JMP Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

by · The Cerbat Gem

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at JMP Securities from $635.00 to $660.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. JMP Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 16.20% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on META. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $632.90.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on META

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $23.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $567.97. The company had a trading volume of 19,938,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,128,033. The business’s 50-day moving average is $554.49 and its 200 day moving average is $512.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.22. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $296.86 and a 52 week high of $602.95.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,254,449.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total transaction of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,641,281.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 150 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.49, for a total value of $75,073.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,254,449.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 250,818 shares of company stock valued at $132,569,993. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 122.2% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.6% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 88 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

(Get Free Report)

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.

Featured Articles