Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report)’s share price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $680.00 to $860.00. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $763.90 and last traded at $744.10. Approximately 30,137,479 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 74% from the average session volume of 17,353,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $736.59.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on META. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $796.95.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Insider Activity
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption is strengthening the AI investment case. Muse reportedly reached No. 1 on the U.S. iPhone free-app chart, with first-week downloads approaching 900,000. Reviews describing the agent as easy to use and effective for tasks such as travel planning, reservations and financial comparisons are improving confidence that Meta can bring AI to mainstream consumers. Meta’s Muse was favored for travel planning
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is pricing in new monetization opportunities. KeyCorp raised its target from $780 to $900, while Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its target from $680 to $860; both maintain overweight ratings. Analysts see agentic commerce, transaction fees, lead generation, enterprise services and paid AI features as potential “third S-curve” growth drivers alongside advertising. Meta price targets raised
- Positive Sentiment: Distribution and commerce partnerships support Muse’s platform potential. Shopify is integrating Shop Pay checkout, while PayPal and Instacart are also linked to the agent. Investors believe Meta’s large user base, advertiser relationships and messaging platforms could let Muse become a transaction layer across the internet. Shopify partners with Muse
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta Connect is an additional near-term catalyst. Meta is expected to unveil new smart glasses, including a camera-free model intended to address privacy concerns. The event could provide further evidence of Meta’s AI and hardware strategy. Meta expected to unveil camera-free smart glasses
- Negative Sentiment: Muse is also prompting disruption and execution concerns. Amazon has blocked the agent from shopping on its site, while privacy and security questions are mounting. Reports that Meta is testing human contractors to handle some calls could raise doubts about Muse’s scalability and autonomy. Meta tests human concierge for Muse
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and spending remain risks. META’s rally has increased expectations, while heavy AI infrastructure investment, rising debt and cash-flow concerns could limit upside if Muse monetization takes longer than expected. Its latest quarterly EPS missed estimates despite 28% year-over-year revenue growth.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
The business has a 50-day moving average of $609.53 and a 200 day moving average of $610.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.
Meta Platforms Company Profile
Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.
Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.
The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms
- Chips to Bots: Qualcomm’s Agentic AI Breakout
- Ciena Fell 40%—Now One Analyst Sees 50% Upside
- Energy Transfer Taps the AI Power Boom
- Viking’s Obesity Edge May Be Staying Power, Not Weight Loss
Receive News & Ratings for Meta Platforms Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Meta Platforms and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
