Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Target Lowered at TD Cowen

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $865.00 to $850.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on META. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $820.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $821.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $697.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $662.27 and a 200-day moving average of $629.10. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total transaction of $669,011.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,299.20. This trade represents a 13.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% in 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 acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported earnings of $7.40 per share versus the $6.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $64.60 billion versus expectations of $63.34 billion. Revenue increased 26.1% year over year, supported by advertising growth and improved AI-driven ad performance. Meta Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Guggenheim reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $850 price target, while Susquehanna, KeyCorp, Pivotal Research and Bank of America also raised or maintained positive ratings with targets ranging from $845 to $960. Meta analyst ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining traction: Meta said its AI assistant has surpassed 10 million users, while AI tools are reportedly increasing ad conversions, click-through rates and average ad prices. This supports the argument that AI is already strengthening Meta’s core advertising business. Meta Muse user growth
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares: Meta plans to issue nonvoting stock to help fund its AI expansion without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The structure may improve funding flexibility but raises investor concerns about dilution and governance. Meta new stock class
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is overshadowing the earnings beat: Meta raised the low end of its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $135 billion, with potential spending as high as $145 billion. Investors are questioning how quickly Muse and other AI initiatives can generate returns, particularly as Muse carries high computing costs and Reality Labs is expected to lose about $15 billion next year. Meta AI spending concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Large legal liabilities add uncertainty: A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over alleged privacy violations tied to Cambridge Analytica. Meta plans to appeal, but the verdict adds to recurring litigation expenses and regulatory risk. The company also faces an Australian class-action lawsuit alleging harm to children. Meta New Mexico privacy verdict

About Meta Platforms

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.