Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.4%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price traded up 1.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $474.97 and last traded at $474.74. 4,370,764 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 18,134,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $468.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $570.00 to $480.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $585.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $490.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $411.78.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The social networking company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $36.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.28 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 32.03% and a net margin of 32.06%. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 20.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total value of $305,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,043,756. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $517.75, for a total value of $253,697.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,924,027.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.00, for a total transaction of $305,370.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,043,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,223,416 shares of company stock valued at $597,392,856. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 625.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 103 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 109 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 411.1% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 92 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 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.