DA Davidson Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at DA Davidson from $700.00 to $800.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. DA Davidson’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price objective (up previously from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $698.98.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META traded up $14.90 on Thursday, hitting $691.39. 19,926,804 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,151,370. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $387.10 and a 52 week high of $710.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $608.52 and a 200-day moving average of $563.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 in the previous year, the business posted $5.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 22.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicholas Clegg sold 7,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.48, for a total transaction of $4,038,190.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,416,908.60. This trade represents a 15.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was 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 661,312 shares of company stock worth $407,377,422 in the last ninety days. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,087,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 140,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $82,314,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,827,565 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,915,451,000 after acquiring an additional 118,298 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,679 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,686,000 after purchasing an additional 6,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 9,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.