1. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Average 3-month Volume as of February 6: 36.88 million
YTD Share Price Gains as of February 6: 49.88%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 177
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is one of the hottest stocks to invest in. On February 2, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) saw a 22% increase in its stock price after the release of better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and positive guidance. The company is close to reaching a $500 billion market capitalization. Meta expects first quarter 2023 total revenue to be in the range of $26 billion to 28.5 billion, versus a $27.25 billion consensus.
On February 2, Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black raised the firm’s price target on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) to $200 from $125 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst believes that the company’s fourth quarter results show that its challenges are temporary and that its investments in privacy preserving solutions and growing on-platform signals, combined with increased Reels monetization, will help overcome these challenges in the long run.
According to Insider Monkey’s third quarter database, 177 hedge funds were long Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), compared to 185 funds in the last quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the leading position holder in the company, with 11.8 million shares worth $1.60 billion.
Giverny Capital made the following comment about Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Even if sector weightings explain most of our underperformance, I made some dubious decisions during the year. Most notably, I added to our holding in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), which declined 64% for the year. Meta began the year as a 4.3% weighting and ended as a 2.5% weighting, despite our incremental purchases.
I got plenty wrong about Meta, including the magnitude of the impact that Apple’s changes to privacy tracking would have on Meta’s value to advertisers. Meta’s two giant social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, arguably may be weaker businesses than they were a year ago, thanks to Apple and the rising popularity of TikTok. Nevertheless, Meta remains an enormously profitable enterprise, with firehose levels of cash flow. It may be squandering some of that cash flow trying to develop the metaverse, but expense control problems are easier to address than a lack of cash flow. Belatedly, CEO Mark Zuckerberg seems to have recognized the need to match expense growth a little more closely to revenue growth. I never want to see anyone lose their job, but Meta hired many thousands of people to support growth that may not materialize. When Meta announced layoffs late in 2022, the stock began to recover.
To repeat what I wrote to you last quarter, aside from Meta, I don’t see any of our bottom five performers losing market share or competitive position.”
Follow Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
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