Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Upgraded to “Buy” at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) was upgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $900.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $740.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 36.62% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on META. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,117.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citizens Jmp restated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.11.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of META stock opened at $658.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $642.15 and its 200-day moving average is $696.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total value of $314,516.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,319.15. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 40,115 shares of company stock worth $24,668,044 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.