The stock of Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) increased by $4.76 on Monday to finish at $290.26, up 1.67 percent. The last five days have seen an average of 17,517,660 shares of common stock traded. 51 times new highs were reached in the current year, with a gain of $169.92. The average number of shares traded over the last 20 days was 18,442,020, while the average volume over the last 50 days totaled 24,987,449.
META stock dropped -10.82% since last month. On 08/18/23, the company’s shares reached a one-month low of $274.38. The stock touched a high of $326.20 on 07/28/23, after rallying from a low of $88.09 in 52 weeks. The price of META stock has risen by 141.20% or $169.92 this year, reaching a new high 51 times. Still, the stock price is down -11.02% from the 52-week high.
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Insider Transactions
META stock investors should be aware that Meta Platforms Inc. (META) stock had its last reported insider trading activity 7 days ago on Aug 22. On Aug 22, Chief Legal Officer Newstead Jennifer sold 670 shares at $292.55 each. This transaction resulted in the insider making $196,008. On Aug 17, Olivan Javier sold 4,277 shares at a price of US$293.00. After the transaction, the insider now owns 82,858 shares. Chief Financial Officer LI SUSAN J had earlier sold 19,770 shares on Aug 16 for $299.30 a share. The transaction was completed for $5,917,100.
Valuation Metrics
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 32.80. Beta for the stock is 1.24. There are also a few other valuation ratios worth considering, including the trailing price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 6.22, the price-to-book (PB) ratio of 5.56, and the price-to-cash flow ratio of 31.21.
Financial Health
For the three months ended June 30, Meta Platforms Inc.’s quick ratio was 2.30, while its current ratio was 2.30, indicating its ability to pay off its debt. The company’s long-term debt to equity ratio for the quarter ending June 30 is 0.14, and the total debt to equity ratio is 0.15. As far as profitability goes, gross margin for the trailing twelve months is 78.20% percent. Meta Platforms Inc.’s EBITDA margin for the year ended June 30 was 36.22%, whereas its operating margin stood at 23.80% for the same period. Based on annual data, it had gross profit of $91.36 billion and revenue of $116.61 billion.
Investors will also look at the performance of the company’s management in order to determine the potential profitability of their investment. META’s return on assets (ROA) during the last 12 months has been 11.90%. There was a 18.20% return on investment (ROI) in the past year. In the meantime, the return on equity (ROE) for the last 12 months was 17.70%.
Earnings Surprise
According to Meta Platforms Inc.’s quarterly financial report for the quarter that ended June 30. A higher net income was reported in the quarter under review than the previous quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $32.0 billion, while revenues rose by 9.93% to $28.64 billion. It was predicted that Meta Platforms Inc.’s quarterly earnings would be $2.76, but it ended up being $2.7, beating the consensus by 2.20%. EBITDA was $12.02 billion for the quarter. At the end of Meta Platforms Inc.’s most recent quarter ended June 30, its liabilities totaled 72.66 billion, while its total debt was $36.98 billion. Equity owned by shareholders amounts to $2.57 billion.
Technical Picture
Here’s a quick look at Meta Platforms Inc.’s (META) price momentum from a technical perspective. As of 28 August, the RSI 9-day stood at 44.12%, suggesting the stock is Neutral, with a 31.63% historical volatility rate.
The stochastic %K and %D were 31.48% and 33.01% respectively, while the average true range (ATR) was 9.27. Based on the 14-day stochastic reading of 40.46%, the RSI (14) reading is 45.27%. On the 9-day MACD Oscillator, the stock is at -1.04, and the 14-day reading is at -6.61.
Analyst Ratings
In its analyst report released on August 22, 2023, Wedbush began covering Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META). The stock was rated as an Outperform by the brokerage firm. Analysts have assigned Meta Platforms Inc. (META) an Buy rating. META is a stock that is recommended for selling by 0 brokerage firms, while 6 companies recommend holding. The stock is underweighted by 1 analyst. Among the analysts who rate the stock, 5 rates it overweight and 46 others recommend it as a buy.
What is META’s price target for the next 12 months?
The current consensus forecast for the stock is between $238.00 and $435.00, with a median target price of $380.00. In analyzing these forecasts, the average price target given by analysts for Meta Platforms Inc. (META) is $375.27.
