Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Rating Upgraded by Arete

Key Points

• Arete upgraded Meta from "neutral" to "buy" with a $718 price target (about a 12.3% upside), while the Street average remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $819.43.
• Meta posted a strong quarter, beating estimates with EPS of $7.25 vs. $6.74 and revenue of $51.24B (up 26.2% year-over-year), and analysts forecast about 26.7 EPS for the current year.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently (41,440 shares sold in the last 90 days, ~$26.3M), though institutions still own roughly 79.9% of the stock and insiders hold 13.61%.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Arete from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Thursday. The firm presently has a $718.00 price objective on the social networking company's stock. Arete's price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.26% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,086.00 to $1,117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $819.43.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of META stock opened at $639.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $676.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $706.12. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,440 shares of company stock valued at $26,337,795. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during 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 during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.