Meta Platforms Stock Forecast: Snap earnings weigh heavily on META

Facebook revamps app to look more like TikTok.
META stock slides 5.3% to $173.32 in Friday's premarket.
Snap stock lost 32% after reporting earnings that missed the mark.

Clay Webster FXStreet

Meta Platforms (META) stock is off 5.3% in early trading on Friday after competitor Snap (SNAP) served up Q2 earnings that disastrously missed the mark on Thursday night. Snap stock slid 32% in the premarket a day after announcing post-session results that missed on both GAAP earnings and revenue and were bad enough that management chose not to offer guidance for the third quarter.

The market is now wondering if Snap's troubles with social media advertising will also gravitate to the biggest player in the space – Meta Platforms. The owner of Facebook and Instagram reports earnings on July 27, and it appears that the market will head into earnings with lower expectations from the social media giant.

This is all too bad since Thursday was the day when Facebook announced a new user interface that critics think will be more attractive to younger users. The new feed design will be more like TikTok in that it will more easily show users popular content from users they do not already follow. The previous earnings call this spring had Facebook losing active users for the first time ever.

Facebook stock forecast

Afterhours on Thursday META stock already fell briefly through the $172.40 level that acted as resistance in early July. The 100-unit moving average on the 4-hour chart at $166 is a much better bet for support. Longer-term support sits at $158, which worked back during the March 2020 covid sell-off. Either way, expect this stock to feature strong volatility going into earnings on July 27.

META 4-hour chart

Premium

You have reached your limit of 3 free articles for this month.

Start your subscription and get access to all our original articles.

Subscribe to Premium Sign In

Author

Clay Webster

FXStreet

Clay Webster grew up in the US outside Buffalo, New York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He began investing after college following the 2008 financial crisis.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD drops to daily lows near 1.1630

EUR/USD now loses some traction and slips back to the area of daily lows around 1.1630 on the back of a mild bounce in the US Dollar. Fresh US data, including the September PCE inflation numbers and the latest read on December consumer sentiment, didn’t really move the needle, so the pair is still on course to finish the week with a respectable gain.

GBP/USD trims gains, recedes toward 1.3320

GBP/USD is struggling to keep its daily advance, coming under fresh pressure and retreating to the 1.3320 zone following a mild bullish attempt in the Greenback. Even though US consumer sentiment surprised to the upside, the US Dollar isn’t getting much love, as traders are far more interested in what the Fed will say next week.

Gold makes a U-turn, back to $4,200

Gold is now losing the grip and receding to the key $4,200 region per troy ounce following some signs of life in the Greenback and a marked bounce in US Treasury yields across the board. The positive outlook for the precious metal, however, remains underpinned by steady bets for extra easing by the Fed.