Facebook shares fall for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, company willing to develop virtual assistant smarter than Alexa or Siri

According to a report by the Financial Times earlier this week, Facebook Inc (FB) is willing to build a virtual assistant smarter than Amazons Alexa or Apples Siri and powered by cutting-edge AI technology.

In January, Facebook disclosed a tie-up with Intel, as it joined an intense competition to develop a more sophisticated and powerful artificial intelligence chip.

Facebook shares closed lower for a sixth consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Tuesday. The stock edged down 0.13% ($0.21) to $162.29, after touching an intraday low at $160.37, or a price level not seen since January 30th ($145.70).

Shares of Facebook Inc have risen 23.80% so far in 2019 compared with a 10.89% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Facebook Inc’s stock went down 25.71%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

A more specialized AI chip could allow Facebook to detect more accurately and remove abusive content across its platforms.

“Facebook has been known to build its hardware when required — build its own ASIC, for instance. If there’s any stone unturned, we’re going to work on it,” Yann LeCun, Facebooks chief AI scientist said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“In terms of new uses, one thing Facebook would be interested in is offering smart digital assistants — something that has a level of common sense,” LeCun said.

“They have background knowledge and you can have a discussion with them on any topic,” he added.

According to CNN Money, the 44 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Facebook Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $197.50, with a high estimate of $275.00 and a low estimate of $120.00. The median estimate represents a 21.70% upside compared to the closing price of $162.29 on February 19th.

The same media also reported that 34 out of 49 surveyed investment analysts had rated Facebook Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Facebook Inc (FB) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $163.90
R1 – $166.94
R2 – $171.38
R3 – $174.42
R4 – $177.46

S1 – $159.46
S2 – $156.42
S3 – $151.98
S4 – $147.54