Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $685.00 to $690.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on META. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of META opened at $597.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $442.65 and a 12-month high of $740.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $575.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $603.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.17, for a total value of $502,101.57. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,488,983.09. This represents a 3.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.18, for a total transaction of $296,813.44. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,622 shares in the company, valued at $2,744,547.96. The trade was a 9.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Saturna Capital Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 4,439 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 280,081 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $161,427,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $519,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burling Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,884 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.