Yahoo Finance Meta Platforms (META) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note
In the latest market close, Meta Platforms (META) reached $499.49, with a -1.41% movement compared to the previous day. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.25%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.15%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.03%.
The the stock of social media company has risen by 8.06% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 8.7% and overreaching the S&P 500's gain of 3.34%.
The upcoming earnings release of Meta Platforms will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $4.66, reflecting a 44.27% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $38.15 billion, up 19.22% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $20.16 per share and revenue of $158.97 billion, indicating changes of +35.57% and +17.84%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Meta Platforms. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.17% lower. Currently, Meta Platforms is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Meta Platforms is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 25.13. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 29.7 for its industry.
Investors should also note that META has a PEG ratio of 1.31 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Internet - Software industry stood at 1.7 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 73, putting it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) : Free Stock Analysis Report
