Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price upped by research analysts at Bank of America from $810.00 to $845.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Bank of America’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.14% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on META. President Capital raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $815.92.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $697.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $662.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $629.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 2,406 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Seros Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $258,000. Legacy Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 764 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. NBT Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,545,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,611 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,970,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year and above the roughly $63.3 billion analyst estimate. Adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share also exceeded consensus near $6.54, reinforcing the strength of its advertising business. Meta third-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI assistant has surpassed 10 million users, with shopping among the leading activities. Bulls believe Muse could eventually create new subscription, commerce and enterprise revenue streams and improve advertising engagement. Meta Muse user growth
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating, while bullish analysts cited strong ad growth and potential margin-accretive monetization of Meta’s AI products. Rosenblatt Buy rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta raised the low end of its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $135 billion, while maintaining a top end of $145 billion. The spending supports AI infrastructure and data centers but increases pressure on cash flow and future margins. Meta AI spending outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta plans to issue nonvoting Class C shares to help fund its AI expansion without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The structure may improve financing flexibility but raises investor concerns about dilution and governance. Meta new share class
• Negative Sentiment: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties tied to Cambridge Analytica-era privacy practices. Meta plans to appeal, but the ruling adds substantial legal and headline risk. New Mexico privacy judgment
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing Muse’s high computing costs, projected Reality Labs losses of about $15 billion next year, an Australian class-action lawsuit alleging harm to children, and the departure of an AI researcher. These issues reinforce concerns that Meta’s AI strategy may take years to become profitable.

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’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.