Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $695.00 Price Target at Loop Capital

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Loop Capital from $900.00 to $695.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. Loop Capital's price target points to a potential upside of 26.90% from the stock's previous close.

META has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $681.95.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $547.69. The stock had a trading volume of 4,475,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,337,306. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $587.00 and a 200 day moving average of $604.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $427.11 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $6,300,738.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,154,349.31. The trade was a 14.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $666.00, for a total transaction of $602,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,295 shares in the company, valued at $19,510,470. This trade represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 285,289 shares of company stock worth $200,201,352 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,368,361 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,928,185,000 after buying an additional 204,412 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 3,219 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,633,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 17,048 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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