Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $685.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $641.00 to $685.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.27% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $590.00 to $663.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Pivotal Research upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $594.25 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $595.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $554.81. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $358.61 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 22.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.65, for a total value of $239,808.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,456,828. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total value of $4,038,190.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. The trade was a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 423,427 shares of company stock valued at $256,996,450. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 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.