Wall Street analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB – Get Rating) will report $29.22 billion in sales for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Twelve analysts have issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ earnings, with the highest sales estimate coming in at $29.84 billion and the lowest estimate coming in at $28.20 billion. Meta Platforms reported sales of $29.08 billion in the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 0.5%. The business is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report on Monday, January 1st.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Meta Platforms will report full-year sales of $125.47 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $121.66 billion to $129.29 billion. For the next year, analysts forecast that the company will report sales of $147.54 billion, with estimates ranging from $136.63 billion to $156.49 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are an average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for Meta Platforms.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 27th. The social networking company reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.06. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 28.74% and a net margin of 31.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS.
FB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $258.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 20th. Rosenblatt Securities initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $228.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 3rd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $420.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.80.
NASDAQ FB opened at $208.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $566.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.37. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $384.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $208.48 and its 200-day moving average is $274.36.
In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.92, for a total value of $111,345.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,368,915.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO David M. Wehner sold 1,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.70, for a total value of $238,381.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,578 shares of company stock worth $1,823,131 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.59% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnett & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 82 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Disciplined Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 583.3% in the first quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 123 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 65.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Meta Platforms (Get Rating)
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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