While Facebook (FB) twists in the winds of public opinion, regulatory scrutiny, and questions about growth and engagement in the core app, Instagram has become a “monster.”
That’s the take from BTIG, which on Thursday raised its price target on the Barron’s Next 50 company’s shares to $275, more than 40% above current levels. The new target is tied with Wedbush for Wall Street’s highest, according to FactSet, and well above the Street’s current mean of $224.
“Despite all the noise around Facebook, Instagram has become an absolute monster in terms of user growth and engagement (with Instagram now over 1 billion users per day and Instagram stories over 400 million),” BTIG wrote.
• Instagram keeps growing. “We find it stunning that Instagram Stories in just two years since launch has become twice as large as Snapchat (SNAP), with monetization still in the early innings,” wrote BTIG.
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