As part of my ongoing analysis of stocks favored by retail investors that began in January, I want to focus on Meta (NASDAQ:META), which has seen a remarkable change of fortune since it slumped to $80 last year and which has now returned a YTD performance of over 60%, which is a pretty impressive turnaround. We can see this technical turnaround on both the daily and weekly charts, along with the VPA lessons.
From a fundamental perspective, what is also interesting about Meta is the extent to which Mark Zuckerberg has managed to stabilize the company, which is reflected in some solid metrics while at the same time winning over some of his greatest critics. As we say here in the UK, Zuckerberg is like marmite (a yeast-based spread with a distinctive taste); you either love or loathe him, and this view also extends to analysts and fund managers.
However, attitudes appear to change as Zuckerberg continues to restructure Meta Platforms and implement their ‘Year of Efficiency’. We will no doubt discover how well that is going in late April when the company reports 1st Quarter earnings.
What appears to have led to this change in sentiment toward Meta is a solid balance sheet (defined as lots of assets vs. low liabilities & debt) and a recent 8-K SEC filing, which confirmed total expenses for 2023 to be in a lower range than prior guidance. So some interesting times ahead for Meta.