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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Rosenblatt Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $886.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.22% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on META. Roth Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho set a $750.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $811.24.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $14.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $691.00. 8,719,044 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,470,129. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a market cap of $1.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $657.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $627.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 28.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. William John Sempolinski purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating and set an $886 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. The bullish view reflects confidence in Meta’s advertising business and long-term AI opportunity. Rosenblatt reaffirms Buy rating and $886 price target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors are watching adoption of Meta’s Muse personal assistant. Its large user base could eventually provide new advertising, commerce, and engagement monetization opportunities if adoption continues. Reuters report on Meta AI spending and Muse adoption
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s earnings report is viewed as an important test of the broader AI trade. Investors will look for advertising growth, operating margins, capital-spending plans, and management commentary on AI returns. What to look for in Meta earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta apologized after temporarily suspending the “No Kings” Instagram account. The incident could renew discussion about content moderation and platform governance, but no immediate financial impact was indicated. Meta apologizes over Instagram account suspension
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s accelerating AI infrastructure spending will pressure margins and require additional financing. Reports highlighting a potential equity raise or funding squeeze raise the risk of shareholder dilution. Meta equity raise and AI spending concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings commentary also points to valuation and margin risks: Meta has strong AI-driven ad growth, but investors need evidence that higher spending will generate adequate returns. Disappointment in guidance or AI monetization could intensify selling. Zacks analysis of Meta before Q3 earnings

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’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.