Nasdaq FB FaceBook

The recent market sell-off, primarily driven by growth stocks' dives, has created tremendous opportunities for investors to buy shares of excellent companies at a discount. While the current economic issues may continue to impact the market's performance in the short term, invest

Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms Inc has paused new users from joining its social media tracking tool CrowdTangle due to staffing constraints.

With earnings season in full swing, a number of interesting earnings reports are on deck. Amidst a market rocked by uncertainty, next Wednesday (Feb 2), Meta Platforms (FB) will take center stage after the close and reveal Q4’s results.

Possibly the most controversial name in the FAAMNG gang, Meta is never far from way from setting off another media storm, and while Monness’ Brian White expects the company to keep its place at the top of the social media heap, the analyst does not expect 2022 to be plain sailing either, anticipating Meta will swap “one turbulent year for another.”

“We believe Meta will continue to benefit from the digital ad trend, participate in accelerated digital transformation, and innovate in the metaverse,” the 5-star analyst said. “However, we expect regulatory scrutiny to continue, the news flow to remain negative, and we wonder if Netflix is a canary in the coalmine.”

Shares of the streaming giant tanked following a disappointing print last week, so the mention makes for an ominous sign. That said, White expects Meta to “at least meet” his 4Q21 revenue estimate of $33.09 billion – amounting to an 18% year-over-year uptick – and EPS forecast of $3.73. Street has $33.38 billion and $3.84, respectively. White’s expectations represent a sequential increase of 14%, which is lower than the four-year average of 25% growth exhibited in previous December quarters.

As what to look out for on the earnings call, White believes there will be no lack of subjects to rifle through. The analyst expects updates on the “impact of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT), expectations around the longevity of advertiser headwinds (e.g., supply chain, labor shortages), engagement on Reels, commerce trends, and further enlightenment on the metaverse.”

Additionally, White would like to hear the company’s thoughts on the “deluge of negative new flows” which followed whistle blower Frances Haugen’s testimony before Congress regarding the company‘s failure to deal with the harmful impact it is having on users - teens in particular. Haugen’s testimony acted as a catalyst for several Big Tech hearings during the quarter, which also included an appearance by head of Instagram Adam Mosseri in a December Senate hearing.

Despite the anticipated turbulence, White sticks to a Buy rating, supporting it with a $460 price target. Investors are looking at returns of 54%, should the target be met over the coming months. (To watch White’s track record, click here)

Turning now to the rest of the Street, where FB stock gets plenty of support; the ratings show 26 Buys vs. 5 Holds, all coalescing to a Strong Buy consensus view. Shares are anticipated to gain ~37% over the next year, given the average price target clocks in at $406 and change. (See FB stock forecast on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

Here Are Three Tech Stocks To Check Out In February 2022With the recent volatility in the stock market, tech stocks have been among the hardest hit. Concerns of upcoming rate hikes appear to cause investors to shy away from this high growth sector. Nevertheless, with some of the

Tech stocks have been under the gun lately, as sentiment has shifted on the group with the coming Fed policy change. Under this new monetary policy regime of shrinking liquidity and rising interest rates, high growth stocks in the Technology sector become less attractive.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are their own.)

After hitting new all-time highs late in 2021, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have corrected by 10.6% and 17.8%, respectively, from their peaks. Much of the cause of these drops relates to growing investor fear that we could be heading for a full market crash.

WASHINGTON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mark Zuckerberg loves the metaverse, even to the point of renaming Facebook as Meta Platforms. Nascent virtual worlds like Decentraland have the potential to be the next social-networking hits. Punters can al

Harmonic Inc. HLIT is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2021 results on Jan 31, after the closing bell. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5 cents, delivering a surprise of 125%.The San Jose, CA-based compa

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has made no secret of the fact that its $70 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) is in part a bold bet on the metaverse.

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – January 28, 2022 – Zacks Value Trader is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts yo

Qualcomm Incorporated QCOM is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Feb 2, after the closing bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 12.8%. It pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.2%, on average.

With last year's direct listing of Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) and Facebook's name change to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), the metaverse took a few more steps into the limelight. The growing trend is emerging as a real investment opportunity that every investor needs to pay attention to.

The metaverse offers a degree of potential that businesses haven't seen since the dawn of the internet. Companies tend to have different visions for what this digital world could be, depending on their current business models. But most of them perceive a virtual existence of some

Technology stocks have lost their bearings in the first month of 2022, as evident from the 18% decline in the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector index.

The fourth-quarter 2021 earnings season is in full swing with corporate bigwigs of different sectors and industries of the economy releasing their financial numbers. Wall Street has seen a good start to this reporting cycle so far. Although the majority of the companies a

Veteran value investor and Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett’s net worth on Thursday shot past that of Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s, as per the latest data from Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

What Happened: With a net worth of $111 billion, Buffett ranked sixth among the world’s richest people and passed Zuckerberg who is currently ranked eight with a $110 billion valuation. 

Buffett’s wealth is up $2.39 billion so far this year, making him the only name in the top 10 that has recorded a positive gain in 2022 so far.

Why It Matters: Barring Buffett’s diversified portfolio, the top ten constituents of the billionaires index is mostly tech-heavy. Technology and growth stocks have been down this year amid a rate and inflation related rout.

Buffett, referred to as the Oracle of Omaha, has been the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970. 

See Also: This Warren Buffett-Backed Chinese Automaker Sold More EVs Than Xpeng, Li Auto, Nio Combined In 2021

The 91-year old investor is known for introducing the value investing philosophy to the masses, advocating investing in companies that show robust earnings and long-term growth potential.

Buffett-led Berkshire counts Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC), American Express Co (NYSE: AXP) and Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) as the top four holdings. 

Where Others Stand?: Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk is still the world’s richest person, though his wealth has shrunk by $54.1 billion year-to-date.

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos held on to the second spot at $164 billion valuation, despite a $27.8 billion year-to-date fall.

See Also: Warren Buffett Moves Up The Top 10 Billionaires List As Berkshire Hathaway Hits All-Time Highs

Tesla’s Musk had last year joked that Buffett should buy shares in Tesla if he wants to get richer.

Photo: Courtesy of Fortune Live Media via Flickr

Cathie Wood, a Tesla bull who runs Ark Investment Management, has placed large bets on the electric vehicle stock. The popular money managing firm’s flagship ETF, the Ark Innnovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK), through which it owns a large stake in Tesla, has lost over half of its value over the past year.

Price Action: Berkshire Hathaway shares closed 0.5% lower at $461,200 a share on Thursday. The stock is up 32.45% in the past one year.

© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, sent out messages to its users on Friday warning them against posting any content from the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics that belonged to broadcast rights holders or risk being blocked.

Thursday, January 27, 2022The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB), UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH), and salesforce.co