Bank of America Lowers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $810.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) had its target price cut by Bank of America from $835.00 to $810.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, July 30th,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company's stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on META. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $6.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $571.21. The company had a trading volume of 4,780,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,756,852. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $592.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $611.14. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI and valuation support: Analysts argue that Meta’s substantial AI investment could improve ad targeting, increase monetization and potentially challenge Google’s search dominance. Other commentary describes META as undervalued relative to its growth and highlights its 28% year-over-year second-quarter revenue increase. Meta vs. Alphabet: One AI Giant Looks Undervalued Meta's AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and strategic catalysts: An analyst upgrade recently supported the stock, while regulatory approval for the IPO of India’s Jio Platforms could create a potential liquidity or valuation catalyst for Meta’s investment in the telecom operator. Meta Trading Up on Analyst Upgrade Jio Platforms Gets Regulatory Approval for IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Limited direct impact from executive news: Former Meta vice president Alessio Sanfilippo was appointed CEO of Redfin after Rocket’s acquisition. The move reflects executive talent associated with Meta but is unlikely to materially affect META’s earnings. Redfin Names Former Meta VP CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Large legal and compliance burden: Meta agreed to pay approximately $17 billion to $18 billion to settle claims that its platforms harmed children. The agreement also requires stronger age verification, potentially increasing compliance costs and intensifying scrutiny of Meta’s youth-engagement practices. Settlement Requires Meta to Verify Young Users’ Ages
• Negative Sentiment: Trust and platform-safety concerns: Meta removed ads that used sexualized content to promote malware in India, while research alleging that Temu spent as much as $962 million on ads linked to fake creators raises additional questions about ad-quality controls. Privacy concerns surrounding Meta’s smart glasses add another reputational risk. Meta Removes Fraudulent Ads in India Temu Advertising and Fake Creators Research

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.