Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $880.00 to $920.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 28.40% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on META. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $716.50 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $652.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $696.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total value of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the second quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 41.7% in the second quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 28,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $21,371,000 after purchasing an additional 8,527 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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.