Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $930.00 to $950.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.17% from the stock’s current price.
META has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $782.27.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.5%
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abbot Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 53.5% during the second quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Muse is strengthening Meta’s AI growth story. Muse reportedly reached the top of Apple’s U.S. free-app rankings, with early usage exceeding comparable early adoption for ChatGPT. Investors see the agent as a potential new platform for subscriptions, advertising, commerce and business services. Meta’s Muse AI Has Wall Street Seeing Billion-Dollar Possibilities
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising price targets. KeyCorp lifted its target to $900 from $780, Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $860 from $680, and JPMorgan increased its target to $920 from $820 while maintaining bullish ratings. The upgrades reflect expectations that AI agents could become a major additional growth curve for Meta. Meta stock rises as analysts raise price targets
- Positive Sentiment: AI distribution is expanding across commerce and hardware. Meta is integrating Muse with Shopify’s Shop Pay and bringing it to Ray-Ban AI glasses, a handheld Muse Charm device and new VR products. These initiatives could create transaction-based revenue and reduce Meta’s reliance on advertising over time. Meta gets to consumer AI device market before OpenAI
- Neutral Sentiment: Strong momentum is offset by a demanding valuation. Meta’s market capitalization is approaching $2 trillion and the stock is near its 52-week high. Continued gains will depend on converting Muse’s early popularity into durable revenue and profits.
- Negative Sentiment: AI spending and execution risks remain significant. Capital expenditures are projected to rise sharply, while free cash flow has weakened. Reality Labs has accumulated more than $85 billion in losses, and the success of new AI hardware is unproven. Meta Has Lost More Than $85 Billion on Its Glasses and Headsets
- Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory concerns could limit monetization. Amazon has blocked Muse from accessing its site, while privacy criticism surrounding AI glasses and ongoing scrutiny of Meta’s handling of underage users remain potential overhangs.
About Meta Platforms
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.
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