Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $652.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $647.00 to $652.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 13.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Pivotal Research began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $780.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $510.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $660.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $565.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $598.08.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $573.95. 2,326,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,528,377. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $519.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $500.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $279.40 and a 1-year high of $583.04.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $235,410.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,044,630. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.00, for a total value of $235,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,044,630. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 308,462 shares of company stock worth $162,308,065 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.7% during the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 371 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 647 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Buckingham Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 433 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.