Meta Platforms (META) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know

The most recent trading session ended with Meta Platforms (META) standing at $626.31, reflecting a +1.21% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.01%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.46%.Heading into today, shares of the social media company had lost 7.38% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 5.94% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.59% in that time.The upcoming earnings release of Meta Platforms will be of great interest to investors. On that day, Meta Platforms is projected to report earnings of $5.33 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13.16%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $41.43 billion, showing a 13.64% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $25.61 per share and revenue of $188.8 billion, indicating changes of +7.33% and +14.77%, respectively, compared to the previous year.Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Meta Platforms should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Meta Platforms is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.Looking at valuation, Meta Platforms is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.16. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 28.29.It is also worth noting that META currently has a PEG ratio of 1.32. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Internet - Software industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.07.The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 128, positioning it in the top 50% 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.Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks