Analysts Set Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Target Price at $701.05

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $701.05.

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Wedbush raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $752.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 308,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.00, for a total value of $593,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,945 shares in the company, valued at $21,860,580. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,628 shares of company stock valued at $48,380,586. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $642.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $442.65 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $576.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $609.77.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.17% and a net margin of 37.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

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.