Facebook has been one of the most powerful FAANGs this year. Here is why it has just been downgraded.



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FAANG stocks haven’t really had much in common this year, with performance ranging from a 58% increase in Google’s parent Alphabet GOOG,
+ 0.89%,
a 2% drop from online sales giant Amazon AMZN,
+ 0.71%.

Arete Research, an independent research service focused on the tech industry, said it’s time to take a break from this group’s second-best performer, Facebook FB,
+ 0.77%,
which has jumped 32% this year. He lowered Facebook to neutral on the buy and left its price target at $ 381, or 6% above Friday’s closing price.

The problem is, while Facebook saw a sharp 47% increase in the price of impressions in the second quarter, the number of ad units only increased by 6% – the slowest growth since the fourth quarter. from 2017. Google has not had this problem, since it could replace search queries related to the COVID-19 pandemic with travel searches. Since revenue growth is driven by growth in impressions, analysts in Arrete expect Facebook shares to move sideways for the rest of the year.

This printing problem will not last forever, analysts added. They cited Facebook’s growing presence in e-commerce, which should help increase time spent in 2022. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the company’s second quarter earnings call , explained the company’s desire to create more native commerce experiences in its applications.

“What we found is that when these ads are linked off the site, you often go to a web page that isn’t personalized or optimized, or where you need to re-enter your payment information, and you don’t. is not a good experience for people, and it is not. It also does not lead to the best results for business, “Zuckerberg said.

Arrete analysts said, based on enterprise value versus EBITDA, Facebook is attractively valued at just 12 times 2022 earnings, compared to 26 times 2022 earnings for Twitter. TWTR,
+ 2.10%
and 16 times for Alphabet.

The buzz

The Kansas City Fed has announced that the Jackson Hole event will take place only online, rather than in person, a sign of the growing difficulties the United States is facing due to the delta strain of the coronavirus. According to a Bloomberg News article, the reappointment of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is backed by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and President Joe Biden will make his decision around Labor Day.

The economic record includes flash indexes of purchasing managers and data on existing home sales. In the eurozone, the composite PMI index edged down to 59.5 in August from 60.2 in July, which was still a good reading.

Uber Technologies UBER,
-0.11%
and Lyft LYFT,
-0.35%
both fell 3% in pre-market trading, and DoorDash DASH,
-1.62%
traded lower, after a judge ruled that a California proposition that drivers were classified as contractors instead of employees was unconstitutional.

Pfizer PFE,
+ 2.48%
entered into a $ 2.3 billion deal for Trillium Therapeutics TRIL,
+ 189.41%,
with the offer of $ 18.50 per share, a premium of over 200% at Friday’s close.

Virgin Orbit will go public through an acquisition by special-purpose acquisition vehicle NextGen Acquisition Corp. II NGCA,
+ 1.70%,
in a deal valuing the satellite launcher at $ 3.2 billion.

LG Chem 051910 battery supplier,
-11.14%
collapsed in Seoul trade, after General Motors GM,
-1.90%
announced an expanded recall of its Bolt electric vehicles and said it would ask LG to reimburse the billion dollar costs.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into the merger of S&P Global’s SPGI,
+ 0.53%
are considering buying IHS Markit INFO,
+ 0.72%
for $ 44 billion.

The steps

US ES00 equity futures contracts,
+ 0.54%

NQ00,
+ 0.43%
got up to kick off the week. Oil CL.1,
+ 4.20%
futures surged and bitcoin BTCUSD,
+ 3.73%
climbed to over $ 50,000.

The Nikkei 225 NIK,
+1.78%
rose nearly 2% to lead gains across Asia, while European equities benefited from weaker progress.

Random readings

China plans to build 43 new coal-fired power plants.

“James Bond” actor Daniel Craig says he won’t pass his millions on to his children.

Former President Donald Trump has found a way to get his supporters to boo him – by encouraging vaccinations.

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