Meta Platforms’ (META) Market Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Citizens Jmp

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Citizens Jmp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $885.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Citizens Jmp‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 36.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $895.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, China Renaissance dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.45.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $50.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $647.32. 25,972,520 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,602,420. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. 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 market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $662.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $629.10.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. 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 revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly performance: Meta reported adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus the $6.54 consensus, while revenue rose 26.1% year over year to $64.6 billion, exceeding estimates. Advertising growth and AI-enhanced ad targeting remained key strengths. Meta Q3 2026 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: AI adoption is gaining traction: Meta said its Muse AI assistant surpassed 10 million users, while AI advertising tools reportedly improved conversions, click-through rates, and ad pricing. This supports the case that AI is already strengthening Meta’s core advertising business. Meta Muse surpasses 10 million users
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish: JPMorgan, Bank of America, KeyCorp, Pivotal Research, Susquehanna, and Guggenheim raised or maintained positive price targets, citing Meta’s advertising momentum and AI opportunity. Analyst views on Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New share class: Meta plans to issue nonvoting Class C shares to help finance its AI expansion without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The structure may provide funding flexibility, but investors are assessing potential dilution and governance implications. Meta new share class
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is overwhelming the earnings beat: Meta raised the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Investors are concerned that high data-center, chip, and compute costs are reducing cash generation; Meta reportedly experienced its first operating cash-flow shortfall since its IPO. Meta AI spending and earnings reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Significant legal exposure: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over alleged privacy violations tied to Cambridge Analytica. Meta plans to appeal, but the ruling adds to a separate $9.9 billion legal charge related to teen mental-health litigation and raises concerns about recurring liabilities. Meta New Mexico privacy penalty
• Negative Sentiment: Risk sentiment has deteriorated: Meta’s credit-risk indicator reached a record high after the results, while Reality Labs is expected to remain deeply unprofitable and new AI competitors are intensifying pressure on Muse.

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.