Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $130.00 at Morgan Stanley

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential downside of 4.52% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Edward Jones lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $150.00 to $136.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms to $130.00 in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $170.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.35.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $136.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $120.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.74. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $88.09 and a 1 year high of $328.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $361.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.17.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The social networking company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.24). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 24.41%. The firm had revenue of $27.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.40 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 8.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Susan J.S. Taylor sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.39, for a total value of $162,548.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,089.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Susan J.S. Taylor sold 1,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.39, for a total value of $162,548.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,501 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,089.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 342 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.03, for a total transaction of $44,812.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,439.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,322 shares of company stock worth $4,495,531 in the last quarter. 14.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,265,000. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $530,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $606,000. Investment Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,000. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $853,000. Institutional investors own 60.92% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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Meta Platforms, Inc develops products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, wearables, and in-home devices worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment's products include Facebook, which enables people to share, 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, groups, and businesses across platforms and devices through chat, audio and video calls, and rooms; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.