Piper Jaffray analyst Samuel Kemp raised his price target for Facebook (FB) shares to $160 from $150 after surveying 860 U.S. Instagram users to gauge engagement with its ephemeral photo/video messaging release. The social media giant closed yesterday down 34c to $139.58.

The survey found that 26% of respondents had used Instagram to direct message a photo or video in the past month, Kemp tells investors in a research note. The results make the analyst “incrementally more bullish” on Facebook and “increasingly cautious” on competitor Snap (SNAP).

Instagram has the potential to shift user behavior over time and negatively impact Snapchat user engagement, the analyst contends. He believes, however, that Instagram’s video messaging is unlikely to impact Snapchat user growth in Q1. Kemp keeps a Neutral rating on Snap with an unchanged price target of $23 and an Overweight rating on Facebook.

 

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