Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Still a Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $662.67 and last traded at $656.75. Approximately 3,786,224 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 14,470,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $656.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $701.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The company has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $570.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $606.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $703.21, for a total value of $13,830,734.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.77, for a total transaction of $585,713.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,749 shares in the company, valued at $15,982,161.73. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,171 shares of company stock worth $55,161,016. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.