Why Markets Should Pay Attention to Gold's Rise, Regardless of Fed Chair Powell's Stance.
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 5h ago
0mins
Source: Barron's
Gold Prices and Federal Reserve: Gold prices are rising, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell believes this surge is not indicative of inflation risks.
Investor Sentiment: Despite Powell's stance, investors are advised to consider the potential connection between gold prices and inflation.
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Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for META is 824.71 USD with a low forecast of 655.15 USD and a high forecast of 1117 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 668.730
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 668.730
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Meta's Earnings Beat Expectations, Analysts Raise Price Targets
- Strong Earnings: Meta reported fourth-quarter earnings of $8.88 per share and revenue of $59.89 billion, both exceeding market expectations, indicating that AI-driven advertising monetization is alleviating concerns over rising operating and capital expenditures.
- Robust Guidance: The company expects first-quarter sales to range between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion, significantly above the consensus estimate of $51.41 billion, suggesting strong growth momentum in its advertising business that reinforces its market position.
- AI Investment Returns: Despite a $6.02 billion operating loss from Reality Labs, analysts remain optimistic about Meta's AI investments, believing that the growth in its advertising business will offset these losses, with benefits from AI expected to materialize by 2026.
- Analyst Optimism: Several Wall Street analysts raised their price targets for Meta, with Barclays increasing its target to $800, implying a 20% upside, reflecting confidence in Meta's long-term growth potential.
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US Stock Market Volatility Driven by Earnings Reports
- Tech Earnings Impact: The S&P 500 index fell 0.41% amid mixed earnings results from tech giants, with Microsoft sinking over 10% due to disappointing cloud growth, highlighting market sensitivity to tech performance.
- Oil Price Surge: WTI crude oil prices rose more than 4% to a 4.25-month high as President Trump called for negotiations with Iran on a nuclear deal, boosting energy producers' stock prices and reflecting geopolitical impacts on the energy market.
- Unemployment Claims Data: US weekly initial unemployment claims fell by 1,000 to 209,000, indicating a slightly weaker labor market, while continuing claims dropped to a six-month low of 1.827 million, suggesting relative strength in the labor market that may influence future economic policies.
- Widening Trade Deficit: The US trade deficit for November widened to $56.8 billion, exceeding expectations of $44 billion and marking the largest deficit in four months, potentially raising concerns about slowing economic growth.
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