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Facebook (FB) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Facebook closed the most recent trading day at $188.47, moving -0.29% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.97%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.35%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.39%.

Coming into today, shares of the social media company had gained 3.44% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 1.04%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.64%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from FB as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.90, up 9.2% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $16.45 billion, up 24.3% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.09 per share and revenue of $69.22 billion. These totals would mark changes of -6.34% and +23.97%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for FB. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of 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. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. FB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note FB's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 26.67. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 27.77, which means FB is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that FB has a PEG ratio of 1.32. 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. Internet - Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.87 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 69, putting it in the top 27% 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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