Market-beating investor Bill Nygren says Facebook and Netflix are actually value plays

referring to A lot of people think Netflix and Facebook are overvalued growth stocks, but not longtime value investor Bill Nygren. Nygren said Thursday he thinks investors could be missing out on two big value plays if they just look at their price-to-earnings multiples, which are widely followed measures of stock valuations. Facebook, on next year's earnings estimates, is barely at a market multiple," Oakmark's Nygren told CNBC's "Halftime Report.""We (also) own Netflix. Netflix is adding 20 million subscribers this year that we believe are worth $1,000 per subscriber," Nygren added. "If you think about the market cap relative to the value that they're adding, it's about 11 times.

Is Facebook a publisher? In public it says no, but in court it says yes

Facebook has long had the same public response when questioned about its disruption of the news industry: it is a tech platform, not a publisher or a media company. Facebook, meanwhile, is arguing that its decisions about "what not to publish" should be protected because it is a "publisher". In court, Sonal Mehta, a lawyer for Facebook, even drew comparison with traditional media: "The publisher discretion is a free speech right irrespective of what technological means is used. David Godkin, an attorney for Six4Three, later responded: "For years, Facebook has been saying publicly that it's not a media company. In court filings, Facebook quoted the law saying providers of a "computer service" should not be "treated as the publisher" of information from others.

Investors should 'stay away' from Facebook for the next quarter, Loup Ventures' Gene Munster says

as informed in Amid Facebook's unprecedented after-hours plunge Wednesday, Loup Ventures' Gene Munster advised investors to stay far away from the stock in the near term. "I think you just stay on the sidelines, let the investor base process this and revisit where things are at in two months," Munster said on CNBC's "Closing Bell." Following a revenue miss for the company and adrop in daily active users in Europe, Facebook warned investors of weakening revenue for the second half of the year, which sent shares tumbling more than 20 percent. I think they are going slightly too far, but I think it still is representative of a new paradigm — a new view — that investors need to have about the growth-rate of Facebook," Munster said. Munster warned that some analysts may view Facebook's drop as a buying opportunity, but recommended investors "largely stay away from it for the quarter."

Approval for Facebook venture in China was 'quickly' withdrawn, NYT says

Market PulseApproval for Facebook venture in China was 'quickly' withdrawn, NYT saysFacebook Inc. fb+1.32% briefly had received approval to open a Chinese subsidiary but that permission was "quickly" pulled, the New York Times reported Wednesday. According to the Times report, Facebook's approval initially appeared on a government database, but it's since been withdrawn. The Times cites a person familiar with the matter and said that Facebook planned to set up an innovation hub in China. The core Facebook service has been blocked in China for more than 10 years. Facebook shares are up 31% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 spx+0.91% has climbed 14%.

collected by :Roy Mark