Benzinga - by Zacks, Benzinga Contributor.
Social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is set to release first-quarter fiscal 2024 results on Apr 24 after market close.
The stock has jumped 22% over the past three months and has outperformed the industry's decline of 7.8%. The outperformance might continue as Meta Platforms has a strong chance of beating estimates on earnings and saw a positive earnings revision activity, which is generally a precursor to an earnings beat.
This has put the focus on ETFs — Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (ARCA:XLC), Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (ARCA:FCOM), Vanguard Communication Services ETF (ARCA:VOX), iShares Global Comm Services ETF (ARCA:IXP) and Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL) — with a substantial allocation to this social media giant.
Earnings Whispers Meta Platforms has an Earnings ESP of +0.62% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). According to our methodology, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Meta Platforms saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 5 cents over the past 30 days for the soon-to-be-reported quarter. Analysts increasing estimates right before earnings — with the most up-to-date information possible — is a good indicator for the stock. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the yet-to-be-reported quarter indicates substantial year-over-year earnings growth of 63.6%. Revenues are expected to increase 26.6%. Meta Platforms delivered an earnings surprise of 19.71%, on average, in the last four quarters.
The stock belongs to a top-ranked Zacks Industry (top 22%) and has a VGM Score of B.
Meta Platforms currently has an average brokerage recommendation of 1.28 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell etc.) made by 46 brokerage firms. The current ABR compares to an ABR of 1.29 a month ago based on 45 recommendations.
Of the 46 recommendations deriving the current ABR, 40 are Strong Buy and one is Buy. Strong Buy and Buy, respectively, account for 86.96% and 2.17% of all recommendations. A month ago, Strong Buy made up 86.67%, while Buy represented 2.22%.
Based on short-term price targets offered by 40 analysts, the average price target for Meta Platforms comes to $523.35. The forecasts range from a low of $285.00 to a high of $610.00.
Projections On the last earnings conference call, the world's largest social media platform guided revenues in the range of $34.5-$37 billion for the first quarter.
ETFs to Watch Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC)
Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund offers exposure to companies from telecommunication services, media, entertainment and interactive media & services and has accumulated $17.5 billion in its asset base. It follows the Communication Services Select Sector Index and holds 22 stocks in its basket, with Meta Platforms occupying the top position at 23% share. About 48.7% of the portfolio is allocated to interactive media & services, while entertainment and media round off the next two.
Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund charges 9 bps in annual fees and trades in an average daily volume of 6 million shares. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #1.
Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (FCOM)
Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF follows the MSCI USA IMI Communication Services 25/50 Index. It holds 110 stocks in its basket, with Meta Platforms occupying the top position at 27.8%.
Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF has amassed $1 billion in its asset base and trades in an average daily volume of 106,000 shares. It charges 8 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook.
Vanguard Communication Services ETF (ETF:VOX)
Vanguard Communication Services ETF also targets the communication sector by tracking the MSCI US Investable Market Communication Services 25/50 Index. Holding 116 stocks in its basket, Meta Platform takes the top spot with a 22.4% share. Interactive media & services is the top sector, accounting for 51% of the portfolio, while movies & entertainment, cable & satellite, and integrated telecommunication services round off the next three.
Vanguard Communication Services ETF has AUM of $4 billion and trades in a good volume of 148,000 shares a day, on average. It charges 10 bps in annual fees and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 with a Medium risk outlook.
iShares Global Comm Services ETF (ETF:IXP)
iShares Global Comm Services ETF provides global exposure to companies in media, entertainment, social media, search engine, video/gaming and telecommunication services by tracking the S&P Global 1200 Communication Services 4.5/22.5/45 Capped Index. It holds 65 stocks in its basket, with Meta Platforms taking the top spot at 21.4% share. Interactive media & services dominates the fund's return at 54.8%, followed by integrated telecommunication services (16.4%).
iShares Global Comm Services ETF has amassed $268.3 million in its asset base while trading at an average daily volume of 12,000 shares. The expense ratio is 0.42%. IXP has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a Medium risk outlook.
Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL)
Global X Social Media Index ETF provides investors access to social media companies around the world and has amassed $139.9 million in its asset base. It tracks the Solactive Social Media Total Return Index, holding 45 securities in the basket. Meta Platforms occupies the second position with 10.3% of the assets.
Global X Social Media Index ETF charges 0.65% in annual fees and sees lower trading volumes of roughly 10,000 shares a day. The fund has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 with a High risk outlook.
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