Facebook Stock Hits $30 For First Time Since July

Facebook may finally be over its 20-something phase.

The company's stock hit $30 a share on Wednesday for the first time since mid-July, after several consecutive days of hovering around the $29 mark. The stock opened at $29.63 a share and climbed above $30 in early trading, a gain of more than 3% on the day.

Facebook originally fell below $30 in late May, less than two weeks after the company IPO-ed at $38 a share, and briefly climbed back above it in late June before giving it up again. The stock eventually dipped to as low as $17.55 a share in early September, before rebounding on a pledge by CEO Mark Zuckerberg not to sell stock. It has gradually ticked up since then on the strength of the company's September quarter earnings report and the expiration of its stock lockup periods for employees.

The stock's surge this month has been fueled by analyst optimism for Facebook's revenue options and its strength on mobile as well as the overall momentum of the stock market following a deal by the U.S. Congress to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. The company also sent out invites Tuesday to a press event later this month to "come and see what we're building," fueling speculation about what will be announced.
Several analysts have put out positive forecasts for the company in recent weeks. JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth raised his price target on the stock last week to $35 from $29, noting that "marketer feedback on mobile and news feed ads has been very positive." Likewise, William Blair Analyst Ralph Schackart praised the potential of the Facebook ad exchange.

In the span of seven months, the discussion has shifted from whether Facebook can monetize its mobile users to counting the number of ways that it can. "Are the worst days behind it in that investors are aware it's a real business? Absolutely," Brian Wieser, a senior analyst at Pivotal Research Group, told Mashable.
Even so, the stock's roller coaster ride will likely continue as analysts and investors look to the company's upcoming earnings reports to decipher the progress and viability of Facebook's revenue-generation strategies.

"Investors are still going to be skeptical of Facebook and earnings are going to be important going forward," Kevin Pleines, an analyst with Birinyi Associates, said in an e-mail. "I think there is still a lot of uncertainly how well and consistently they can monetize their users and grow revenue."

While the $30 mark is a notable threshold, the real milestone continues to be the IPO price. If and when Facebook's stock returns to $38 a share, Pleines says the worst will really be over.

Image courtesy of Flickr, deneyterrio