In the latest close session, Meta Platforms (META) was down 1.7% at $765.16. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.44%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.14%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.7%.
Coming into today, shares of the social media company had gained 3.13% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 9.59%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.03%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Meta Platforms in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Meta Platforms is projected to report earnings of $6.74 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 11.77%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $49.39 billion, up 21.68% from the prior-year quarter.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $28.14 per share and revenue of $195.92 billion, indicating changes of +17.94% and +19.1%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Meta Platforms. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.01% higher within the past month. Currently, Meta Platforms is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Meta Platforms is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 27.66. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 32.15.
It is also worth noting that META currently has a PEG ratio of 1.62. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Internet - Software industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.34.
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, positioning it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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