Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Keeps Overweight Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $920.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $808.88.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $13.97 on Thursday, reaching $722.75. 4,346,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,435,852. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $653.44 and a 200-day moving average of $625.27. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 27.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total transaction of $688,782.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,047,189.20. The trade was a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the third quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. now owns 104,435 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $75,734,000 after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $230,000. Michael J. Porro & Co. Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $251,000. North Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. North Capital Inc. now owns 2,408 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,200,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Apple to make the open-weight Muse Spark model run locally on high-end Mac computers strengthens the company’s AI distribution and could expand developer adoption without requiring cloud-based computing. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released Muse Spark Open for coding and agentic AI tasks, including a version designed to run on Macs. The open-weight strategy may accelerate ecosystem adoption and reinforce Meta’s competitive position in AI. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model for coding, agentic tasks
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its “overweight” rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside from the reference price. KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also recently maintained bullish ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta overweight rating
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms is preparing a major Indian IPO, highlighting the potential value of Meta’s strategic investments and its exposure to India’s digital-growth market. Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: A Brazilian judge ordered Meta to treat runoff candidates equally, creating a compliance and political-risk issue, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Brazil judge orders Meta to treat runoff candidates equally
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its Meta price target from $860 to $762, citing concerns about rising expenses and leaving limited implied upside despite retaining a “buy” rating. Goldman Sachs lowers expectations for Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s more than $130 billion AI investment program is pressuring free cash flow, while Reality Labs continues to generate large losses. Investors may also be concerned about a possible legal charge and limited share repurchases ahead of earnings. Meta’s AI spending is massive
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling and an investment manager’s reduced position add modest supply and confidence concerns, although some sales were conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.