Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report)’s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Rosenblatt Securities in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $1,015.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ price target indicates a potential upside of 67.15% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.24.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Stock Down 9.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $61.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $607.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,174,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,628,888. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $630.28 and a 200-day moving average of $648.65. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.36 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 29.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,155 shares of company stock worth $107,067,129. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Bayban grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformance — Meta posted a sizeable revenue and EPS beat (revenue ~$56.3B; EPS well above consensus), confirming robust ad momentum and AI monetization that support longer‑term growth. PR Newswire: Meta Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Creator payments pilot — Meta began offering USDC stablecoin payouts to select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, expanding payment options and cross‑border monetization tools for the creator economy. PYMNTS: Meta Begins Offering Stablecoin Payments to Creators
• Positive Sentiment: Energy/infra moves — Meta announced partnerships (space‑based solar and long‑duration storage) to secure continuous power for AI data centers, addressing a key operational/ESG risk tied to huge compute demand. InsiderMonkey: Meta Pursues Space Solar
• Positive Sentiment: Business AI traction — Meta says its business AI now facilitates ~10 million conversations per week, evidence that AI products are gaining usage and generating monetization opportunities. TechCrunch: Meta business AI usage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/model tweaks — Some houses nudged FY estimates (small EPS tweaks) and remain split between buy vs. hold as they weigh valuation against the large capex ramp.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; notable in size but pre‑planned and not unusual for exec plans. SEC: Insider Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Massive CapEx raise — Management lifted 2026 capex guidance sharply to build AI data centers; investors see this as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwinds risk that outweighs the quarter’s beat. Reuters: Meta Lifts CapEx Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Planned bond sale to fund AI — Reports say Meta may raise $20–$25B in investment‑grade bonds to finance its AI expansion, underscoring how the capex program will be funded and adding financing/flexibility concerns. Invezz: Meta eyes up to $25B bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: After‑hours/early selloff — Despite the beat, shares dropped sharply in extended trading as markets punished the higher spend and mixed forward signals. Invezz: Meta stock sinks after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and costly bets — The EU charged Meta under the Digital Services Act for failing to block under‑13 users (potential fines/compliance costs), and Reality Labs posted another multi‑billion loss; both increase execution and legal risk. Reuters: EU Charges Over Underage Users CNBC: Reality Labs Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction — JPMorgan downgraded META to Neutral and several analysts cut targets after the guidance/capex move, amplifying selling pressure (downgrade reported by market sources).

About Meta Platforms

(Get Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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