Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Given New $840.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective trimmed by Cantor Fitzgerald from $860.00 to $840.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on META. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. New Street Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Roth Capital cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $791.47.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.4%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $742.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.25 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. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $644.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $621.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total transaction of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,735,814.24. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Watchman Group Inc. grew its stake 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 period. Penney Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, its first frontier AI models, claiming performance comparable with leading offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. The models are designed for workplace applications, multi-step tasks and improved digital assistants, strengthening Meta’s position in the competitive AI market. Meta releases Muse Wonder AI models to challenge Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Investors were encouraged by reports that third-party retention data for Meta’s Muse AI agent is supporting user engagement. Meta is also testing monetization through $20-per-month and $100-per-month subscription tiers, potentially creating a new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta debuts Muse Wonder AI model
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s large Louisiana data-center project is expected to employ more than 7,500 workers at peak construction, highlighting the company’s aggressive investment in computing capacity needed to support future AI products. Meta Louisiana AI data center project
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on October 21. The announcement gives investors a near-term catalyst, with attention likely focused on advertising growth, AI spending and guidance. Meta to announce third-quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI push requires substantial capital investment, while global Muse downloads have reportedly slowed. Analysts also warn that higher capital expenditures or weaker guidance could pressure the stock after earnings. Prediction: Meta Platforms stock will drop after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target from $860 to $840, despite retaining an overweight rating, signaling more limited upside at the current elevated valuation. How to trade Meta and other major technology stocks

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.