Meta Platforms’ (META) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Rosenblatt Securities

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by Rosenblatt Securities in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, October 20th, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $886.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities‘s target price points to a potential upside of 42.86% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, CICC Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6%

META stock traded down $10.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $620.19. 50,558,650 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,894,223. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $664.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $632.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,440 shares of company stock worth $101,456,301. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its position in 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 worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. William John Sempolinski bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 worth $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its position in Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after purchasing an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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: Nvidia partnership supports Meta’s AI strategy: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta as the companies expand their partnership on Meta’s Muse AI assistant and related models. Nvidia’s backing could improve access to chips and computing capacity while validating Meta’s AI ambitions. Nvidia, Meta partner on Muse agent as Nvidia invests $3 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Offering reportedly oversubscribed: Demand for Meta’s equity financing was reportedly strong, potentially reducing execution risk for the company’s massive AI infrastructure buildout. Market Chatter: Meta Platforms’ Share Sale for AI Spending Oversubscribed
• Positive Sentiment: Core business remains strong: Third-quarter revenue rose 26% to approximately $64.6 billion, ahead of expectations. Analysts also raised price targets, citing AI-enhanced advertising and potential monetization of Muse through commerce, subscriptions and business tools. Analysts Turn Bullish on Meta Platforms Despite Post-Earnings Fall
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundraising expanded: Meta increased its planned equity raise to nearly $98 billion, including preferred securities, Class A shares and a potential $60 billion at-the-market offering of new nonvoting Class C shares. The capital provides funding for AI, but the new securities and possible share issuance create significant dilution concerns. Meta increases equity offering target to almost US$98 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about spending and margins: Meta’s higher capital-expenditure outlook, negative free cash flow concerns and a large litigation charge weighed on earnings despite the revenue beat. The stock also moved below its 200-day moving average, adding technical pressure. Meta Platforms Stock Falls Despite Posting Strong Q3 Numbers
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and personnel risks persist: Newly unsealed documents concerning Meta’s alleged efforts to discredit critic Jonathan Haidt, legal action by Norwegian media organizations over content rights, and the departure of AI director Rohit Patel add reputational and execution risks. Meta schemed whisper strategy to discredit social media critic

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.