4 big analyst picks: Meta stamped with 2 upgrades on Q1 stunner | Pro Recap

By Davit Kirakosyan

Investing.com -- Here is your daily Pro Recap of the biggest analyst picks you may have missed since yesterday: a pair of upgrades for Meta after its huge Q1, as well as new buy ratings for Momo, 2U, and Masco.

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Meta earns two upgrades, shares surge on Q1 beat

Two Wall Street firms upgraded Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) following the company’s reported better-than-expected Q1 results and revenue guidance, which resulted in share price surging nearly 14% yesterday.

CFRA upgraded the company to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $268.00 from $200.00, noting it sees further operating margin improvement from additional employee cuts (only 11,000 of 20,000 reflected in Q1) while favorable comps/forex and stable ad spend will allow revenue to outstrip costs.

Meanwhile, Huber Research upgraded the company to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $290.00.

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Momo upgraded to Buy at UBS

UBS upgraded Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $12.50 from $4.80.

Earlier this month, the company received an upgrade from JPMorgan, which raised its rating to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $13.00 (from $5.00).

The company reported its Q4 results last month, with both EPS and revenues coming in better than the consensus estimate.

2 more upgrades

Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded 2U (NASDAQ:TWOU) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $7.40 following solid Q1/23 earnings, which resulted in share price surging more than 5% yesterday (currently up 2% premarket).

According to the firm, the sell-off since February on regulatory overhang stemming from potential policy changes that the Department of Education (DoE) is considering, has dramatically improved the risk/reward profile of the shares. According to the firm, the market has already priced in a worst-case scenario for the shares, and it believes the likelihood of an actual worst-case scenario is minimal given the overwhelming support 2U has had from academia.

Jefferies upgraded Masco (NYSE:MAS) to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $65.00 from $55.00 following the company’s reported Q1 beat on Wednesday.