Paul Meeks Is 'Cautiously Optimistic' On The Tech Sector But Still Likes Facebook

Paul Meeks is a notable tech investor and veteran equity analyst. On Tuesday he was a guest on CNBC's "Squawk Box Platinum Portfolio" segment to discuss why he is "cautiously optimistic" on the tech market. Meeks started off the conversation by pointing out one major fa fallacy among tech investors in thinking that technology stocks can grow in any environment. He continued that since the economy is currently growing "so slackly" many companies will likely see pressure on their IT spending which diminishes the outlook for the overall tech sector. On the other hand, Meeks stated he likes Facebook Inc FB given the company's continued growth in Messenger and video ads. He added that the company still has a "long growth runway" ahead of itself. Meanwhile, the stock is trading with a PEG ratio of less than 1 and growth estimates for the coming years are "too conservative." He also added that Facebook is a "reasonably valued stock" trading at 25 times earnings and fully expects the company to grow its earnings by 30 percent in the coming year. Shares of Facebook were trading higher by 0.59 percent at $116.64 and are higher by more than 11 percent since the start of 2016.