Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $870.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer has raised its price target for Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.40% from the current stock price.
• Meta reported $7.14 EPS for Q2, surpassing estimates by $1.39, and boasted a revenue of $47.52 billion, up 21.6% year-over-year.
• Overall, Meta Platforms has received a "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts, with 39 analysts giving "buy" ratings and an average price target of $791.07.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities research analysts at Oppenheimer from $775.00 to $870.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the social networking company's stock. Oppenheimer's price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.98% from the company's previous close.

META has been the topic of several other research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.09.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.2%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $16.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $756.64. 6,407,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,560,782. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $450.80 and a 1 year high of $784.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.66 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $699.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $644.61.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total transaction of $336,232.20. Following the sale, the director owned 9,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,755,013.36. The trade was a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at $18,392,423. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $105,708,832 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.