Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Receives “Buy” Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Phillip Securities raised 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 report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $793.16.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.3%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $24.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $768.59. 19,291,471 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,358,818. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $610.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $611.16. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $770.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 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 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% 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 123,333 shares of company stock valued at $80,795,845 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 372,579 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $209,870,000 after purchasing an additional 19,353 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 119,557 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $67,330,000 after buying an additional 7,184 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,236,516 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,823,088,000 after buying an additional 64,136 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.9% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 74,799 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $42,134,000 after acquiring an additional 9,114 shares in 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: 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.