Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as “Buy” by Guggenheim

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Guggenheim in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $850.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Guggenheim‘s price target points to a potential upside of 37.05% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $875.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ META traded down $10.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $620.19. 50,558,650 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,894,223. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $664.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $632.84. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 28.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,440 shares of company stock valued at $101,456,301. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after acquiring an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,964,745,000 after acquiring an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia partnership supports Meta’s AI strategy: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta as the companies expand their partnership on Meta’s Muse AI assistant and related models. Nvidia’s backing could improve access to chips and computing capacity while validating Meta’s AI ambitions. Nvidia, Meta partner on Muse agent as Nvidia invests $3 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Offering reportedly oversubscribed: Demand for Meta’s equity financing was reportedly strong, potentially reducing execution risk for the company’s massive AI infrastructure buildout. Market Chatter: Meta Platforms’ Share Sale for AI Spending Oversubscribed
• Positive Sentiment: Core business remains strong: Third-quarter revenue rose 26% to approximately $64.6 billion, ahead of expectations. Analysts also raised price targets, citing AI-enhanced advertising and potential monetization of Muse through commerce, subscriptions and business tools. Analysts Turn Bullish on Meta Platforms Despite Post-Earnings Fall
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundraising expanded: Meta increased its planned equity raise to nearly $98 billion, including preferred securities, Class A shares and a potential $60 billion at-the-market offering of new nonvoting Class C shares. The capital provides funding for AI, but the new securities and possible share issuance create significant dilution concerns. Meta increases equity offering target to almost US$98 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about spending and margins: Meta’s higher capital-expenditure outlook, negative free cash flow concerns and a large litigation charge weighed on earnings despite the revenue beat. The stock also moved below its 200-day moving average, adding technical pressure. Meta Platforms Stock Falls Despite Posting Strong Q3 Numbers
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and personnel risks persist: Newly unsealed documents concerning Meta’s alleged efforts to discredit critic Jonathan Haidt, legal action by Norwegian media organizations over content rights, and the departure of AI director Rohit Patel add reputational and execution risks. Meta schemed whisper strategy to discredit social media critic

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.