Argus Reaffirms Buy Rating for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Argus in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $800.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock. Argus’ target price points to a potential upside of 13.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price objective (up previously from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $740.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $848.50.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock traded down $10.39 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $706.11. 7,077,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,686,980. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $652.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $695.96.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at $53,857,980.20. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,281,890. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and ad momentum — Meta beat Q4 estimates (strong revenue and EPS) and management highlighted AI-driven ad efficiency that should support revenue growth and margins. Meta Platforms: AI Is The Tool – Advertising Efficiency Is The Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness and price-target increases — Multiple houses have raised targets (examples include Cantor Fitzgerald to $860 and a string of raises reported by market outlets), reflecting confidence that revenue upside from AI and ads justifies higher valuations. Cantor Fitzgerald Hikes Price Target on Meta Platforms Inc. (META) to $860
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analysis on capex rationale — Several commentaries argue Meta’s massive AI/datacenter capex is justified by strong operating cash flow and long-term strategic benefits (personal AI/superintelligence ambitions). Meta Platforms’ $135 Billion Bet Makes Complete Sense
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention and analyst notes — Zacks flags META among most-watched stocks and TipRanks summarized the earnings call highlights; these increase trading interest but are informational rather than directional. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital commitments & balance-sheet context — Some analysts note rising on- and off?balance-sheet datacenter commitments; fundamentals remain strong (high margins, large cash), so this is a watch item for investors. Meta Platforms Q4 FY25 Earnings Analysis: Everything On Black
• Negative Sentiment: Patent lawsuit / trial risk — A patent suit related to Meta’s smart glasses is moving to jury selection in Santa Fe, adding near-term legal risk that could pressure sentiment or incur costs. Patent Lawsuit Tests Meta Smart Glasses While Shares Look Undervalued
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade and profit?taking — Amid the big news flow, at least one downgrade led to a short-term pullback (reported ~3% trading down), contributing to today’s weaker price action. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 3% on Analyst Downgrade

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.