By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares traded sharply lower Monday after Citi downgraded the stocks and after data showing that as much as 96% of users opted out of app tracking in Apple's new iOS 14.5.
Citi analyst Jason Bazinet downgraded Facebook and Alphabet to neutral from buy as he expects to see a more challenging environment for companies dependent on internet ad growth. Facebook shares fell nearly 4%, while Alphabet, the parent of Google, fell 2.5%.
Targets for Facebook and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) remain unchanged at $320 and $2,415 per share, respectively.
The likes of Facebook agreed to comply with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s latest policy on privacy and sharing of user data, scared of running foul of the iPhone maker's stringent guidelines.
According to data from Verizon-owned Flurry Analytics, U.S. users agreed to be tracked only 4% of the time under Apple's new operating system, while the global figure is 12%.