Meta Platforms’ (META) Buy Rating Reiterated at Rosenblatt Securities

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Rosenblatt Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,117.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 69.58% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $825.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $820.22.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:META opened at $658.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $653.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $706.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.38, for a total transaction of $342,218.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 29,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,238,730.26. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $661.11, for a total transaction of $341,793.87. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,335.87. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 41,038 shares of company stock valued at $25,587,621. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to buy Singapore/China?rooted AI agent startup Manus (reported deal value ~$2 billion), positioning Meta to speed up deployment of autonomous agents across consumer and business products. Meta Pays $2 Billion for Singapore AI Startup Manus
• Positive Sentiment: Manus brings scale and subscription revenue (reports say it already serves millions of paying users), which could accelerate monetization of Meta’s AI features and shorten time to product integration. Meta Buys AI Startup Manus, Adding Millions of Paying Users
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street stays constructive: Baird’s Colin Sebastian reiterated a Buy (slight trim to his target), and broader analyst coverage and price?target upgrades this year keep a bullish backdrop for META. Colin Sebastian on Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s acquisition streak and AI roadmap (new models and agent efforts) underpin multi?quarter growth expectations, but they also imply higher near?term AI spend — investors are weighing long?term upside vs short?term cost. Meta Buys Manus. What the China-Founded AI Start-Up Brings for Zuckerberg.
• Negative Sentiment: Near?term selling pressure: recent profit?taking and notable insider sales have pressured the stock in the last session, reminding investors that returns can be volatile around big strategic moves. Meta stock slips on Monday
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical and regulatory risk: Manus’s China/Singapore roots have drawn attention; acquiring a company with Chinese ties may invite extra scrutiny or integration complexity. Meta to acquire Chinese startup Manus

About Meta Platforms

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.