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 with a substantial allocation to this social media giant. 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. 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 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) based on actual recommendations made by brokerage firms.
Of the 46 recommendations deriving the current ABR, 40 are Strong Buy and one is Buy. 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.
ETFs such as Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC), Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (NYSE:FCOM), Vanguard Communication Services ETF (NYSE:VOX), iShares Global Comm Services ETF (NYSE:IXP), and Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ:SOCL) have a substantial allocation to Meta Platforms and offer exposure to the potential growth stemming from the upcoming earnings release.
Investors are keeping a close eye on Meta Platforms as the company gears up to report its first-quarter fiscal 2024 results, with anticipation of strong performance driving interest in related ETFs.
