(San Francisco)

Facebook has been going through a lot of turmoil lately. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is under fire, and the company is currently embattled over data leaks, especially related the Cambridge Analytica debacle. A majority of Facebook users now say they don’t trust Facebook with their data. Because of all this turmoil, however, Facebook’s shares now look like a bargain, says Barron’s. Three year ago the company’s p/e ratio traded at a 140% premium to the S&P 500. Now it down to just 30%, even though its revenues are growing 5x as fast as the market and its profit margins are 3x average. Barron’s argues that if you view Facebook as a “sin stock”, more like a cigarette company than a tech titan, then its return profile could prove very strong.

FINSUM: A lot of sin stocks, such as tobacco companies, have done very well despite public scorn. We think this current bout of anger will likely blow over and the company will return to delivering excellent earnings.