Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Raised to $635.00 at JMP Securities

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective upped by analysts at JMP Securities from $550.00 to $635.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.92% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $620.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $625.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $567.36 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $516.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $499.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $279.40 and a fifty-two week high of $577.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total transaction of $453,015.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at $18,944,071.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.08, for a total transaction of $8,402,442.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 204,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,769,182.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.57, for a total value of $453,015.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,944,071.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 342,358 shares of company stock valued at $179,431,101 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% in the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Northern Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the first quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.