Social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) plunged in after-hours trading after reporting earnings for its first quarter of Fiscal Year 2024. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.71, which beat analysts’ consensus estimate of $4.32 per share.
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In addition, sales increased by 27% year-over-year, with revenue hitting $36.46 billion. This beat analysts’ expectations of $36.22 billion and was driven by a 20% increase in ad impressions and a 6% increase in average price per ad.
Turning to the company’s user base, family daily active people, which is defined as users who visited at least one of the company’s apps, averaged 3.24 billion in March 2024, a 7% year-over-year increase.
Looking forward, management now expects revenue for Q2 2024 to be in the range of $36.5 billion to $39 billion. For reference, analysts were expecting $38.32 billion. As a result, Meta’s guidance is considered soft since the midpoint of $37.75 billion is below estimates.
Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 40 Buys, two Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 137% rally in its share price over the past year, the average META price target of $547.45 per share implies 11.27% upside potential. However, it’s worth noting that estimates will likely change following today’s earnings report.
Is It Wise to Allocate $1,000 Toward META Stock Right Now?
Before you hurry to invest in META, think about the following:
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