Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $500.00 by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $585.00 to $500.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.79% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $520.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $443.29 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $229.85 and a 12-month high of $531.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $494.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $404.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total value of $287,381.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,288,255. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 97,093 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.67, for a total value of $45,601,669.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.25, for a total transaction of $287,381.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,288,255. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559 in the last ninety days. 13.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Treasure Coast Financial Planning purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $203,000. Finer Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,583,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.