Tech

Facebook shares reach all-time high after launch of online shopping feature

Key Points
  • Facebook shares soared after the company announced Facebook Shop, a new e-commerce feature, which left analysts bullish.
  • Facebook stock reached an all-time high on Wednesday. 

In this article

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at Facebook Inc's annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, May 1, 2018.
Stephen Lam | Reuters

Shares of Facebook reached an all-time high of $230.75 on Wednesday, soaring as much as 6.4%, with Wall Street being bullish on the company's focus on e-commerce.

The social media giant announced Facebook Shops on Tuesday, which will make listing products to Facebook and Instagram easier. The stock ended the day up just over 6%. 

Investors rallied on Facebook's announcement, with Morgan Stanley writing in a note Wednesday that this could make Facebook a competitor to Amazon and Alphabet's Google. Shops also presents itself as a multibillion dollar opportunity, the analysts wrote. 

Deutsche Bank also sees the opportunity for the company to rake in billions. 

"We think Facebook Shop in a simplistic bull case could drive up to as much as a $30 [billion] revenue opportunity, across a combination of take-rate driven transactional and advertising revenue," the analysts wrote.

AB Bernstein said in a note to clients early Wednesday that Facebook Shops could unlock a $1.3 trillion market.

"We have long viewed FB as the 'rent' to the digital economy and a core component of the online retail ecosystem," the analysts wrote. 

Correction: This story was revised to correct the day of Facebook's announcement to Tuesday and the trading day and Bernstein note to Wednesday.

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Facebook announces new small business shopping tools
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Facebook announces new small business shopping tools