Meta Platforms’ (META) Overweight Rating Reiterated at KeyCorp

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by investment analysts at KeyCorp in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $900.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.03% from the stock’s previous close.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $865.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $801.53.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $24.96 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $737.54. The company had a trading volume of 16,114,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,509,559. The company has a fifty day moving average of $647.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $622.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock worth $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,333,000 after purchasing an additional 45,130 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full models are improving investor confidence in its ability to compete with OpenAI, Anthropic, and other leading AI developers. Muse Wonder scored 83.2% on an accounting benchmark, ranking second among 57 tested models. Muse Wonder AI benchmark article
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $810 target, while Guggenheim raised its target to $850 and highlighted Meta’s progress relative to Anthropic. Truist also set a $1,000 bull-case target, reinforcing expectations that AI agents could create new revenue opportunities. Bank of America Meta AI outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded WhatsApp calling by allowing people without accounts to join free, end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls. The move removes registration, time-limit, and download barriers, potentially improving WhatsApp’s business and communications utility. WhatsApp guest calling article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish but divided: Goldman Sachs cut its target to $762 while retaining Buy status, citing higher operating expenses; UBS, Guggenheim, KeyCorp, and Rosenblatt remain more optimistic. The conflicting revisions contributed to uncertainty after Meta’s recent rally. Meta analyst disagreement article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that accelerating Meta Superintelligence Labs spending and broader infrastructure costs could pressure near-term free cash flow and compress Meta’s valuation multiple. The company’s shares are also trading near their 52-week high, leaving less room for execution disappointments ahead of third-quarter earnings on October 21.

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.