Meta Platforms set for 176% upside, bullish analyst says
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Research firm Tigress Financial Partners is staying very bullish on Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), saying the company is well positioned to lead the "ongoing evolution" into the metaverse on optimism it can keep growing users, revenue and cash flow.
The company's first-quarter earnings brought investor relief, surprising to the upside on users and profitability and allaying some fears that Meta was losing ground to other platforms, Tigress' Iven Feinseth says in reiterating a Strong Buy rating.
And its recent announcements on creating and monetizing content in the metaverse sets the stage for the beginnings of Meta's social commerce platform, he said.
The company "remains well-positioned to benefit from the evolution of social commerce, commercial aspects, and future monetization potential of the Metaverse."
Video is still driving increased engagement, especially on Facebook and Instagram, and there's significant upside driven by monetizing critical apps and technologies, including Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus, he said.
There's hefty further upside in the stock, where he's set a 12-month target price of $466, now implying 176% upside.
Meanwhile, Meta has addressed a lingering criticism by saying it will no longer require a Facebook login for users of its virtual reality devices.
Instead, in August it will start rolling out "Meta accounts," which is "not a social media profile" but simply enables logging into VR devices and managing purchased apps. There will be a Meta Horizon Profile that can be created, but privacy options in the accounts will enable users to share with everyone, friends and family, or simply the user alone.
Users can connect their VR lives with Facebook or Instagram if they like, but won't have to, the company says.