Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Keeps “Buy” Rating at TD Cowen

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 8th, 2026

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at TD Cowen in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $865.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 20.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $796.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $791.86.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $2.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $718.60. The stock had a trading volume of 10,133,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,444,820. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $634.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $618.50. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. 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 quarter, insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,013,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Meta Platforms News

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

Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: TD Cowen reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and set an $865 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. A broader analyst survey also shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus. Benzinga analyst rating report
Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining distribution: Meta’s Muse AI assistant launched on iPad shortly after its mobile debut and has topped app-download charts. The traction could strengthen Meta’s consumer AI strategy, although investors still need evidence that usage will become habitual and economically valuable. Meta’s Muse launches on iPad
Positive Sentiment: AI ecosystem opportunities are expanding: Meta is working with Sierra, Shopify, Stripe, Walmart and others on an open protocol allowing AI agents to interact with businesses. The initiative could support future commerce and advertising use cases. Meta and Sierra AI agent protocol
Neutral Sentiment: Executive stock sales were planned: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduce his holdings but do not necessarily signal a change in management’s outlook.
Neutral Sentiment: Manus raises independent capital: The AI startup’s parent raised more than $500 million after Meta abandoned its proposed acquisition. The funding validates Manus but also highlights that Meta no longer owns the potential asset. Manus raises more than $500 million after Meta exit
Negative Sentiment: Florida is escalating youth-safety litigation: The state’s attorney general is seeking restrictions that could disable or limit infinite-scroll features for users under 14. Such restrictions could reduce engagement, advertising inventory and product flexibility if adopted more broadly. Florida seeks limits on Meta’s teen features
Negative Sentiment: AI spending is raising cash-flow concerns: Meta is doubling down on data centers and AI infrastructure, but unlike cloud providers it primarily expects returns through its own apps rather than external cloud revenue. Investors are therefore focused on whether the spending will produce measurable advertising, engagement or AI monetization gains. Meta AI infrastructure cash-flow analysis

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.