Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $535.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Truist Financial from $550.00 to $535.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $370.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $397.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ META 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 2.68. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $229.85 and a 52-week high of $531.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $494.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $404.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.32 by $0.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.06% and a return on equity of 32.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.28 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 20.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,720 shares in the company, valued at $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.18, for a total transaction of $245,578.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,089 shares in the company, valued at $3,552,865.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total transaction of $228,664.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,026,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock worth $649,552,559. 13.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 79.91% of the stock is 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.