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Facebook (FB) Stock Moves -0.01%: What You Should Know

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Facebook closed at $157.25 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.01% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 0.04% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.15%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.67%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the social media company had lost 3.2% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 1.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.02% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from FB as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 30, 2018. On that day, FB is projected to report earnings of $1.47 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 7.55%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.83 billion, up 33.94% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.07 per share and revenue of $55.46 billion, which would represent changes of +14.77% and +36.41%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for FB should also be noted by investors. 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.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. 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 past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. FB currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

In terms of valuation, FB is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.25. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 32.93.

Investors should also note that FB has a PEG ratio of 1.01 right now. 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. FB's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.37 as of yesterday's close.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 103, putting it in the top 40% 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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