Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $735.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $675.00 to $735.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the social networking company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 7.36% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $702.48.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $3.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $684.62. The company had a trading volume of 13,062,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,506,457. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $583.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 406 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.69, for a total value of $199,626.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 4,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,265,707.52. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,652 shares of company stock valued at $34,815,208. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 108.2% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 383 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,937 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,440 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,441,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,598 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

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.