts took a more cautious tone, citing concerns ranging from the war in Ukraine, changes in Apple’s App Store policy to competition from ByteDance’s TikTok.
“We don’t think Facebook’s overall business has changed much in the past 90 days, but the headwinds linked to iOS changes, TikTok competition and Reels monetization are better understood,” said lead JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth, in note.
