The stock price of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) went up more than 7% to $62.41 per share after its chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg dismissed speculations that she is planning to leave the company to run for a political office on Wednesday. The social network giant’s recent gain was the highest since January 30th.
The social network giant was affected by the selloff in momentum stocks investors move to lock in their profits before the earnings season. Its stock was down nearly 16% since it went up to as much as $72.03 a share last March 10. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) recovered some of its losses with today’s rebound. The stock is still up 14% year-to-date.
Sandberg not running for office
In an interview with Savana Guthrie on NBC’s Today show, Sandberg made it clear that she loves her job at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), and ruled out speculations that she is running for office. She pointed out that politics is not for her.
“I have no plans to run for office. I love my job. I love what we do every day to connect the world and I love being able to work on “Lean In” in my personal time,” said Sandberg.
Some people speculated that Sandberg may be planning to leave Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) after noticing the she recently sold a large chunk of her shares in the company. According to her, there has been “some confusion” regarding the issue, and clarified that “a good chunk of what was sold was all for taxes.”
Other factors that helped Facebook’s rally
The latest report from J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth is another factor that lifted the price Facebook’s stock. According ti him, the selloff in technology stocks including Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has been “swift and significant” and “it has created some attractive opportunities in companies with continued strong fundamentals and growth potential ahead.”
In addition, Anmuth noted that some of the efforts of the social network giant such as increasing advertiser demand and improvements in ad quality should drive growth rates for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), which is sustainable for some time in the future. According to him, it is still early in Facebook’s efforts to monetize its 1.2 billion users globally.
A separate report from Piper Jaffray on Tuesday indicated that Instagram, the photo sharing platform owned by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is the most popular social site among teens.
The social network giant also reported that the numbers of its users in India reached 100 million. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) also announced that it will roll out a larger ad design in the right-hand column of its site.
