Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price increased by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $785.00 to $820.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $716.50 on Thursday. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $652.06 and its 200-day moving average is $696.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger‑than‑expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After‑Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long‑term upside but unclear near‑term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data‑center plan while confirming heavy multi‑year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near‑term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi‑billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non‑ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content‑blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple‑quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit‑taking & headline noise: high short‑term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.