Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $575.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at UBS Group from $610.00 to $575.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 29.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $404.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.37%. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 68,935 shares in the company, valued at $27,574,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Treasure Coast Financial Planning bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth $203,000. Finer Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the first quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,583,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the first quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 25,842 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,548,000 after acquiring an additional 10,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 4,543 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.