Rosenblatt Securities Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Rosenblatt Securities in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $886.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 15.37% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on META. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. China Renaissance reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $796.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.4%

META stock opened at $767.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $644.04 and a 200-day moving average of $621.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total value of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,735,814.24. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after purchasing an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, its first “frontier” AI models, claiming performance comparable with leading offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The models are intended to improve Meta’s AI assistant and support complex, multistep tasks. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed Muse’s early retention rates rivaling ChatGPT, easing concerns about user adoption and helping drive the stock higher. Meta is also testing a monetization model with $20 and $100 monthly subscription tiers. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: KeyCorp reaffirmed an overweight rating with a $900 target, while Rosenblatt reiterated buy with an $886 target. Truist also believes Meta may have further upside following the Muse announcement. Barron’s Meta Stock Analysis

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.