Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading 2.5% Higher - Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) was up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $655.90 and last traded at $655.73. Approximately 6,179,110 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 14,465,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $639.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. KeyCorp upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Pivotal Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $569.76 and a 200 day moving average of $605.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,744,547.96. This represents a 9.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total value of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at $38,154,349.31. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 99,932 shares of company stock valued at $69,021,252. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,553 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,519 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $19,949,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.