Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) PT Raised to $260.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) had its price objective lifted by Oppenheimer from $235.00 to $260.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price target indicates a potential upside of 26.87% from the company’s previous close. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q1 2023 earnings at $1.77 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $2.18 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $9.05 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $11.73 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $14.70 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on META. Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $140.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $165.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $164.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.27.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.6 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $204.93 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $88.09 and a 12 month high of $236.86. The company has a market capitalization of $531.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.88. The company had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.69 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 21.23%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 342 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.44, for a total value of $39,822.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,819 shares in the company, valued at $3,006,364.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 342 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.44, for a total value of $39,822.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,006,364.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marne L. Levine sold 23,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.00, for a total value of $4,453,547.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,976. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,342 shares of company stock valued at $12,285,012 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 12.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,244,201 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $499,020,000 after acquiring an additional 249,926 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 284.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,482 shares during the last quarter. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $813,000. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 1,888 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 60.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

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Meta Platforms, Inc, engages in the development of social media applications. It builds technology that helps people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. It operates through the Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL) segments. The FoA segment consists of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and other services.