Truist Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $900.00 to $840.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 37.99% from the stock’s previous close.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.67.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $608.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $629.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $648.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 29.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 167,155 shares of company stock valued at $107,067,129. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,796,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,371 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,371,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 37.4% during the first quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 863 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.6% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 8,220 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 232.6% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat & AI ad momentum — Meta reported robust Q1 revenue and EPS, and management highlighted AI-driven ad tools and full?stack model+chip co?design that are expanding ad automation and advertiser reach. Meta Does Things Their Own Way
• Positive Sentiment: Robotics/AI talent add — Meta acquired humanoid?robot startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate robotics model optimization, signaling product diversification in AI/robotics. WSJ: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Energy and creator initiatives — Meta is signing energy partnerships (space solar/long?duration storage) to secure power for compute-heavy AI centers and piloting stablecoin creator payouts — moves that support long?term AI scale and monetization. AI drives growth (context)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Stifel) trimmed price targets but retained “buy”; others raised targets on longer?term AI upside. These tweaks sustain divergent Wall Street views on valuation vs. heavy CapEx. Benzinga: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5?1 plan; routine but notable given market noise. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Large CapEx raise spooks investors — Meta lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance materially (now targeting major AI data?center buildout), prompting concerns about near?term free?cash?flow and returns; that is the primary reason the stock has been sold. Reuters: CapEx & market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure — Threats to pull apps from New Mexico over child?safety rules and US senators’ scrutiny over ad removals amplify litigation/compliance risk and potential costs. Reuters: Lawmaker Scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal setbacks — Continued multi?billion losses in Reality Labs and a blocked Manus acquisition in China highlight near?term cash drag and execution risks on speculative bets. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss

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.