Facebook Surges As Investors ‘Like’ Earnings

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) stock is having arguably its best day since the social networking company’s highly anticipated May IPO turned quickly sour and drove share prices down to half their initial offer price of $38.

What has been a dark and stormy Wall Street ride for Facebook shareholders got a little brighter Wednesday, as the company enjoys what could be its largest one-day stock jump ever after releasing quarterly earnings Tuesday that must have pleased investors.

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Shares were recently trading up 20 percent at $23.61, and several brokerages have taken notice, raising their target prices on the social network’s stock.

Barclays Capital raised its target to $26 from $23, while Jefferies & Co upped its own from $30 to $32. Macquarie Equities Research also got in on the excitement, raising its price target to $24 from $21.

Perhaps the most important catalyst behind investors’ new shot of confidence is Facebook’s apparently growing capability to monetize its mobile business. Often criticized for not capitalizing on mobile advertising, Facebook seems to have quieted some of the skeptics that have called its mobile strategies into question. The quarterly numbers proved the company is making strides as 14 percent of ad revenue now comes from mobile ads, a much larger improvement than analysts were expecting.

Don’t Miss: Facebook Shows Mobile Strength With These Two Charts.