FB: 3 Reasons Battered Facebook Stock Is a Screaming Buy

Facebook ( FB) has had a rough month, with shares of FB stock off more than 16% since early March.

While the market has seen a lot of red lately, tech stocks have been especially beaten down. And Facebook stock investors got particularly skittish in the face of Mark Zuckerberg's recent buying spree - one that covered mobile messaging, drones and virtual reality companies.

But several experts, including Tim Brugger of The Motley Fool, agree that reaction is overdone. As Brugger put it, 'The problem with broad sell-offs is that fundamentals go out the window.'

And when it comes to Facebook stock, the fundamentals remain quite strong - despite the recent performance.

In fact, here are three quick reasons (straight from other experts) that you should consider snatching up FB stock after its recent sell-off.

Why Facebook Stock Is a Buy

Marketing footprint: While FB stock investors haven't been too optimistic about the company's recent investments, its core business has been chugging along just fine. And Jordan Rohan, an analyst at Stifel, is bullish on Facebook stock for that very reason. As he put it in a recent note, Facebook has been 'increasing its footprint in the marketing and advertising world, winning advertising dollars from branding budgets and search and display budgets.' That hasn't changed in the past month or so, even though the price tag on FB stock has. Plus, that's just the beginning. Thanks in part to that growing footprint, Facebook stock also has ...

Earnings momentum: Facebook is slated to report earnings in a couple of weeks. And right now, the estimates are pretty optimistic: The company is expected to double its earnings year-over-year on sales growth of 60%. But that's not all. Over the past three months, the consensus estimate for upcoming Facebook earnings has marched up from 21 cents to 24 cents per share. As Louis Navellier recently put it, 'This suggests that analysts are struggling to pin down Facebook's profit potential and that the social media company could post another double-digit earnings surprise (as it has for the past three quarters running).' For shares of FB stock, that should mean ...

Big-time upside: Right now, the consensus analyst for Facebook stock is $74, representing a whopping 28% premium to Friday's close. Pivotal Research Group upgraded the stock from 'hold' to 'buy.' Stifel also has a buy rating, plus an even fatter $82 price target. And remember, that target is based on current earnings estimates. If Facebook actually posts a double-digit earnings surprise like Navellier suspects, you can probably expect those price targets to start marching a little higher.

All in all, the experts agree: There's a lot to like about Facebook stock, even if investors haven't been too keen about keeping or snatching up shares lately.

As of this writing, Robert Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.