Bull of the Day: Meta Platforms (META)

META

A member of the beloved ‘Magnificent 7’, Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) has rewarded shareholders handsomely, up an astounding 30% just in 2024. The stock sports the highly-coveted Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), with expectations moving considerably higher across the board.

In addition to favorable earnings estimate revisions, the company resides in the Zacks Internet – Software industry, which is currently ranked in the top 38% of all Zacks industries. Aside from the favorable industry standing and positive earnings outlook, let’s take a closer look at how Meta currently stacks up.

Meta Platforms

Since finding a bottom in early October of 2022, Meta shares have been on an absolute tear, adding nearly 420% on the back of robust quarterly results. As shown below, shares have consistently enjoyed post-earnings positivity.

Digging deeper into the quarterly performance, Meta has delivered some sizable beats as of late, exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate by an average of nearly 20% across its last four releases. Revenue results have also been positive, with the company posting double-digit percentage Y/Y growth in three consecutive releases.

Shares aren’t overly expensive given the company’s forecasted growth, with the current 25.7X forward earnings multiple (F1) beneath five-year highs of 31.5X and comparing favorably to the respective Zacks industry average of 38.1X.

Consensus expectations for its current year suggest 30% earnings growth on 17% higher sales, with FY25 earnings and revenue forecasted to see growth of 15% and 13.6%, respectively. The stock sports a Style Score of ‘A’ for Growth.

Income-focused investors seeking technology exposure could soon be interested – Meta unveiled its first-ever dividend following its latest print, which is payable on March 26th to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 22nd.

Several other notable highlights coming from its latest set of quarterly results include an additional $50 billion in share buybacks and the company’s operating margin moving well higher to 41% vs. 20% in the same period last year.

Bottom Line

Investors can implement a stellar strategy to find expected winners by taking advantage of the Zacks Rank – one of the most powerful market tools that provides a massive edge.

The top 5% of all stocks receive the highly coveted Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). These stocks should outperform the market more than any other rank.

Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) would be an excellent stock for investors to consider, as displayed by its Zack Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock

It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.

With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.

See This Stock Now for Free >>