Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

There is still lots of spending on AI which is still in the early stages. It has done an incredible job of migrating to online and mobile advertising and is a dominant player. The productivity for advertisers using these platforms is increasing dramatically. It has many applications and is trading at a multiple of only 20 times.                 Buy 62  Hold 7  Sell 2

They just reported a sizable top and bottom line beat and 7% user growth, but shares are sinking 15% after hours because their near-tear and full-year guidance came in light to the street. Compare this to Tesla which missed numbers including negative free cash flow, but CEO Musk sold the quarter well.

 It reports Wednesday. They have a lot of levers to push. Zuckerberg doesn't have to pull a rabbit out of a hat, just talking about earnings and forecasts. Wait. Their quarter could be like Netflix's where the quarter was good, but shares fell anyway.

The drop is a result of the sharp rally of recent months, but Meta remains a core holding of his. Meta benefit from the AI boom and Whatsapp which the whole world uses and they haven't even monetized it. Trades at 25x PE and earnings will grow nicely. Buy on dips and average in over time. Zuckerberg knows what he's doing; has done a wonderful job.

She trimmed, taking profits late last week. Nothing is wrong with the company fundamentals, but a lot of good news has been baked in. It's amazing how Meta has refocused on margins which beat by 7% in Q4. Phenomenal. Its PE has moved up huge, though deserved given how Meta has refocused on its core business.

Peaking today, so he took some profits. It's reliable with predictable cash flow (assuming they have it). There's some exuberance in the wider market. It remains a core position. This and MSFT each make up 15% of his portfolio.

Their new, smart Raybans are cool, the new VR headset is also cool, plus the $100-billion Whatsapp while digital ads remain strong.

It's priced at the market multiple, are buying back a lot of stock. Nothing wrong with having an overweight rating on this, given Meta's strong balance sheet, offer cutting-edge technology and can grow earnings even during weak economies.

It gives away a lot of company stock options to attract quality employees but this dilutes the stock for non-employees. Some of the Magnificent 7 have been falling off. META may not fall off but others may catch up to it.

It made new highs in November and is the leader in the space. It will never be cheap unless something is broken. It is spending big in the augmented reality space which is great for more revenue. There there are big expectations for earnings growth and it is good at beating estimates. Use a trailing stop loss. Tech is 20% of their portfolio.

Was upgraded today and shares jumped 3.65%, citing good performance by Reels, more spending from Chinese advertising and What's App may be undervalued. Nothing new to him, because he's always been recommending Meta for these reasons.

Up 176% in 2023, the #2 stock in the S&P. They cut costs, Instagram boomed and Reels came on strong. The metaverse has to deliver this year (perhaps through its headset). The main driver has to do with the CEO's resolve.

She's been trimming this given its strong run. Up 193% this year, but remains cheap at 24x PE and 25% revenue growth which she expects to grow fruther next year. 

Recent share price dip, a good time to buy. Concern is that growth is being driven be "FOMO". ETF buying and indexing buying might be reason for strength. If recession occurs, question is how business will perform. 

They've had an incredible run the past 12 months, a huge bounce, with a small cup-and-handle chart in the past two months. It hasn't broken its last low. Short-term, it's overbought and expects a pullback to $300. If it indeed pauses, it could break up further.