At last close, Meta Platforms (META) reached $564.41, moving +0.55% from the previous day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.28%. The Dow, on the other hand, recorded a gain of 0.15%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq gained 0.15%.
Heading into today, shares of the social media company had gained 6.32% over the past month. Over the same period, the Computer and Technology sector lost 0.02%, while the S&P 500 gained 2%.
Meta Platforms’ upcoming earnings release will be of great interest to investors. The company is expected to report earnings per share of $5.15, up 17.31% from the corresponding quarter last year. At the same time, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $40.08 billion, up 17.38% from the corresponding quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $21.36 per share and revenue of $161.62 billion, representing changes of +43.64% and +19.8%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes in analyst estimates for Meta Platforms. These recent adjustments often reflect changing dynamics in near-term business patterns. Therefore, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company’s business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these estimate changes are directly related to future stock price movements. To capitalize on this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a unique model that takes these estimate changes into account and provides a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share has moved 0.3% higher. Meta Platforms currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Meta Platforms is currently trading at a P/E ratio of 26.28. This valuation represents a discount to the industry’s average P/E ratio of 31.32.
Investors should also note that META currently has a PEG ratio of 1.38. This metric is used similarly to the well-known P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth rate. META’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.09 as of yesterday’s close.
The Internet Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 30% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% of industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don’t forget to rely on Zacks.com in the following trading sessions to keep track of all these and other metrics that affect the stock.
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Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis Report
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