Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 11.3% – Time to Buy?

Posted by Francis Steltz on Sep 23rd, 2026

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) rose 11.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $753.00 and last traded at $741.25. 48,309,015 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 181% from the average daily volume of 17,192,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $665.75.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining rapid consumer traction. The AI agent reportedly reached No. 1 on the U.S. iPhone free-app chart, with approximately 900,000 first-week downloads. Its user-friendly design and ability to perform multistep tasks are strengthening the view that Meta can turn AI engagement into a major new platform. Meta’s Muse Hit No. 1
Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to raise expectations. KeyBanc lifted its price target to $900 from $780, while Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $860 from $680; both retain Overweight ratings. Jefferies and Bank of America have also reaffirmed bullish views, citing Muse’s early adoption and potential monetization.
Positive Sentiment: Commerce partnerships provide a possible revenue path beyond advertising. Shopify is integrating Shop Pay checkout into Muse, and PayPal is also expected to support the agent. These deals could help Meta monetize AI-led product discovery and transactions. Shopify Brings Shop Pay Checkout to Muse
Neutral Sentiment: Meta Connect is a near-term event catalyst. Investors are awaiting announcements on Muse, AI models and new smart glasses. Meta is reportedly preparing a camera-free glasses model to address privacy concerns, but the commercial impact remains uncertain. Meta expected to unveil smart glasses
Negative Sentiment: Concerns could limit Muse’s reach. Amazon has blocked the agent from shopping on its website, citing unauthorized access and credential concerns. Reports that Meta is using human contractors as a “concierge” also raise questions about scalability, reliability and privacy. Meta testing a human concierge for Muse
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and spending remain risks. META trades near its yearly high after a substantial recent increase, while heavy AI infrastructure investment and the latest quarterly EPS miss could encourage profit-taking. Investors now need evidence that Muse can generate meaningful revenue rather than merely boost sentiment.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $796.95.

View Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $609.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $610.57. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,003,864.48. The trade was a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 81,758 shares of company stock worth $51,214,020. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,152,075,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.