Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as Buy by Guggenheim

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $850.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Guggenheim‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 32.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. New Street Research lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.47.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 7.9%

NASDAQ:META traded down $55.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $642.12. The stock had a trading volume of 31,405,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,633,322. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $662.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $629.10. The company has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,966,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Group Corp acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $207,000. Visionary Horizons LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the third quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. WP Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 47.1% in the third quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 63,885 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,329,000 after purchasing an additional 20,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the third quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 41,929 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $30,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

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.