Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as “Overweight” by KeyCorp

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by analysts at KeyCorp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $900.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 21.35% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on META. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $797.49.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $20.86 on Tuesday, hitting $741.64. The stock had a trading volume of 6,000,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,454,578. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $647.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $622.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. 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 90 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 Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Watchman Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

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.