Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $660.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $600.00 to $660.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.77% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Pivotal Research boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $690.00 to $719.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $641.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.05.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5 %

Meta Platforms stock traded down $9.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $606.78. 6,767,900 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,382,023. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $358.61 and a fifty-two week high of $638.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $593.63 and its 200-day moving average is $553.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 35,921 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $611.10, for a total transaction of $21,951,323.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total value of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This represents a 17.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 411,357 shares of company stock valued at $249,545,428 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $36,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.