Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $630.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $563.00 to $630.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.04% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $522.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $535.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $567.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $516.19 and a 200-day moving average of $499.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $279.40 and a 12-month high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.08, for a total value of $8,402,442.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 204,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,769,182.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.08, for a total value of $8,402,442.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 204,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,769,182.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,358 shares of company stock worth $179,431,101 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $182,289,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 14.0% in the first quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.