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Meta Platforms (META) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

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Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $533.28, demonstrating a +1.65% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.55%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.52%.

Heading into today, shares of the social media company had lost 0.53% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.56% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.67% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Meta Platforms in its forthcoming earnings report. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $5.15, marking a 17.31% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $40.08 billion, up 17.38% from the year-ago period.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $21.36 per share and a revenue of $161.62 billion, signifying shifts of +43.64% and +19.8%, respectively, from the last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Meta Platforms. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming 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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.45% higher. As of now, Meta Platforms holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Meta Platforms is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.56. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 30.42, so one might conclude that Meta Platforms is trading at a discount comparatively.

One should further note that META currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.29. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Internet - Software industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.02.

The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 87, finds itself in the top 35% echelons 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.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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