Cantor Fitzgerald Boosts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $790.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $720.00 to $790.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on META. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $670.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Arete Research raised Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $682.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $21.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $698.36. 11,226,590 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,702,318. The company has a quick ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $387.10 and a twelve month high of $710.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $608.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $563.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.58, for a total value of $234,410.54. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,842,668.52. This represents a 3.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 661,312 shares of company stock valued at $407,377,422. Company insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 317 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 2,680 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.