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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $920.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 29.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citic Securities reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Roth Capital reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.88.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $26.12 during trading on Thursday, hitting $710.61. The stock had a trading volume of 8,581,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,457,773. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $653.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $625.27. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 27.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the company’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 owned 6,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,047,189.20. This represents a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted 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 valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted 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 valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted 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 valued at $65,333,000 after purchasing an additional 45,130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven advertising growth could support an earnings beat. Bank of America forecasts third-quarter revenue of $63.8 billion, above the $63.3 billion consensus estimate, citing continued benefits from artificial intelligence in Meta’s advertising business. The bank maintained a Buy rating and an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: New AI products and the Apple partnership strengthen Meta’s technology narrative. Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while Apple is helping developers run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments may expand adoption and improve Meta’s competitive position in AI. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model for coding, agentic tasks
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating with a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while Bank of America also reiterated its bullish view after Meta introduced additional AI models. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta Overweight rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta-backed Jio Platforms plans an IPO of up to $3.2 billion in India. The offering could highlight the value of Meta’s strategic investment, although it is not expected to materially change Meta’s near-term results. Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms IPO
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its Meta price target from $860 to $762. Although Goldman retained a Buy rating, the reduced target signals less perceived upside and appears to have pressured the shares. Goldman Sachs lowers expectations for Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that more than $130 billion in planned AI infrastructure spending is weighing on free cash flow, while Reality Labs losses and a potential roughly $10 billion legal charge add to earnings and cash-return risks. Meta: The Muse Rally Has Priced In The Good News Before Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Senators are questioning Meta’s claimed $6.6 billion in research tax credits related to AI data centers, creating potential regulatory and tax uncertainty. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

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.