Power Lunch

Monday - Friday, 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET

Power Lunch

Facebook's path to e-commerce: Analysts

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Facebook needs to consider its potential in e-commerce, Fort Pitt Capital Group analyst Kim Forrest said on Wednesday.

"Whenever we go to buy things we go to places like Google to look up pricing and information," she said in an interview on CNBC's "Power Lunch." "That's really what advertisers are paying for."

However, she did note that Facebook's announcement on Wednesday that it's partnering with clothing retailer Zulily on its messenger app, intrigues her.

"The Zulily announcement is kind of interesting but I don't know that a whole lot of people just naturally go to Facebook to try to find a deal," she said.

Until that transition, Forrest said she won't go near the social network's stock.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Robert Galbraith | Reuters

But Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Graham disagrees. He said that some of the announcements signal that Facebook is pushing closer to e-commerce.

"Facebook is not yet an e-commerce platform but it is definitely one of the highest-producing advertising platforms that consumer companies can use to reach their customers," he said. "It's doing a great job for consumer companies and I would say that is an area they really excel at."

Graham's current price target is $90 although he said there is a pretty good chance he will be able to raise it later this year.

Facebook shares have risen almost 30 percent over the past 12 months to $83.

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