Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $835.00 at Mizuho

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its target price dropped by research analysts at Mizuho from $850.00 to $835.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Mizuho’s target price suggests a potential upside of 36.79% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on META. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

META stock opened at $610.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $629.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $647.50.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 30.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,232.48. The trade was a 20.96% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bayban lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing lifted revenue and margins, underscoring that ad demand remains strong and AI is improving ad pricing power. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic M&A: Meta acquired ARI to accelerate humanoid-robot AI efforts, signaling continued investment in long-term AI/robotics growth areas. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term infrastructure deals (e.g., power PPAs for data centers) reduce operating risk for hyperscale growth and support predictable operating costs/reliability for AI workloads. (See “Atomic Dividends” coverage on long PPAs and Meta energy deals.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst tweak: Truist cut its price target from $900 to $840 but kept a Buy rating — shows confidence in fundamentals but lowers near?term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital/financing moves: Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data?center project (lead banks Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) — supports expansion but highlights scale of capex funding needs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensifies: New Mexico is seeking $3.7B and platform changes in a youth-harm trial that could create precedent for costly remedies and operational constraints. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal headlines: Reuters won a Pulitzer for investigations showing user harms and fraudulent ads on Meta platforms — amplifies regulatory, legal and reputational scrutiny. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Governance/legal probe: A plaintiffs’ law firm is investigating Meta’s board for possible fiduciary breaches tied to privacy and AI training practices, adding another governance uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and volatility: Major outlets called the stock an “investor trap” and opinion pieces plus immediate post?earnings selloffs (nearly double?digit drops in some reports) reflect investor fear about heavy AI capex and guidance that wasn’t seen as convincingly conservative. Read More.

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.