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Shares of Facebook hit an all-time high Friday after a Wall Street firm upgraded the stock and predicted big growth in advertising revenue at the world’s dominant online social network.
Cowen & Co. analysts John Blackledge and Thomas Champion upgraded Facebook shares to “outperform” and significantly adjusted their price target to $53, up from just $29 previously.
Facebook shares, which have already run up some 75 percent in two months, rose 2 percent on Thursday to $47.49. Earlier in the day, they touched $47.60, a new high for the stock, which famously was considered a bust when it debuted 16 months ago and promptly plunged more than 50 percent.
The Cowen analysts said they expect advertising revenue to hit $6.5 billion this year and grow to $25.9 billion in 2018. The analysts are also bullish on Instagram, which is owned by Facebook and will presumably begin to generate advertising revenue next year.
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