Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $783.00 to $811.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the social networking company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.18% from the company's current price.
A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on META. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $845.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $815.09.
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Meta Platforms Price Performance
NASDAQ:META traded down $16.80 on Thursday, hitting $756.64. The company had a trading volume of 6,407,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,560,782. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $450.80 and a 52 week high of $784.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $699.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $644.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.28.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total transaction of $373,607.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,392,423. This represents a 1.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.08, for a total value of $336,232.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,755,013.36. This trade represents a 4.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 152,980 shares of company stock worth $105,708,832. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
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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.
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