Should I buy or sell Meta Platforms stock right now?

49 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Meta Platforms in the last twelve months. There are currently 2 sell ratings, 3 hold ratings, 43 buy ratings and 1 strong buy rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "moderate buy" META shares. View META analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks .

What is Meta Platforms' stock price target for 2024?

49 brokerages have issued 12-month target prices for Meta Platforms' stock. Their META share price targets range from $155.00 to $435.00. On average, they predict the company's share price to reach $349.53 in the next year. This suggests a possible upside of 7.0% from the stock's current price. View analysts price targets for META or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts .

How have META shares performed in 2023?

Meta Platforms' stock was trading at $120.34 on January 1st, 2023. Since then, META shares have increased by 171.4% and is now trading at $326.59. View the best growth stocks for 2023 here .

When is Meta Platforms' next earnings date?

The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Wednesday, February 7th 2024. View our META earnings forecast .

How were Meta Platforms' earnings last quarter?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October, 25th. The social networking company reported $4.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.77. The social networking company earned $34.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.58 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 23.42% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 26.40%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 EPS.

What ETFs hold Meta Platforms' stock?

ETFs with the largest weight of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) stock in their portfolio include Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) , Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (FCOM) , Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX) , iShares Global Comm Services ETF (IXP) , ProShares Ultra Communication Services (LTL) , Global X Social Media Index ETF (SOCL) , Davis Select U.S. Equity ETF (DUSA) and Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (BIGT) .

Who are Meta Platforms' major shareholders?

Meta Platforms' stock is owned by a variety of institutional and retail investors. Top institutional investors include FMR LLC (5.09%), Morgan Stanley (1.41%), Northern Trust Corp (0.90%), Wellington Management Group LLP (0.82%), Invesco Ltd. (0.68%) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (0.63%). Insiders that own company stock include Andrew Bosworth , David B Fischer , David B Fischer , David M Wehner, David M Wehner , David M Wehner , Javier Olivan , Jennifer Newstead , Mark Zuckerberg , Mark Zuckerberg , Marne L Levine , Nicholas Clegg , Susan J Li and Susan JS Taylor . View institutional ownership trends .

How do I buy shares of Meta Platforms?

Shares of META stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include WeBull , Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab. Compare Top Brokerages Here .

Does Meta Platforms have any subsidiaries?

The following companies are subsidiares of Meta Platforms: Acrylic Software, Andale, Andale Inc., Atlas Solutions Advertiser Suite, Beat Games, Beluga, Biblbobl, Bloomsbury AI, Bolt | Peters, Branch, CTRL-labs, Cassin Networks ApS, Chai Labs, Confirm.io, CrowdTangle, Daytum, Digital Staircase, Divvyshot, Dreambit, Edge Network Services, Edge Network Services Limited, Endaga, Eyegroove, FCL Tech, FCL Tech Limited, Face.com, Facebook International Operations, Facebook International Operations Limited, Facebook Ireland Holdings Unlimited, Facebook Ireland Limited, Facebook Ireland Limited, Facebook Operations, Facebook Operations LLC, Facebook Sweden Holdings, Facebook Sweden Holdings AB, Facebook Technologies LLC, FacioMetrics, Fayteq AG, Friend.ly, FriendFeed, GIPHY, GazeHawk, Glancee, Global Holdings I Inc, Global Holdings I Inc., Global Holdings I LLC, Global Holdings I LLC, Global Holdings II LLC, Global Holdings II LLC, Gowalla, Greater Kudu, Greater Kudu LLC, GrokStyle, Hot Potato, Instagram, Instagram LLC, Jibbigo, KUSU PTE, KUSU PTE. Ltd., Karma, Kustomer, Lemnis Technologies, Lightbox, Little Eye Labs, LiveRail, Malkoha PTE Ltd., Mapillary, Monoidics, Morning Hornet LLC, Nextstop, Octazen Solutions, Oculus, Onavo, Osmeta, Ozlo, Packagd, Parakey, Parse, Parse LLC, Pieceable, Pinnacle Sweden, Pinnacle Sweden AB, PlayGiga, PrivateCore, ProtoGeo, Pryte, Pursuit, Push Pop Press, QuickFire Networks, Raven Northbrook LLC, RedKix, Runways Information Services, Runways Information Services Ltd, Sanzaru Games Inc, Scape Technologies, Scout Development LLC, Sendoid, Servicefriend, ShareGrove, Siculus, Siculus Inc., Sidecat LLC, Snaptu, Sofa, Source3, Spaceport.io, Spool, SportStream, Stadion LLC, Starbelt LLC, Storylane, Strobe, TBH, Tagtile, Teehan+Lax, TheFind Inc., Two Big Ears Ltd, Vidpresso, Vitesse, Vitesse LLC, WhatsApp, WhoGlue, Winner, Winner LLC, Wit.ai, Zenbe, and drop.io. Read More

Followed 426 TimesTop Followed Top-Rated StocksTop-Rated

Meta Platforms Stock Price, News & Analysis (NASDAQ:META)

$326.59

+9.14 (+2.88%)

(As of 12/7/2023 ET)

Compare

Today's Range: $317.77
▼
$328.24
50-Day Range: $288.35
▼
$341.49
52-Week Range: $112.46
▼
$342.92

Volume: 15.89 million shs
Average Volume: 24.69 million shs
Market Capitalization: $839.29 billion

P/E Ratio: 28.83
Dividend Yield: N/A
Price Target: $349.53

Meta Platforms MarketRank™ Stock Analysis

Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy
2.88 Rating Score
Upside/Downside: 7.0% Upside
$349.53 Price Target
Short Interest: Healthy
1.43% of Float Sold Short
Dividend Strength: N/A
Sustainability: N/A
News Sentiment: -0.06
Based on 83 Articles This Week
Insider Trading: Selling Shares
$133.32 M Sold Last Quarter
Proj. Earnings Growth: 23.07%
From $14.26 to $17.55 Per Share

Overall MarketRank^™

MarketRank is calculated as an average of available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

2.44 out of 5 stars

Computer And Technology Sector

142nd out of 593 stocks

Computer Programming, Data Processing, & Other Computer Related Industry

9th out of 44 stocks

2.4

Analyst's Opinion

Consensus Rating
Meta Platforms has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.88, and is based on 43 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and 2 sell ratings.
Price Target Upside/Downside
According to analysts' consensus price target of $349.53, Meta Platforms has a forecasted upside of 7.0% from its current price of $326.59.
Amount of Analyst Coverage
Meta Platforms has been the subject of 17 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

4.0

Short Interest

Percentage of Shares Shorted
1.43% of the float of Meta Platforms has been sold short.
Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover
Meta Platforms has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
Change versus previous month
Short interest in Meta Platforms has recently decreased by 0.54%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

0.0

Dividend Strength

Dividend Yield
Meta Platforms does not currently pay a dividend.
Dividend Growth
Meta Platforms does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

N/A

Sustainability and ESG

Overall ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Score
There is no current Upright™ data available for META.

1.1

News and Social Media Coverage

News Sentiment
Meta Platforms has a news sentiment score of -0.06. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.52 average news sentiment score of Computer and Technology companies.
News Coverage This Week
MarketBeat has tracked 83 news articles for Meta Platforms this week, compared to 39 articles on an average week.
Search Interest
Only 289 people have searched for META on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -25% compared to the previous 30 days.
MarketBeat Follows
Only 429 people have added Meta Platforms to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -20% compared to the previous 30 days.

3.3

Company Ownership

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling
In the past three months, Meta Platforms insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $133,321,007.00 in company stock.
Percentage Held by Insiders
13.75% of the stock of Meta Platforms is held by insiders. A high percentage of insider ownership can be a sign of company health.
Percentage Held by Institutions
62.87% of the stock of Meta Platforms is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

3.1

Earnings and Valuation

Earnings Growth
Earnings for Meta Platforms are expected to grow by 23.07% in the coming year, from $14.26 to $17.55 per share.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market
The P/E ratio of Meta Platforms is 28.83, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 118.52.
Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector
The P/E ratio of Meta Platforms is 28.83, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Computer and Technology sector average P/E ratio of about 249.88.
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
Meta Platforms has a PEG Ratio of 1.07. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.
Price to Book Value per Share Ratio
Meta Platforms has a P/B Ratio of 6.74. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks Here

About Meta Platforms Stock (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms, Inc. is a US-based multinational technology company and 1 of the Big 5 US tech companies. It is a member of the FAANG group holding the first position with its original name, Facebook.

Meta Platforms, Inc life began in 2004 as a digital “face book” for Harvard students. The company was founded by Mark Zuckerburg and a group of friends but now only Zuckerburg remains. The company quickly grew and expanded into other universities and then opened itself to the public in 2006. As of 2006, anyone over the age of 13 can be a Facebook user which is the company’s primary source of income. As of 2022, the company claimed more than 2.9 billion monthly active Facebook users.

Facebook, Inc filed for its IPO on January 1st 2012. The prospectus stated the company was seeking to raise $5 billion but it got so much more. The day before the IPO execs announced it would sell 25% more stock than it had previously stated because of the high demand. The company wound up raising more than $16 billion making it the 3rd largest IPO in history at the time.

The massive IPO valuation earned Facebook a spot in the S&P 500 in the first year of its public life. Although its valuation has deteriorated in the wake of scandal and consumer trends within social media, early investors were treated to gains in excess of 1000% at the peak of the stock run. Mark Zuckerburg retained 22% ownership in the company following the IPO, and 57% of the voting rights. As of 2022, those holdings were down to about 14% of the company and 54% of the voting rights.

Over the years, Facebook acquired a large number of apps and other businesses that include but are not limited to Instagram and WhatsApp. The company changed its name to Meta Platforms DBA Meta in 2021 to reflect its business and mission better. The new name describes the metaverse and refers to the seamless social interaction provided by Meta’s social media application universe.

Today, Meta develops digital applications that allow people to connect with family, friends, businesses, and merchants through Internet connections. Applications are available for mobile, PC, VR, and smart homes.

The company’s primary operating segment is the Family of Apps. The family of Apps includes Facebook and all the other digital applications. This segment produces virtually all of the revenue which is in turn 97% advertising oriented. The other operating segment is Reality Labs. Reality Labs develops and markets a line of virtual and augmented-reality products.

META Stock Price History

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META Stock News Headlines

December 6, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Analysts shift attention to new market leaders in Q4 (META)

The top rankings for Most Upgraded stocks changed leaving market leaders like Meta Platforms at risk of topping out while others rally to new highs.

November 30, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Facebook parent Meta sues the FTC claiming 'unconstitutional authority' in child privacy case

The parent company of Instagram and Facebook has sued the Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to stop the agency from reopening a 2020 privacy settlement with the company that would prohibit it from profiting from data it collects on users under 18

December 7, 2023 | Edge On The Street (Ad)

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November 26, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Court document claims Meta knowingly designed its platforms to hook kids, reports say

A newly unsealed legal complaint claims Facebook parent Meta Platforms deliberately engineered its social platforms to hook kids

November 26, 2023 | marketbeat.com

Russia puts spokesman for tech giant and Facebook owner Meta on wanted list

Russia's interior ministry has added the spokesman of U.S. tech giant Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to a wanted list, according to its online database

December 7, 2023 | msn.com

Facebook to encrypt all messages automatically

December 7, 2023 | theguardian.com

Meta platforms are marketplaces for child predators claims lawsuit

December 7, 2023 | cnn.com

Meta rolls out encrypted messaging by default for Facebook and Messenger

December 7, 2023 | Edge On The Street (Ad)

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December 7, 2023 | businessinsider.com

Meta is finally encrypting all messages and calls on Facebook and Messenger. It took 4 years.