Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (META) will likely deliver a modest upside against consensus estimates when it reports its Q1 results on April 24, BofA Securities said in a note Friday. BofA expects Q1 EPS of $4.48 on revenue of $36.4 billion, compared with Street estimates of $4.33 on $36.2 billion revenue. It also forecasts ad revenue rising 26% to $35.5 billion from a year ago, above estimates at $35.4 billion. BofA analyst Justin Post also pointed to “some sentiment risk” on a year on year deceleration in the company’s Q2 revenue outlook because Q1 had benefits from favorable January comps, the Leap Year, Easter and forex effects. “We remain positive on Meta and reiterate our thesis that Reels, Messaging, and AI driven ad improvements are still early, and could lead to positive product surprises & revenue momentum in 2024,” Post said. “Moreover, with a large capex budget, internal AI supercomputer, inhouse LLM […]

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintains Meta Platforms with a Buy and raises the price target from $500 to $555.

By Angela Palumbo Meta Platforms stock has more room to grow because users remain engaged with its social-media platforms even as the amount of advertising there increases, Citi says. Analyst Ronald Josey increased his price target on Meta to $590 from $525 on Monday. That implies a 15% increase from the stock’s closing price on Friday. Josey also reiterated his Buy rating on the company, Facebook’s parent, and said the stock remains his top pick. “With Meta’s newer ad innovations (Adv.+ Creative, Reminder Ads, longer form Reels, etc.), a new AI video architecture, and greater overall advertiser adoption, we believe advertiser demand for Reels (and Meta) continues to improve,” Josey wrote in a research note. In 2023, Meta unveiled additions to its Ads Manager software suite that are intended to make it easier for advertisers to produce their content. Josey said that increased advertising on Meta’s social-media platforms hasn’t made

Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Overweight and raises the price target from $525 to $600.

Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Overweight and raises the price target from $536 to $609.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 02/05/2024 8.44% Goldman Sachs $414 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 16.03% JP Morgan $420 → $535 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 13.86% Truist Securities $405 → $525 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 14.3% Stifel $405 → $527 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 14.95% UBS $425 → $530 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 13.86% Oppenheimer $385 → $525 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 8.44% JMP Securities $410 → $500 Maintains Market Outperform 02/02/2024 22.54% RBC Capital $400 → $565 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 8.44% Roth MKM $365 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 8.44% Goldman Sachs $414 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 24.71% Keybanc $465 → $575 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 19.28% Raymond James $450 → $550 Maintains Strong Buy 02/02/2024 12.78% Wedbush $420 → $520 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 19.28% Susquehanna $400 → $550 Maintains Positive 02/02/2024 19.28% Barclays $400 → $550 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Buy and raises the price target from $414 to $500.

Dividend-loving investors around the globe probably woke up on Friday with a little extra spring in their step. Meta Platforms did it. The company announced, on Thursday, its first-ever quarterly dividend. The company will pay a 50-cent dividend, on Mar. 26 to shareholders of record on Feb. 22. Big tech investors might be confused though. They aren’t used to getting quarterly payouts from the likes of Meta. They shouldn’t worry though and should like what payments mean for Meta stock down the road. Meta’s annualized $2 payout gives its stock a dividend yield of 0.4% based on an early Friday price of some $472 a share. Meta stock was up almost 20% in early trading following better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. The average yield for a dividend-paying stock in the S&P 500 is about 2%. Meta’s payout is lower than

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 02/02/2024 13.13% JP Morgan $420 → $535 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 11.02% Truist Securities $405 → $525 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 11.44% Stifel $405 → $527 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 12.07% UBS $425 → $530 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 11.02% Oppenheimer $385 → $525 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 5.73% JMP Securities $410 → $500 Maintains Market Outperform 02/02/2024 19.48% RBC Capital $400 → $565 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 5.73% Roth MKM $365 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 5.73% Goldman Sachs $414 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 21.59% Keybanc $465 → $575 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 16.3% Raymond James $450 → $550 Maintains Strong Buy 02/02/2024 9.96% Wedbush $420 → $520 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 16.3% Susquehanna $400 → $550 Maintains Positive 02/02/2024 16.3% Barclays $400 → $550 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 11.02% Citigroup $440 → $525 Maintains Buy 01/30/2024 -1.67%

Meta Platforms (META) posted a “strong” Q4 EPS and revenue beat and Q1 guidance was a “positive surprise,” BofA Securities said Friday in a report. The investment firm raised Meta’s price target to $510 from $425 and reiterated the buy rating. The company reported Q4 earnings late Thursday of $5.33 per diluted share, up from $1.76 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected $4.94. Revenue rose to $40.1 billion from $32.2 billion. Analysts expected $39.2 billion. The revenue beat was mainly driven by the company’s Reels video product, as well as its Messaging, artificial intelligence products and tools, and the launch of the Quest 3 virtual reality headset, BofA said. Meta said it expects Q1 revenue of $34.5 billion to $37 billion. Analysts polled by Capital IQ as of late Thursday expected $33.9 billion. The Q1 guidance was a “big surprise,” well above Wall Street estimates, BofA said.

Social media and technology company Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) reported fourth-quarter financial results Thursday after market close. Analysts are sizing up the results, which included earnings per share and revenue coming in ahead of Street estimates and the company announcing its first quarterly dividend. The META Analysts: Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan has a Buy rating and raised the price target from $414 to $500. Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris has a Buy rating and raises the price target from $380 to $520. Roth MKM analyst Rohit Kulkarni has a Buy rating and raises the price target from $365 to $500. Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt has an Outperform rating and raises the price target from $420 to $520. Truist Securities analyst Youssef Squali has a Buy rating and raised the price target from $405 to 4525. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein has an Outperform rating and raises the price target from $385 to $525. Goldman

UBS analyst Lloyd Walmsley maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Buy and raises the price target from $425 to $530.