Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at DA Davidson

Equities researchers at DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on META. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $530.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $660.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $577.26.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $504.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $544.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $505.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.59.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $39.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.26 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 34.16% and a net margin of 34.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total value of $8,406,784.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,567,991.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.92, for a total transaction of $221,747.96. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,424 shares in the company, valued at $7,744,534.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.34, for a total value of $8,406,784.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 275,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,567,991.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 373,370 shares of company stock worth $193,527,936. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 411.1% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 527.3% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.