Are there any Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) skeptics left out there?

I doubt it.

But even early this year, the social-networking giant still had plenty of naysayers on Wall Street.

And that was when – on Feb. 27 to be precise – I predicted that Facebook stock would double in value by 2018.

And the stock has gone on a huge rally since that day, when it was trading at just shy of $79.

FB recently closed at $106.50, giving those of you who picked it up at the time a 35.5% gain in little more than eight months.

If that doesn’t sound like much to you, consider this. During that same period, the market-reflecting S&P 500 Index is down by 2.6%.

Of course, after a big run like that, you’re likely wondering if there is any upside left.

Should you get out now? Is it too late to make your “Buy”?

This is what I think…

All in on Facebook Stock

The answer is “no.”

No, you shouldn’t sell your shares – and no, it’s not too late to take a stake in Facebook.

In fact, I’m “doubling down” on my original prediction by raising my FB price target to $250.

I’m one of the few tech analysts who’s stood by Facebook when others were slamming it. You may recall, back on March 7, 2014, when I noted that Facebook had become the laughingstock of the Nasdaq.

The company had just agreed to pick up the instant-messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion. That five-year-old startup had just 55 employees and 2013 revenue of $20 million. And Wall Street, cable TV pundits, and late-night comedians hurled sarcasm at the Silicon Valley leader.

But here’s what I said: “Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will have the last laugh here.

“And if you follow my recommendation… so will you.”

Since then, the stock is up 58.6%, beating the S&P 500 more than fourfold.

In other words, my Facebook prediction wasn’t just “bold” – it turned out to be pretty much on the money.

I believe Wall Street and the mainstream media failed to see what’s really going at Facebook because they violated Rule No. 2 of Your Tech Wealth Blueprint. That rule says to “separate the signal from the noise.”

In this case, the noise was a widely held belief that Facebook had limited upside because it was just a social site for teens and college students fooling around on their laptops.

Here’s the signal: Facebook is nothing short of a mobile juggernaut – the firm is now an advertising and media cash machine.

Think about it – and then take a look around.

All those people fiddling with their phones – whether you’re at the airport, the neighborhood playground, or strolling down the sidewalk – a whole bunch of them are on Facebook. Three of the top 10 mobile apps are owned by Zuckerberg’s company.

When it comes to our smartphones, Facebook often is the Internet.

And after the company’s recent breakout earnings in the third quarter proved this point, many in the investing community jumped on its bandwagon.

Convincing the Skeptics

A Nov. 5 headline on MarketWatch said, “Facebook Doubters Now Hail Stock as Unstoppable.” That same day Barron’s said, “Facebook Stock Should Continue Its Record Surge.”

Barron’s went on to add this advice: “Any dips below $100 should be viewed as opportunities to buy Facebook’s stock as the company is revolutionizing media, advertising, and interpersonal communications.”

Exactly. And I’ve got three independent data points that prove what I’m talking about.

• Spending on digital ads is projected to grow 18% to $170.2 billion this year, according to the researchers at com.
• The same researchers said Facebook will win 9.6% of this spending – up from 8% a year ago. The figures translate to a 20% increase in market share in less than two years.
• RBC Capital Marketsreports that 61% of marketers surveyed in September plan to spend more on Facebook ads next year.

I should mention a fourth piece of data staring us right in the face. It shows why the company faces so much advertising growth.

I’m talking about Facebook’s logo. You’ll find it on millions of pieces of marketing materials… websites, business cards, and brochures.

In fact, you’ll find it on this website.

How savvy is this? Facebook gets more free advertising – publicity that constantly and positively reinforces its brand – than any company could possibly afford.

Here’s how all this ties together. You have a dominant player that is growing market share in the rapidly expanding, must-have mobile segment.

We can see the impact of that in the company’s third-quarter financials. Here’s a teaser: In September, Facebook had 2.5 million advertisers, a stunning 25% increase in just six months.

Quality Q3

This is a mobile gold mine.

Facebook said mobile ads for the third quarter accounted for 78% of advertising revenue, up 18% from 66% last year.

No wonder sales beat expectations and grew 41% from the year-ago period to $4.5 billion. The company disclosed it had raised ad prices by 61% compared with last year.

Facebook also beat the Street’s earnings forecast. Excluding some expenses, the firm earned $0.57 a share, almost 10% higher than what analysts had expected.

And its user group now makes up the world’s largest “population.” Roughly 1.55 billion people tap the social network at least once a month, meaning Facebook has more users than China has people.

These are the kind of stats that are a digital advertiser’s dream come true:

• More than 1 billion people use the service daily.
• Facebook videos receive more than 8 billion views a day.
• Video viewing has doubled just since April.
• Daily viewers now total more than 500 million people, or 56% more than the U.S. population.
• Users transmit more than 9.5 billion photos a month on the firm’s FacebookMessenger texting app.

Now then, I should point out that in the quarter, Facebook sharply increased spending – and that affected its overall profits.

Total costs in the quarter increased 68%. But I’m not worried because the company is plowing money back into new growth for the near future.

For instance, it paid $2 billion last year to buy the virtual reality headset developer Oculus. The Oculus Rift VR headset is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2016.

The move gives Facebook an early entrant in a VR market that Digi-Capital says could hit $30 billion by 2020.

This is truly a tech leader with a lot of growth ahead.

Trading at $108, Facebook has a market cap of $305.79 billion. I’m projecting a price of $250 in as little as five years – and in seven years at the outside.

Facebook has grown its earnings per share over the past three years by an average 72%. If we cut that rate by two-thirds to a conservative 24%, Facebook earnings would double in the next three years and double again three years after that.

Because stock prices tend to follow earnings, we’d be looking at a price of $424 a share at the end of 2021 – but I’m only looking for $250 by this time in 2020.

With upside like that, Facebook is truly a stock that can have a huge impact on your net worth.

Yes, I’m doubling down – but I’m not saying you should bet the farm here.

However, you should definitely have some of your money invested in what is clearly emerging as one of the world’s most important tech firms.

It’s one we can count on for years to come.

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This Economic Data Is Bullish for Tech Stocks: Always have money invested in tech, no matter what. Otherwise you’re likely to miss out on rebound profits and opportunities to buy winning stocks “on sale.” The market’s performance in October proves it, as do these brand-new economic numbers that reveal a bullish future for tech stocks…

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