Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $600.00 to $675.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the social networking company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective points to a potential upside of 18.88% from the stock's current price.
Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $563.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $621.63.
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Meta Platforms stock opened at $567.78 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $279.40 and a twelve month high of $602.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $550.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total transaction of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total transaction of $239,808.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,456,828. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.15, for a total value of $406,486.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,034,122.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,817 shares of company stock valued at $132,547,715 over the last quarter. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Central Valley Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
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.
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