Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $624.00 by Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price dropped by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $790.00 to $624.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target indicates a potential upside of 24.49% from the company’s previous close.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $752.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $686.83.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META traded down $20.29 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $501.23. 11,825,791 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,772,582. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $414.50 and a 1 year high of $740.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $621.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $608.54. The company has a market cap of $1.27 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $677.71, for a total value of $13,554,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 308,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,199,589.06. This trade represents a 6.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 5,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,727,550.20. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 5,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,747.13. The trade was a 49.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 414,293 shares of company stock valued at $282,029,046. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 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.