Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Jumps 2.6% – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares were up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $771.27 and last traded at $762.50. 22,600,215 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 17,516,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $742.96.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, its first frontier AI models, designed for personal assistants and professional agents that can maintain long-term memory and complete complex, multi-step tasks. Meta says the models are competitive with offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic, strengthening its position in the AI race. Meta releases its first frontier model, Muse Wonder
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed early Muse user-retention rates comparable with ChatGPT, helping reinforce the possibility that Meta can build a meaningful standalone AI product and eventually generate subscription revenue. Muse access is being offered through monthly plans priced at $20 and $100. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support has strengthened. Truist issued a Street-high $1,000 price target tied to AI adoption and advertising improvements, while KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts also cite AI-driven ad growth and improved ad conversions as additional support. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Quest ecosystem received a commercial boost as Virtuix became an official Meta reseller and launched Omni One bundles with Quest headsets. Virtuix said orders increased approximately threefold following its Quest launch, potentially supporting demand for Meta’s virtual-reality hardware ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report third-quarter results after the market closes on October 21. Investors will focus on revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion, AI-related spending of approximately $130 billion to $145 billion, advertising growth, and evidence that Muse adoption is translating into revenue. Meta to Announce Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the enthusiasm, Meta’s valuation is elevated after its recent rally, and analysts warn that heavy AI infrastructure costs could pressure margins. The stock is also near its 52-week high, increasing the risk of profit-taking if Muse growth or quarterly results disappoint. Meta Platforms Rises 12% in 3 Months

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. CICC Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $796.51.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.6%

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 company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $644.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $621.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.