What happened
Shares of Facebook (META 2.66%) took a hit on Tuesday, falling as much as 5.6%. As of 12:45 p.m. EDT, however, the stock was down 4.5%.
The stock's decline was driven by a sell-off in the broader market and a series of lowered price targets for Facebook stock from analysts.
So what
Highlighting pessimism in the overall market on Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 3.4% at the time of this writing as investors continue to weigh the implications of volatile oil futures.
Meanwhile, analysts from Raymond James, Deutsche Bank, and Mizuho lowered their 12-month price targets for Facebook stock to $215, $200, and $220, respectively. These targets are down from $270, $280, and $240 previously. Some of the reasons for the worsened outlook include expectations for smaller ad budgets during the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty surrounding the timing of a recovery in ad spending.
Now what
Notably, Facebook stock's $170 price target at the time of this writing is substantially below these lowered price targets. Of course, this is why all three analysts reiterated their buy ratings for the stock. They believe the company's valuation has already priced in this uncertain environment.
Investors will get a glimpse into how COVID-19 is impacting the tech giant when Facebook reports its first-quarter results on Wednesday, April 29.