Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Coverage Initiated at DA Davidson

Stock analysts at DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. DA Davidson’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.86% from the stock’s current price.

META has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $504.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $505.18 and a 200-day moving average of $494.59. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $279.40 and a 52-week high of $544.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total transaction of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares in the company, valued at $62,254,449.63. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $526.76, for a total transaction of $4,714,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 74,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,285,234.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 373,370 shares of company stock worth $193,527,936 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 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.