Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 2.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares rose 2.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Erste Group Bank upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $625.37 and last traded at $615.58. 18,177,595 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 16,615,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $600.29.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on META. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.64.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 39,513 shares of company stock valued at $24,419,874 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out Muse Image, its first image-generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, signaling continued progress in AI and a push to attract creators, advertisers, and subscribers. Meta expands generative AI tools with Muse Image rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta from hold to buy, and Truist reaffirmed a bullish view with an $840 price target, reinforcing Wall Street confidence in the stock’s valuation and growth prospects. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Raised to “Buy” at Erste Group Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also drawing positive attention for its broader AI and infrastructure strategy, including potential monetization of excess compute capacity, which some investors view as a possible new revenue stream. Meta Platforms Is Entering the Neocloud Business. Here’s Why CoreWeave Investors Should Not Worry.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted Meta as a “final trade” or one of the more interesting mega-cap AI names, but these articles are largely sentiment-driven rather than new fundamental catalysts. Apple, Meta, Alphabet And A Financial Stock On CNBC’s ‘Final Trades’
• Negative Sentiment: Meta disclosed that four U.S. states are seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties in an upcoming youth-safety trial, a major legal risk that could weigh on sentiment given the size of the potential liability. Meta says US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in August youth safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports that India is pressing Meta over child-abuse-related ads on Instagram add another regulatory concern, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s reported comments that AI development “hasn’t really accelerated” as expected may raise questions about returns on heavy AI spending.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.5%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $627.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.