Erste Group Bank Comments on Meta Platforms FY2027 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Erste Group Bank reduced their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the social networking company will earn $33.75 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $33.92. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $28.17 per share.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $578.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $592.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $609.82. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 56,957.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,878,304,587 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,058,030,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875,012,642 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see Meta’s AI investments improving ad targeting and engagement, potentially allowing the company to challenge Google for digital-advertising leadership. The strong advertising outlook is particularly important after Meta’s latest quarter delivered 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion. Meta versus Google advertising analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports characterize META as undervalued, citing a forward P/E of roughly 16—well below its historical average—and arguing that legal clarity plus new AI products could support substantial upside. The settlement may remove a major overhang even though it carries a large financial charge. Meta valuation and AI upside analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed a Neutral rating but raised or maintained a $595 price target, implying modest upside from the referenced trading level. Separately, the planned IPO of Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms could improve the value and liquidity of an important investment. Meta market news Jio Platforms IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is switching internal communications from Google Chat to Slack because management considers Slack better suited to AI agents. The move highlights Meta’s push to integrate AI into operations but is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Meta switches to Slack
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta-backed AI startup Manus said it has resumed independent operations after China blocked Meta’s proposed acquisition. This removes some uncertainty around the transaction but also means Meta will not immediately gain full ownership of the startup. Manus resumes independent operations
• Negative Sentiment: The approximately $17 billion–$18 billion settlement over alleged harm to children creates a substantial cash cost and requires stronger age verification, potentially increasing compliance expenses and reducing young-user engagement. Critics also question whether the agreement will resolve regulatory pressure. Meta child-safety settlement requirements
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta spent heavily on AI infrastructure underscore depreciation and capital-expenditure risks: investors must determine whether the spending will generate enough incremental advertising and product revenue. Meta also removed dozens of India-based malware advertisements, highlighting continuing platform-safety and reputational risks. Big Tech AI spending risks Meta removes fraudulent India ads

About Meta Platforms

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.