Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, forty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $319.79.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $361.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, August 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $320.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Meta Platforms from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $313.00 to $389.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $280.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $311.72 on Friday. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $88.09 and a fifty-two week high of $326.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $302.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $802.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The social networking company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.87 by $0.36. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.91 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total value of $3,258,780.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 91,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,052,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.73, for a total value of $201,243.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,811,296. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 10,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.19, for a total transaction of $3,258,780.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 91,617 shares in the company, valued at $28,052,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,179 shares of company stock worth $12,474,820 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 248.6% during the 1st quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 122 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Corrado Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.87% of the company’s stock.

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.