Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $810.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $835.00 to $810.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 38.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on META. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.47.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $585.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $603.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $624.24. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 29.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 39,325 shares of company stock worth $23,979,087. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding expectations of approximately $60.2 billion. Advertising revenue, ad impressions and average pricing also showed solid growth, while Instagram usage rose by double digits as AI-powered recommendations improved personalization. Meta narrows annual capex forecast, as AI buildout grows
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Reality Labs operating loss exceeded $4.6 billion but was narrower than analysts expected. The company is also exploring ways to monetize excess computing capacity, including potential enterprise customers, which could eventually help offset AI infrastructure costs. Meta’s Reality Labs lost over $4.6 billion in second quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reaffirmed its Buy rating and $800 price target, while at least one analyst argued that the post-earnings selloff overlooks the strength of Meta’s advertising business and the one-time nature of legal and severance charges. Guggenheim Reaffirms Buy Rating for Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is partnering with BlackRock on a roughly $14 billion El Paso, Texas, data-center project. The joint venture can reduce Meta’s upfront balance-sheet burden while securing future AI capacity, but the company remains exposed to long-term lease and asset-value obligations. Meta, BlackRock form $14 billion venture to develop AI data center campus in Texas
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $6.18 per share, well below the roughly $7.19 consensus and down from $7.14 a year earlier. Legal costs of about $2.4 billion and $1.2 billion in severance contributed to the miss, but investors are more concerned that capital expenditures consumed nearly all of Meta’s $31.9 billion in operating cash flow, sharply reducing free cash flow. Meta misses profit expectations, sticks to massive AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Meta plans to spend approximately $130 billion to $145 billion on AI and related infrastructure in 2026. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion was below the $63.2 billion consensus midpoint, reinforcing fears that spending, borrowing needs and infrastructure costs are rising faster than monetization. Meta tanks nearly 9%, Microsoft jumps 8% as the AI trade splits Big Tech

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.