Facebook Analyst Not Concerned About Regulatory Headwinds

Weekly FB calls have been popular in recent days

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) was hit hard last week as reports swirled throughout the tech sector about potential federal investigations. However, an analyst note this morning suggested regulatory concerns are already priced into the stock, and are overshadowing the company's growth potential. This came from Moffett Nathanson, which upgraded FB shares to "buy" and kept its $210 price target in place.

Meanwhile, options traders have mostly kept a bullish view, as well, with call buying essentially doubling put buying during the past 10 days at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). Zeroing in on Monday's trading, calls were unusually popular, driven by demand for the weekly 6/14 180-strike call.

It looks as though traders bought to open the positions, hoping to profit on a run higher in Facebook stock by the end of this week, when the contracts expire. However, there's already been heavy trading at this strike this morning, so these speculators could be adjusting their positions.

Also in this morning's trading, new positions are opening at the weekly 6/14 182.50-strike call, as more bulls seem to be moving in. More broadly speaking, there is extremely heavy open interest at the front-month June 200 and 205 calls.

It's hard to ignore the fact that FB's pullback last week found stiff support from the 200-day moving average, and the shares are now set for a sixth straight positive session. They were last seen up 2.2% at $178.67.