Wolfe Research Lowers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $500.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research from $530.00 to $500.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $450.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $609.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.18.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4 %

META opened at $443.29 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $494.48 and its 200-day moving average is $404.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $229.85 and a one year high of $531.49.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $36.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.37% and a net margin of 32.06%. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 20.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.00, for a total value of $228,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,026,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.03, for a total value of $239,134.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 79,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,015,070.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,349,148 shares of company stock valued at $649,552,559. Insiders own 13.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. S.A. Mason LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 435 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. LongView Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. LongView Wealth Management now owns 1,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in 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.