Sphera Funds Management LTD. Has $16.78 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Sphera Funds Management LTD. lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,123 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.7% of Sphera Funds Management LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sphera Funds Management LTD.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $613.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $576.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $529.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $315.39 and a 52 week high of $617.78.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $507.63, for a total transaction of $459,405.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,197,043.71. This represents a 2.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total value of $5,166,159.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,776,261.56. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 141,668 shares of company stock worth $81,288,334. 13.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.