KeyCorp Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at KeyCorp in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $900.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective points to a potential upside of 21.76% from the stock’s current price.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $800.80.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.1%

META stock traded down $23.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $739.15. 6,683,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,457,590. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $647.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.44. The company has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total transaction of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,735,814.24. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse Wonder strengthens Meta’s AI narrative. Meta’s new Muse Wonder model scored 83.2% on the DualEntry Accounting AI Benchmark, tying for second among 57 models and ranking ahead of OpenAI and Google models in the test. The result supports Meta’s claim that it has narrowed the gap with leading AI competitors. Meta Muse Wonder accounting benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their expectations. Guggenheim increased its Meta price target to $850 from $700, while KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reiterated bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. These revisions reflect optimism about AI-powered advertising, Muse adoption, and long-term earnings growth. Guggenheim raises Meta price target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s distribution remains a major competitive advantage. Commentary highlights the potential for Meta to deploy agentic AI across billions of daily users, giving its models a faster path to scale and monetization than standalone AI providers. Meta consumer-scale agentic AI
• Positive Sentiment: Quest ecosystem momentum provides a smaller catalyst. Virtuix said Omni One orders rose approximately threefold after launching for Meta Quest, while the companies expanded their partnership through official reseller status and new hardware bundles. Virtuix expands Meta Quest partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings are the next major test. Meta is scheduled to report results after the market close on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, Muse usage and monetization, and management’s plans for elevated AI infrastructure spending. Meta third-quarter 2026 earnings announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and valuation concerns are weighing on the stock. META recently approached its 52-week high after a sharp advance, leaving investors more sensitive to any evidence that AI spending, competition, or slowing assistant downloads could limit near-term returns. The company’s prior quarterly EPS miss and substantial planned AI investment add to execution concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Advertising policy changes could create uncertainty. Meta is blocking TikTok advertising on Facebook and Instagram in seven countries. While this may support Meta’s competitive position, the immediate impact on ad revenue and advertiser relationships is unclear. Meta blocks TikTok ads

About Meta Platforms

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.