Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $980.00

Key Points

• Loop Capital raised its price target for Meta Platforms to $980.00, indicating a potential upside of 28.24% from its previous close, and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Meta Platforms' stock recently fell 1.6% to $764.22, despite beating earnings expectations with a reported $7.14 EPS against a consensus estimate of $5.75.
• Analysts have diverse ratings for the stock, with thirty-nine issuing a "buy" rating, four rating it as a "hold," and three giving it a "strong buy" rating, resulting in an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Loop Capital from $888.00 to $980.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. Loop Capital's price target suggests a potential upside of 28.24% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on META. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6%

META stock traded down $12.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $764.22. The stock had a trading volume of 5,591,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,587,524. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $704.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $647.27. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $478.65 and a 52-week high of $784.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $715.00, for a total value of $369,655.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,136,275. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.86, for a total value of $373,607.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,392,423. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 167,298 shares of company stock worth $116,742,790 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $2,243,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.

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