UBS Group Lowers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $650.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $786.00 to $650.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.30% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $811.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $692.93.

Remove Ads

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $12.09 on Friday, reaching $531.48. 14,102,061 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,773,830. The firm's 50-day moving average is $628.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $609.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a 52 week low of $414.50 and a 52 week high of $740.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business earned $5.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,744,547.96. This trade represents a 9.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company'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 value of $3,727,550.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 451,119 shares of company stock valued at $304,709,239. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.