Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Jumps 3.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Posted by Stanley Muller on Sep 29th, 2026

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) was up 3.3% on Tuesday after Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on the stock from $730.00 to $830.00. Monness Crespi & Hardt currently has a buy rating on the stock. Meta Platforms traded as high as $740.45 and last traded at $739.4280. 22,998,142 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 17,583,779 shares. The stock had previously closed at $715.62.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on META. New Street Research dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $865.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.86.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on META

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,646,237.90. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,807 shares of company stock valued at $102,155,232. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding Muse to small businesses with integrations for Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The agent is designed to help businesses manage operations, find customers and potentially generate subscription, transaction and API revenue. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses
Positive Sentiment: The rollout follows Meta’s launch of its Meta Enterprise Platform, which provides companies with Muse, Muse API, Muse Code and other AI tools. Hiring former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort strengthens Meta’s push to monetize its large AI investment in the corporate market. Meta launches enterprise AI platform
Positive Sentiment: Analysts see Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its distribution through Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp could support fast adoption, improve advertising engagement and eventually add subscriptions, commerce fees and commercial AI licensing. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 while maintaining a Buy rating. Meta Platforms price target raised
Neutral Sentiment: Meta is also expanding Instagram’s school-partnership program with additional teen-safety tools. The initiative may help address regulatory scrutiny, although it does not immediately change the company’s financial outlook. Meta expands Instagram school program
Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s new always-on Dots agents create a stronger competitive threat in enterprise AI. Google and other technology companies are also pursuing autonomous agents, raising questions about whether Meta can convert its early Muse lead into paying customers. OpenAI unveils Dots agents
Negative Sentiment: Privacy reports involving Muse allegedly exposing private information, including a user’s home address, could damage trust and increase regulatory risk. Bank of America also warned that Meta’s shopping agent could divert commerce and search activity from Apple’s ecosystem, potentially provoking competitive responses.
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Meta’s sharply rising AI infrastructure spending and whether future revenue will justify the capital requirements. CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s reported stock sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, limiting its significance but adding a minor sentiment overhang.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Watchman Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $616.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $613.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 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 analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

About Meta Platforms

(Get Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.