- Facebook is in the midst of a dry news season.
- FB shares have been traversing an ascending price channel for nearly a month.
- FB stock is priced quite cheaply for a stock growing sales and EPS above 30%.
Meta Platforms (FB) – the owner of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp – rose above $340 in Wednesday's session. The movement has been slow for this one, but a newly formed price channel may see bulls targeting the $360 to $370 region by the end of the year.
Meta Platforms (FB) Stock News: How much is the metaverse worth?
Since Facebook reported earnings a month ago in late October and changed its name to Meta Platforms, the social media giant has been unusually silent. Facebook reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.22 in the third quarter on revenues of $29 billion. The EPS rose 34% YoY, and revenue jumped 35% in that same time period. These figures grant FB stock the certainty of continued high growth in a market that has seen many growth stocks falter in the second half of this year.
In terms of geography, Asia-Pacific, the United States & Canada, Europe and Rest of World revenues respectively grew 29%, 34%, 36% and 49% YoY. FB shares are now priced quite competitively. A price/earnings ratio of 24 and a price/sales ratio above eight makes FB shares appear quite cheap actually for a stock that is growing EPS and revenue above 30%.
Most investors may still be waiting on further announcements regarding the "metaverse" – the new free-for-all term for virtual reality, cryptocurrency and video games that every major tech firm currently seems intent on the ruling. While the term remains unwieldy, estimates on its future total addressable market also remain wildly diverse. Bloomberg Intelligence expects the market to represent $800 billion in demand by 2024. On the other hand, a Morgan Stanley analyst is touting an $8 trillion figure. Who knows?
FB key statistics
| Market Cap | $938 billion |
| Price/Earnings | 24 |
| Price/Sales | 8.6 |
| Price/Book | 7 |
| Enterprise Value | $893 billion |
| Operating Margin | 42% |
| Profit Margin |
36% |
| 52-week high | $384.33 |
| 52-week low | $244.61 |
| Short Interest | 1% |
| Average Wall Street Rating and Price Target | Buy, $401.93 |
Meta Platforms (FB) Forecast: Shares need to remain above $333 to target $360+
Since earnings on October 25, FB stock bottomed out around $310 before bulls jumped in to buy up undervalued shares. Since then FB stock has created a sort of ascending price channel starting on October 29. A double top on November 15 and 22 surrounding $353.75 may have scared off some bulls, but FB shares once again found their footing at $333, well above the earlier support of $327.
$353.75 is now the first target for bulls, but looking at the ascending price channel, it seems quite believable that Facebook will continue within the current trend. This ascending price channel has worked for nearly a month at present.
Looking ahead to December, that would make the region between $360 and $370 the most likely target for bulls. In order to do so, however, FB shares need to remain above $340 to keep bulls ambitious. Any dithering may have some traders give up. Closing below $333 will make this thesis obsolete.
FB 1-day chart
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