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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Truist Financial from $650.00 to $700.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. Truist Financial's price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.01% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $636.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $4.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $619.44. The company had a trading volume of 12,397,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,717,205. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $337.02 and a 1 year high of $638.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $585.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.45.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The firm had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 22.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.52, for a total transaction of $11,150,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 338,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $188,810,838.24. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,018 shares of company stock valued at $148,605,500 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $36,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.