FB: BTIG upgrades Facebook ahead of earnings, likes Instagram's ad potential

BTIG upgrades Facebook ahead of earnings, likes Instagram's ad potential • 10:17 AM

• Better late than never? BTIG's Richard Greenfield, who upgraded Facebook (FB +0.2%) to Neutral in July following its blowout Q2 numbers, has upgraded shares to Buy in advance of this afternoon's Q3 report.
• Greenfield, who has frequently criticized the quality of Facebook ads: "We notably underestimated Facebook’s stickiness as a consumer utility for messaging and photosharing, not to mention the power of Facebook as a "cure for boredom," both in-home and on-the-go. BTIG's survey data found even users who say they're dissatisfied with Facebook "continue to use it on a daily basis."
• He's also optimistic about the potential of Instagram to offer high-quality brand ads backed by strong user feedback. Om Malik recently made a similar argument: he sees native ad formats such as Instagram's yielding much better engagement than standard display ads (for which click rates have been steadily dropping), and potentially "[openng] up a whole new era of Madison Avenue creativity."
• Twitter (TWTR) doesn't want to get left out: the company just began allowing previews of images and Vine videos to directly appear in timeline feeds. That, in turn, could open the door to visual brand ads.
• Facebook's sponsored news feed posts and Twitter's Promoted Tweet, Trend, and Account products also qualify as native ad products.

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