Facebook Slips After Wedbush Downgrades To Hold, Cuts Price Target By Investing.com

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) shares weakened by nearly 2% in Wednesday’s trade following a downgrade by Wedbush analyst Ygal Arounian.

The analyst lowered his rating to hold from buy and also cut his price target to $340 from $375, which is still almost 12% higher than stock’s level after the erosion. From the previous target, the latest forecast is 9% lower.  

Among Arounian’s coverage of mega-cap tech stocks, he believes Facebook is “most exposed to privacy risks” though the social commerce initiatives it is building into its platform are positive.

Furthermore, the analyst considers the Mark Zuckerberg company to be the strongest digital ad platform in targeting users but believes it also has the most to lose with the expected recognition of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) ‘app tracking transparency’ that could limit the Instagram owner’s tracking capabilities.

In another development that only adds to Facebook’s legal challenges, Amnesty International, Privacy International and 28 other civil and human rights groups on Wednesday urged EU lawmakers to take a strong stand on privacy rights in proposed rules governing Facebook’s WhatsApp and Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Skype.