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Meta Platforms (META) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) closed at $488.69 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.26% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.16%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.14%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.06%.

The social media company's shares have seen a decrease of 2.31% over the last month, not keeping up with the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.47% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.96%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Meta Platforms in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on July 31, 2024. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $4.69, showcasing a 45.2% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $38.26 billion, indicating a 19.58% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $20.23 per share and a revenue of $159.23 billion, demonstrating changes of +36.05% and +18.04%, respectively, from the preceding year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Meta Platforms. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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 has moved 0.34% higher. Right now, Meta Platforms possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Meta Platforms is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 24.09. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 30.41.

One should further note that META currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.26. 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 1.78.

The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 86, which puts it in the top 35% 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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