Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Increased to $640.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $610.00 to $640.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.80% from the stock’s previous close.

META has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.23.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $567.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $516.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.60. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $279.40 and a 12 month high of $577.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The social networking company reported $5.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.46. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 34.34% and a return on equity of 34.16%. The firm had revenue of $39.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 21.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total value of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $187,314,333.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $231,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,152,320. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.93, for a total transaction of $5,699,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 328,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,314,333.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 342,358 shares of company stock valued at $179,431,101 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 835,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $295,901,000 after acquiring an additional 163,067 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,576,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,265,862,000 after purchasing an additional 51,900 shares during the period. Voyager Global Management LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 515,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $182,289,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 72,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $36,600,000 after buying an additional 5,953 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 6,101,501 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,962,767,000 after buying an additional 748,076 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.