Meta Platforms (META) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Meta Platforms (META) closed at $660.41 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.1% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.57%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.61%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.26%.

The social media company's shares have seen a decrease of 0.19% over the last month, surpassing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.64% and falling behind the S&P 500's loss of 0.15%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Meta Platforms in its upcoming release. On that day, Meta Platforms is projected to report earnings of $6.67 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 3.73%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $55.34 billion, up 30.78% from the year-ago period.

Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $29.68 per share and revenue of $249.25 billion, indicating changes of +26.35% and +24.02%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Meta Platforms. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.01% lower. Currently, Meta Platforms is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Meta Platforms is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 22.5. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 20.25 of its industry.

It's also important to note that META currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.04. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Internet - Software industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.16.

The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 136, putting it in the bottom 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.