Pivotal Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective raised by analysts at Pivotal Research from $930.00 to $960.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Pivotal Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 37.63% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citic Securities dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $865.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $815.92.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $697.52 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $662.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $629.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were 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 owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Watchman Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 866 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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.