Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 0.2% - What's Next?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $643.25 and last traded at $636.81. Approximately 3,191,862 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 14,461,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $635.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Guggenheim upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $574.80 and a 200-day moving average of $609.16. The company has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $628.25, for a total value of $324,805.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,882,478.75. This represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.75, for a total value of $613,155.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,212,039.50. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,157 shares of company stock worth $49,411,000 in the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently 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.