Oppenheimer Boosts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $260.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) had its price objective upped by Oppenheimer from $235.00 to $260.00 in a report published on Wednesday, The Fly reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the social networking company’s stock. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q1 2023 earnings at $1.77 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $2.18 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $2.56 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $2.60 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $4.15 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $9.05 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $11.06 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $14.53 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $11.73 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $14.70 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $17.24 EPS.

META has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC cut Meta Platforms from a hold rating to a reduce rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $164.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Cowen raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $215.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $209.27.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 4.5 %

META opened at $195.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.42 and a 200-day moving average of $140.33. The company has a market capitalization of $507.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.18. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $88.09 and a fifty-two week high of $236.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The social networking company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.88. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.25, for a total value of $73,589.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,793,327.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 13,341 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.23, for a total transaction of $2,271,038.43. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 67,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,424,305.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.25, for a total value of $73,589.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,793,327.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,342 shares of company stock valued at $12,285,012 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 14.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heritage Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $146,000. RDA Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $1,661,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, Linscomb & Williams Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Linscomb & Williams Inc. now owns 20,692 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.92% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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.