Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Bank of America from $810.00 to $845.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Bank of America’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.14% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $865.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Three research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $815.92.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

META stock opened at $697.52 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $662.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $629.10. 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 company 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm’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. Insiders have sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting 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.