Meta Platforms (META) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Need To Know

On By Littum

Meta Platforms (META) closed the last trading day at $623.50, indicating a +1.14% change from the previous session’s close. That change outpaced the S&P 500’s 0.61% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a 0.3% rebound, while the technical-heavy Nasdaq appreciated 1.28%.

Heading into today, shares of the social media company had gained 1.43% over the past month, outpacing the Computer & Technology sector’s 1.24% gain and lagging the S&P 500’s 2.08% gain in that time.

Market participants closely follow the financial performance of meta platforms in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on January 29, 2025. The company is expected to post EPS of $6.84, which indicates a growth of 28.33% compared to the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our current consensus forecast is for revenue to be $47 billion, indicating growth of 17.18% compared to the same quarter last year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye out for any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for meta platforms. Such recent changes usually signify the changing landscape of business developments in the short term. As a result, optimistic changes in estimates indicate analysts’ favorable view of the company’s business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship to future stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we have formed Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that incorporates these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from no. 1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, unaudited track record of success, with no. 1 stocks, delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate has moved 1.46% higher. Meta Platforms currently sports a Zacks Rank of No. 3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, META Platforms is currently trading at a forward P/E ratio of 24.13. This represents a discount compared to the average forward P/E of 29.01 of its industry.

We should also mention that meta has a PEG ratio of 1.16. This metric is used in a similar way to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock’s expected earnings growth. The Internet – Software industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.19 at the close of trading yesterday.

The Internet – software industry is part of the computer and technology sector. Currently carrying a Zacks Industry Rank of 41, this industry ranks in the top 17% echelons of all 250+ industries.