Canaccord Genuity Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $900.00 to $930.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 29.80% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $740.00 to $900.00 in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Finally, Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $716.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $652.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $696.11. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total transaction of $343,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,737,780. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger?than?expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After?Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long?term upside but unclear near?term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data?center plan while confirming heavy multi?year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near?term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi?billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non?ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content?blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple?quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near?term profit?taking & headline noise: high short?term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.