Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Rating)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $169.58, but opened at $160.70. Meta Platforms shares last traded at $155.60, with a volume of 528,983 shares trading hands.

The social networking company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.54 by ($0.08). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.20% and a return on equity of 28.74%. The business had revenue of $28.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.61 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $330.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 24th. Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $300.00 to $275.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 13th. Mizuho reaffirmed a "maintains" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a "maintains" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.11.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,659 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Barnett & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 82 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 1,473 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 1,341 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaton Management Co. Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. now owns 9,372 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,152,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.49% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $434.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.10.

About Meta Platforms

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Meta Platforms, Inc develops products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, wearables, and in-home devices worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment's products include Facebook, which enables people to share, 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, groups, and businesses across platforms and devices through chat, audio and video calls, and rooms; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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