Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given “Underperform” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on META. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $605.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $645.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $654.20.

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Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $674.33 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $606.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 1.18 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 has a 1-year low of $387.10 and a 1-year high of $682.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.21 billion. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,776,261.56. This trade represents a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,416,908.60. This represents 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 have sold 602,612 shares of company stock worth $368,414,542. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of META. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms by 35.1% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,272 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,751,000 after acquiring an additional 7,089 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,559,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 39.4% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 13,445 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,779,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $7,115,000. Finally, Invst LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,076,000 after buying an additional 936 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

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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.

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