Meta (META) has been trading quite well for the longs this year, up more than 50%.
The year-to-date gains trounce the rest of FAANG, with the next-best performer being Apple (AAPL) with its 17.5% return. The outperformance is even starker if we look back over the past three months.
But the question now is whether Meta stock can continue to lead the FAANG group higher.
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The company continues to cut its workforce and realign its focus. That will help keep costs down and improve margins during what has been a difficult operating environment.
So far, that’s helped to fuel the stock price higher. The earnings boost is helping attract tech-value investors, while the strong momentum is bringing in the traders.
Let’s take a refreshed look at Meta stock now.
Trading Meta Stock
Chart courtesy of TrendSpider.com
Look at the way that Meta stock exploded higher in early February, gaining more than 23% in a single session following its earnings report.
While the stock momentarily pushed through the $183 to $188 zone on that rally, this area has become critical. It went from prior support to notable resistance, and once Meta stock faded from this area last month, it appeared to be cementing itself as resistance once again.
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But -- after a brief correction the shares are back on the mend. If the stock can clear the $188 level, the door opens back up to the post-earnings highs near $197.
That’s where things could get interesting.
If META clears $200, we could see a move toward $215. In this area, we have the 78.6% retracement of the larger zone (from the November low to the February 2022 high). This area also contains the 161.8% upside extension from the post-earnings range.
What happens if Meta stock can’t clear $197, or $188 for that matter?
In that scenario, keep an eye on the 10-day and 21-day moving averages to see whether they’re support. If the stock goes below these measures, the recent low near $167.50 is back in play.
Below that level and it’s possible that Meta stock fills the gap back down toward $153.50.
