Meta Platforms’ (META) “Hold” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on META. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.15.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $592.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $612.48. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HORAN Wealth LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 21.6% in the second quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 113.1% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 309 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Wellington Grp LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $235,170,000. Finally, Financial Insights Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 879 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The settlement ends a major federal trial and removes the risk of potentially far larger damages. Meta will pay approximately $16.7 billion to $18 billion, an amount analysts characterize as manageable relative to the company’s profitability. The agreement also avoids a fundamental overhaul of Meta’s core advertising model, personalized recommendations or targeted advertising. Meta’s social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed
• Positive Sentiment: Investors appear to view legal certainty as more important than the near-term cash cost. The payout represents roughly three to four months of profit, while the settlement limits the possibility of a damaging “Big Tobacco”-style outcome or restrictions on the broader business. What smart people are saying about Meta’s settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta must introduce extensive protections for users under 18, including a two-hour daily usage limit, default blocking from midnight to 6 a.m., muted school-hour notifications, parental controls and stronger age-restricted-content safeguards. The measures are expected to take effect within six months and could become stricter if competitors adopt similar rules. New Teen Safety Measures for Instagram and Facebook Are Coming
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement could create a broader regulatory precedent. Officials in the U.K., Australia and South Korea are already urging Meta to apply the safeguards globally, potentially increasing compliance costs and reducing engagement among younger users. UK expects Meta to match US child safety measures
• Negative Sentiment: Implementation remains uncertain: critics question whether age-verification technology works reliably and whether the new design changes will be effectively enforced. Florida has also rejected the settlement, while Meta still faces thousands of separate youth-harm lawsuits. Meta’s child-safety deal hinges on age verification technology

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.