UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group cut its price target on Meta Platforms from $865 to $766, while keeping a buy rating. The new target still implies about 15.7% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Meta’s analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with the consensus rating at Moderate Buy and an average price target of $835.90. However, some firms have turned more cautious, including Goldman Sachs, which downgraded the stock to sell.
• Meta recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $10.44 EPS versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion. The company also continues to draw attention for its AI spending and infrastructure expansion, including a larger Louisiana data center buildout.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $865.00 to $766.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.71% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $835.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $7.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $661.98. 12,676,730 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,837,744. The business's 50-day moving average is $598.11 and its 200-day moving average is $626.85. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 40,083 shares of company stock valued at $24,628,719 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is getting praise on Wall Street for its expanding AI ambitions, including a larger Louisiana data center buildout and a lower-cost AI model that could help it compete more efficiently with rivals. Meta Scales Up Louisiana AI Data Center
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators say Meta’s AI spending could pay off, with bullish takes pointing to stronger competitiveness, cheaper model economics, and upside if investors expected worse capital spending. Wall Street's Bar for Big Tech Is on the Floor, and That Could Spark the Next Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also continued to attract positive attention from AI-focused investors, with coverage highlighting it as a top AI stock and a strong mega-cap alternative. Meta Platforms Inc. (META) Is A Top AI Stock In D. E. Shaw’s Holdings

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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