Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Keeps “Buy” Rating at Guggenheim

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $850.00 price objective on the social networking company’s stock. Guggenheim‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 32.27% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.0%

META stock traded down $6.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $642.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,753,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,670,980. 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $663.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $629.62. The company has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 31.74% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

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

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

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.