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Facebook (FB) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Facebook closed at $373.06, marking a -0.23% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.16% loss on the day.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the social media company had gained 5.2% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.75% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.46% in that time.

FB will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect FB to post earnings of $3.16 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 16.61%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $29.34 billion, up 36.65% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $14.10 per share and revenue of $119.22 billion. These totals would mark changes of +39.74% and +38.69%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for FB. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. FB is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Digging into valuation, FB currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 26.51. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 29.73, so we one might conclude that FB is trading at a discount comparatively.

It is also worth noting that FB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.17. 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 Internet - Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 3.76 at yesterday's closing price.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 160, which puts it in the bottom 38% 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.

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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