Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $730.00 by Analysts at Monness Crespi & Hardt

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) had its target price cut by research analysts at Monness Crespi & Hardt from $890.00 to $730.00 in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 24.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on META. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $767.00 to $835.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $825.86.

View Our Latest Stock Report on META

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $585.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $603.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $624.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:METAGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 29.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,376.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keeler Thomas Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 2,258 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 38,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,820 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,153,161 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,902,724,000 after buying an additional 76,730 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 107,048 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $63,573,000 after buying an additional 5,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.2% in the second quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 22,461 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,329,000 after buying an additional 1,504 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding expectations of approximately $60.2 billion. Advertising revenue, ad impressions and average pricing also showed solid growth, while Instagram usage rose by double digits as AI-powered recommendations improved personalization. Meta narrows annual capex forecast, as AI buildout grows
  • Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Reality Labs operating loss exceeded $4.6 billion but was narrower than analysts expected. The company is also exploring ways to monetize excess computing capacity, including potential enterprise customers, which could eventually help offset AI infrastructure costs. Meta’s Reality Labs lost over $4.6 billion in second quarter
  • Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reaffirmed its Buy rating and $800 price target, while at least one analyst argued that the post-earnings selloff overlooks the strength of Meta’s advertising business and the one-time nature of legal and severance charges. Guggenheim Reaffirms Buy Rating for Meta Platforms
  • Neutral Sentiment: Meta is partnering with BlackRock on a roughly $14 billion El Paso, Texas, data-center project. The joint venture can reduce Meta’s upfront balance-sheet burden while securing future AI capacity, but the company remains exposed to long-term lease and asset-value obligations. Meta, BlackRock form $14 billion venture to develop AI data center campus in Texas
  • Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $6.18 per share, well below the roughly $7.19 consensus and down from $7.14 a year earlier. Legal costs of about $2.4 billion and $1.2 billion in severance contributed to the miss, but investors are more concerned that capital expenditures consumed nearly all of Meta’s $31.9 billion in operating cash flow, sharply reducing free cash flow. Meta misses profit expectations, sticks to massive AI spending
  • Negative Sentiment: Meta plans to spend approximately $130 billion to $145 billion on AI and related infrastructure in 2026. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion was below the $63.2 billion consensus midpoint, reinforcing fears that spending, borrowing needs and infrastructure costs are rising faster than monetization. Meta tanks nearly 9%, Microsoft jumps 8% as the AI trade splits Big Tech

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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Analyst Recommendations for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

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