Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $900.00 to $1,000.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 54.83% from the company’s current price.
Several other research firms also recently commented on META. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $832.83.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta is gaining attention for potentially turning unused GPU capacity and new data centers into a cloud/compute business, which could create a fresh revenue stream and improve margins over time. Meta Platforms: Vertical Integration Is The Play – Reiterating Strong Buy (Earnings Preview)
- Positive Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic could become a multi-billion-dollar Meta customer are fueling hopes that Meta can monetize its AI infrastructure investment faster than Wall Street expected. Meta Stock’s Rebound Made Mark Zuckerberg the World’s Fifth-Richest Person at $222 Billion
- Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Meta’s upcoming earnings could beat estimates thanks to healthy ad demand and AI-driven performance improvements, reinforcing optimism ahead of results. Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates as ad growth remains healthy, says BofA
- Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s financing of new Meta data centers in Texas signals external support for the company’s capital buildout and AI expansion plans. BlackRock Leads $12 Billion Financing for New Meta Data Centers in Texas
- Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Meta’s AI strategy, compute-provider ambitions, and “multiple paths” to benefit from the AI boom, but these are mostly thesis pieces rather than new hard catalysts. Zuckerberg Is Quietly Turning Meta Into A Compute Provider Ahead Of Q2 Earnings
- Negative Sentiment: Meta faces a Tennessee trial over allegations that Instagram was designed to be addictive and harmed teen mental health, adding legal risk and potential reputational pressure. Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
- Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry’s warning about “hidden debt” at big tech could weigh on sentiment toward Meta and other megacap tech names, even though it is a broad sector concern rather than Meta-specific news. ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry sounds alarm on big tech’s $1.6 trillion hidden debt
About Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
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