Meta Platforms' (META) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Key Points

• Wedbush reiterated its “neutral” rating on Meta Platforms and set a $595 price target, implying about 4% upside from the prior close. Overall analyst sentiment remains more positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $785.22.
• Meta’s latest quarter showed mixed results: earnings per share came in at $6.18, below the $7.19 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $60.8 billion and grew 28% year over year.
• Insiders sold nearly $19.2 million of Meta stock during the last quarter, including sales by the company’s CTO and CFO under pre-arranged trading plans; institutional investors own approximately 79.91% of the shares.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reissued by Wedbush in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $595.00 price target on the social networking company's stock. Wedbush's price target indicates a potential upside of 3.96% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on META. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $572.34 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $592.45 and a 200-day moving average of $610.45. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s large AI investment is attracting bullish attention. Analysts and market commentators argue that improved recommendation and advertising systems could increase the value of user attention and potentially challenge Google in search-related markets. These claims are forward-looking, but they support the case that Meta’s advertising business may remain undervalued. Meta's $60 Billion AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search by Year-End
• Positive Sentiment: Indian regulators approved an IPO for Jio Platforms, in which Meta is a major shareholder. A successful listing could provide a valuation reference and improve the potential visibility and liquidity of Meta’s investment, although the direct financial impact on Meta is uncertain. Meta- and Google-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms gets regulatory nod for IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Former Meta vice president Alessio Sanfilippo was appointed CEO of Redfin following its acquisition by Rocket. The move highlights Meta’s executive talent but has limited direct effect on Meta’s earnings or valuation. Redfin fills CEO role with former Meta VP Alessio Sanfilippo after acquisition by Rocket
• Negative Sentiment: Meta agreed to an approximately $17 billion to $18 billion settlement with U.S. states over allegations that its platforms contributed to addictive social-media use among children. The agreement reportedly requires stronger age verification, creating potentially significant financial, compliance and user-experience costs while keeping regulatory scrutiny elevated. Explainer: Settlement requires Meta to check young users' ages. How will that work?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta removed dozens of Facebook and Instagram advertisements in India that allegedly used pornographic bait to distribute malware capable of stealing bank credentials. The incident raises renewed concerns about ad-screening effectiveness, user trust, fraud liability and possible regulatory action. Meta removes ads for fraud apps posing as porn after India sounds alarm
• Negative Sentiment: Research cited by reports claims Temu spent as much as $962 million on ads that helped finance fake creators on Meta’s platforms. If substantiated, the allegations could increase pressure on Meta to improve advertiser and creator verification. Temu spent up to $962 million on ads that helped finance an army of fake creators on Meta platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s smart glasses continue to face privacy concerns, prompting a public-relations campaign and updated privacy settings. Venue restrictions and consumer unease could slow adoption of a product category viewed as strategically important for Meta’s hardware and AI ambitions. Meta goes on a PR blitz and updates privacy settings as venues restrict smart glasses

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source