Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Raised to “Buy” at President Capital

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) was upgraded by stock analysts at President Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage presently has a $897.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $660.00. President Capital’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.49% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $793.16.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $25.95 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $770.05. The company had a trading volume of 19,022,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,358,818. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $770.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $610.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $611.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,770 shares in the company, valued at $6,646,237.90. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets. Citizens JMP increased its target to $885 from $770, while other firms—including JPMorgan, KeyCorp, Cantor Fitzgerald and RBC—also offered bullish assessments. JPMorgan compared Muse’s early potential with ChatGPT’s launch. Meta stock rises as analysts raise price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining users quickly. Apptopia estimated approximately 642,000 daily U.S. users during Muse’s first 12 days, compared with 231,000 for ChatGPT at the same stage of its mobile launch. Investors are increasingly expecting monetization through subscriptions, advertising, commerce and business services. Meta unveils Muse Charm handheld device
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its AI hardware ecosystem. The company unveiled the Muse Charm handheld device, camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses and $1,299 Meta VR Glasses, giving Muse additional distribution channels and potentially strengthening Meta’s long-term platform strategy. Mark Zuckerberg debuts Meta VR Glasses and Muse Charm
• Positive Sentiment: Non-advertising revenue opportunities are emerging. Meta One subscription offerings, in-app purchases and Muse’s commerce integrations—including Shopify’s Shop Pay—could help diversify revenue beyond the company’s core advertising business. Meta One subscriptions show positive early signs
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro conditions remain a near-term influence. Rising Treasury yields and oil prices pressured broader technology stocks, although Meta’s gains outpaced the major indexes as investors focused on company-specific AI developments.
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and valuation are significant risks. Analysts are debating whether Meta’s capital expenditures could approach $145 billion while free cash flow reportedly fell sharply. The stock’s steep recent rally increases the risk of profit-taking if Muse monetization does not meet elevated expectations. Meta’s spending and valuation debate
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and privacy concerns persist. Amazon has blocked Muse from its website, while privacy and security concerns surrounding AI agents and smart glasses could restrict adoption or attract regulatory scrutiny. Insider share sales under pre-arranged trading plans are an additional, though limited, cautionary signal.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.