In a report published Tuesday, JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth commented that shares of Facebook Inc FB remain a top pick 2015 as it is still in the early stages of monetizing its base of 1.4 billion users while also building strong franchises in Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Anmuth cited comScore data that suggests "continued strong engagement" in Facebook's share of mobile Internet time (excluding Instagram and WhatsApp) in February was 22 percent (versus 21 percent in January), while Facebook's share of total Internet time including desktop was 18 percent.
Related Link: Bank Of America: Instagram + WhatsApp = Enormous Opportunity For Facebook
Anmuth added that if Instagram and WhatsApp usage were included in the data, Facebook minutes grew approximately 25 percent year-over-year in February, "meaningfully" accelerating from the 16 percent year-over-year growth seen in January.
The analyst concluded by stating that Facebook's large and targeted user base is "attractive" to many different kinds of marketers and the company is seeing strong growth in advertising revenue.
Shares are Overweight rated with an $85 price target.
Shares traded recently at $78.74, up 0.85 percent.
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