Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by Scotiabank from $583.00 to $627.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the social networking company's stock. Scotiabank's price target suggests a potential downside of 8.73% from the stock's current price.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Benchmark raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $715.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $811.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $706.76.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $10.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $687.00. The company had a trading volume of 29,291,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,714,160. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $387.10 and a fifty-two week high of $710.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $608.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,842,668.52. The trade was a 3.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 662,217 shares of company stock valued at $407,980,152 over the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,954 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $625,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.