Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given Buy Rating at Guggenheim

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Guggenheim in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $850.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Guggenheim‘s target price points to a potential upside of 31.39% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $865.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $875.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $945.00 price target (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, CICC Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $831.51.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 7.2%

Shares of META stock traded down $50.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $646.95. 27,578,749 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,615,752. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $662.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $629.10. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Watchman Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 866 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is 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: Strong Q3 operating results: Meta reported $7.40 in adjusted EPS versus expectations of approximately $6.54 and revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year and ahead of estimates. Advertising growth, higher ad prices and AI-driven improvements in targeting and conversion remain major strengths. META’s Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse and AI monetization provide upside: Meta said its Muse AI assistant surpassed 10 million users, while AI tools are improving engagement and advertiser results. Supportive analysts believe Muse could become a meaningful revenue engine and continue to strengthen Meta’s advertising business. Meta says Muse has over 10M users
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains broad: JPMorgan, Bank of America, Pivotal Research, KeyCorp and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, indicating that Wall Street largely views the selloff as an investment opportunity if AI spending produces durable returns. Analysts update Meta stock price targets
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares: Meta plans to issue non-voting stock to help finance its AI buildout while preserving Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The structure could provide funding flexibility but raises questions about dilution and governance. Meta to issue new class of shares
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is overwhelming near-term cash generation: Meta raised the low end of its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative by roughly $2.12 billion, while credit-default-swap prices reached a record, intensifying concerns that AI investments may not generate adequate returns soon. Meta stock sinks as AI spend pushes free cash flow negative
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and competitive risks add pressure: A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over privacy violations, and the company recorded a substantial legal charge. Investors are also weighing ongoing teen-safety litigation, Reality Labs losses and competition from Anthropic’s consumer AI agent. Meta ordered to pay $25 billion

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.