Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $920.00 to $940.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s price target points to a potential upside of 42.57% from the stock’s current price.
META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $895.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $823.47.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Meta Platforms stock traded down $38.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $659.31. The stock had a trading volume of 10,132,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,527,865. The company has a 50-day moving average of $662.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $629.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% 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 90 days, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported earnings of $7.40 per share versus the $6.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $64.60 billion versus expectations of $63.34 billion. Revenue increased 26.1% year over year, supported by advertising growth and improved AI-driven ad performance. Meta Q3 earnings report
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Guggenheim reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $850 price target, while Susquehanna, KeyCorp, Pivotal Research and Bank of America also raised or maintained positive ratings with targets ranging from $845 to $960. Meta analyst ratings
- Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining traction: Meta said its AI assistant has surpassed 10 million users, while AI tools are reportedly increasing ad conversions, click-through rates and average ad prices. This supports the argument that AI is already strengthening Meta’s core advertising business. Meta Muse user growth
- Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares: Meta plans to issue nonvoting stock to help fund its AI expansion without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The structure may improve funding flexibility but raises investor concerns about dilution and governance. Meta new stock class
- Negative Sentiment: AI spending is overshadowing the earnings beat: Meta raised the low end of its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $135 billion, with potential spending as high as $145 billion. Investors are questioning how quickly Muse and other AI initiatives can generate returns, particularly as Muse carries high computing costs and Reality Labs is expected to lose about $15 billion next year. Meta AI spending concerns
- Negative Sentiment: Large legal liabilities add uncertainty: A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over alleged privacy violations tied to Cambridge Analytica. Meta plans to appeal, but the verdict adds to recurring litigation expenses and regulatory risk. The company also faces an Australian class-action lawsuit alleging harm to children. Meta New Mexico privacy verdict
About Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.
Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.
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