Facebook shares gain amid higher price target, potential French legal action

Facebook shares ended the US Monday trading session higher, amid a mixed bag of news. On a positive note, JP Morgan tech stock analyst Doug Anmuth raised his price target on the tech firm. Less welcome, was the French allegation of a breach of data protection laws.

Facebook shares closed 0.36% in the green at $180.82. And, pre-market trading activity is also marginally positive for the social media giant.

Facebook among ‘best ideas for 2018’

JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth re-iterated his positive stance on Facebook with an overweight rating and an increased price target of $225 per share. He detailed his views in his “best ideas for 2018” research note.

That upbeat assessment follows an equally positive one on Facebook last week.  

Laura Martin, a stock analyst at Needham, rated Facebook as a top stock pick for 2018.

“As advertisers follow younger audiences to smartphones, demand for Facebook's mobile ad inventory is growing," Martin wrote in a research note to clients. Martin’s price target for Facebook is currently $215 per share.

French problem arises

Amid the welcome good news on the outlook for the Facebook share price, other details have arisen too. The main one currently grabbing headlines, is news that the social media firm has been warned over its data sharing policies.

French data protection agency, Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), said in an online statement: “the Chair of the CNIL decided to issue formal notice to the company WHATSAPP to comply with the Data Protection Act within one month.

The CNIL said explicit consent has not been obtained for consumer data to be shared between WhatsApp and Facebook.

One of the main points raised by the CNIL, is that not all WhatsApp users are registered on Facebook and vice versa. This suggests that sharing of data between them isn’t something all users of each app would agree to.