Bank of America Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Bank of America in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $810.00 target price on the social networking company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.76% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. 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 report on Friday, September 11th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of META stock traded down $25.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $751.66. 25,737,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,498,521. The business has a 50 day moving average of $613.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $612.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its 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 business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $22,152,075,000. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,957,946,000 after buying an additional 7,732,446 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $2,948,486,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. 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: Muse momentum remains the main bullish catalyst. Early reviews, rising user traction and Meta’s new early-access program for upcoming Muse features are reinforcing expectations that the AI assistant could become a major consumer product and future revenue stream. Meta opens early access program for new Muse features
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising price targets. Deutsche Bank, TD Cowen, Canaccord Genuity and other firms lifted targets and maintained bullish ratings, citing Muse’s potential to expand Meta beyond advertising through subscriptions, commerce and AI services. Meta price targets raised as Muse gains momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI hardware could broaden Muse’s distribution. Meta is integrating Muse into Ray-Ban AI glasses and introducing additional wearable and VR products, creating potential new hardware, services and commerce opportunities.
• Neutral Sentiment: Friday’s decline appears largely technical. After rising roughly 36% during September and approaching a $2 trillion market value, Meta faced profit-taking and a pullback from recent highs. Bullish options activity suggests some traders continue to view the weakness as a buying opportunity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capital spending remains a key debate. Investors are encouraged by Meta’s AI strategy but remain uncertain whether heavy spending on infrastructure and Reality Labs will generate sufficient returns.
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico litigation adds regulatory risk. A jury found that Meta misled state residents in a case related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, potentially increasing legal costs and scrutiny. Meta misled consumers in New Mexico jury case
• Negative Sentiment: A Muse security vulnerability was identified. Meta is adding clearer safety warnings after a vulnerability reportedly could expose sensitive user information, raising concerns about trust and adoption of its AI agent. Meta bolsters Muse safety warning after vulnerability
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and monetization obstacles remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its platform, while privacy concerns around camera-equipped glasses and skepticism toward new AI hardware could limit Meta’s growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a cautionary signal. Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares and COO Javier Olivan sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions do not necessarily indicate reduced confidence, but they add to concerns after the stock’s rapid advance.

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.