Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

As a value investor, he struggles on how to make an investment case for this company. He understands the magnitude of its membership base and the pathway to monetize that. But even under those assumptions, looking at the valuations on a forward PE or EBITDA basis, it looks very expensive.

One of the great growth companies out there. On gap-adjusted earnings, this is trading at 24X next year’s earnings. Between this and Google, they own mobile services. They are getting a higher user engagement. 1.8 billion monthly active users. (Analysts’ price target is $159.07.)

One of those really well managed companies. It is pricey, but she still likes it. They were able to execute on their plan to increase mobile advertising.

It has a lot of room to go. The metrics are outstanding. They are monetizing various areas very effectively. They are coming out with VR and AI. Their core business is where there is potential. People’s time on Facebook is increasing. 25% of the average adult’s time is spent on mobile, but advertising budget allocation does not reflect this. (Analysts’ target: $153.24).

He is very interested, but hasn’t pulled the trigger yet. It has grown a lot, the price has gone up a lot, but earnings have gone up even faster. Valuation is a lot more reasonable now. It is still a fast grower and still trades at a modestly high multiple in the mid-30s, but it is in line with its growth rate.

(A Top Pick Feb 10/16. Up 26.28%.) Still loves this. Mobile engagement continues to grow. They are now getting into video which is going to have more video, which will have more value per click. This is a company that has a long, long way to run. Trading at a very reasonable valuation.

From a valuation perspective, this is not a stock he would own as the metrics are too high for him. When you talk to advertising and Digital media people, and ask where the advertising dollar is going, it is really just going to 2 places; Google and Facebook. They really have a stranglehold on Internet advertising. As print media disappears, it is all going to these 2 companies. They have some real momentum behind them in growing their businesses. The risk from a valuation perspective is if people start seeing this as a media company as opposed to a tech company.

He really likes this. Growth is continuing to be very explosive. They have a very unique type of marketing and advertising, and continue to monetize the various types of things they have. Shares got a bit weak after the election and fell below the 200-day moving average, but not by much. Now it is back above it and the average is very, very positive. Trading at about 30X earnings and growing at a 30% clip.

This has largely been in an uptrend. Most FANG stocks are kind of keepers. Whenever they dip down, so long as they stay on the trend line, that is usually an opportunity to Buy. You want to make sure that the highs and lows are getting higher, which this one is most certainly doing. Probably not a bad time to be picking some of this up.

This has done a phenomenal job. Believes it will be the largest market capitalization stock in the US in the next couple of years. There are 1.8 billion monthly active users. When they went public, they had zero mobile advertising revenue. It was 84% of their $7 billion in revenue last quarter. They keep beating expectations. Margins are rising. The apps they don’t have, they keep buying. You are basically getting this at around 21X 2017 and about 18X the forward year. Even if you gap-adjust that it is still in the mid-20s. (Analysts’ price target is $154.71.)

(Market Call Minute.) This is not for him. Too expensive.

He started buying recently because it looks cheap based on 2018 numbers. It is trading at a slight premium to the market multiple. They generate gobs and gobs of cash flow. They are in a duopoly with Google. (Analysts’ Target: $154.45)

Chart shows a strong upward trend from 2013, but recently there was a pullback. However, it is still intact and we are still in a trading range. If there is a pause for the financials and industrials, you will see technology start to pick up again. This stock is still valid. It hasn’t broken down yet.

(A Top Pick Dec 10/15. Down 100%.) Bull Call Spread. On this he was buying the call, selling a call at a higher strike, so he had a debit position. The stock didn’t go up, so you lost the net cost of the spread.

(Market Call Minute.) 1.7 billion active users. Many untapped opportunities, such as artificial intelligence, video, virtual reality, in front of them.