Loop Capital Raises Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $955.00

Key Points

• Loop Capital raised Meta’s price target to $955 from $740 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying roughly 24% upside from the reported share price.
• Meta shares rose 3.5% to $770.05, while analysts overall maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $793.16. The company’s latest revenue exceeded expectations, although quarterly EPS missed estimates.
• AI-driven growth is boosting investor sentiment, including strong early adoption of Muse, new hardware products and potential subscription and commerce revenue. However, elevated valuation, rising AI spending, competition, privacy concerns and insider selling remain risks.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Loop Capital from $740.00 to $955.00 in a research note issued on Thursday. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. Loop Capital's price target points to a potential upside of 24.02% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $793.16.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of META stock traded up $25.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $770.05. 19,022,294 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,358,818. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $610.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $611.16. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $770.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 372,579 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $209,870,000 after purchasing an additional 19,353 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 119,557 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $67,330,000 after buying an additional 7,184 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,236,516 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,823,088,000 after buying an additional 64,136 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second 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. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.9% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 74,799 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $42,134,000 after acquiring an additional 9,114 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets. Citizens JMP increased its target to $885 from $770, while other firms—including JPMorgan, KeyCorp, Cantor Fitzgerald and RBC—also offered bullish assessments. JPMorgan compared Muse’s early potential with ChatGPT’s launch. Meta stock rises as analysts raise price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining users quickly. Apptopia estimated approximately 642,000 daily U.S. users during Muse’s first 12 days, compared with 231,000 for ChatGPT at the same stage of its mobile launch. Investors are increasingly expecting monetization through subscriptions, advertising, commerce and business services. Meta unveils Muse Charm handheld device
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its AI hardware ecosystem. The company unveiled the Muse Charm handheld device, camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio glasses and $1,299 Meta VR Glasses, giving Muse additional distribution channels and potentially strengthening Meta’s long-term platform strategy. Mark Zuckerberg debuts Meta VR Glasses and Muse Charm
• Positive Sentiment: Non-advertising revenue opportunities are emerging. Meta One subscription offerings, in-app purchases and Muse’s commerce integrations—including Shopify’s Shop Pay—could help diversify revenue beyond the company’s core advertising business. Meta One subscriptions show positive early signs
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro conditions remain a near-term influence. Rising Treasury yields and oil prices pressured broader technology stocks, although Meta’s gains outpaced the major indexes as investors focused on company-specific AI developments.
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and valuation are significant risks. Analysts are debating whether Meta’s capital expenditures could approach $145 billion while free cash flow reportedly fell sharply. The stock’s steep recent rally increases the risk of profit-taking if Muse monetization does not meet elevated expectations. Meta’s spending and valuation debate
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and privacy concerns persist. Amazon has blocked Muse from its website, while privacy and security concerns surrounding AI agents and smart glasses could restrict adoption or attract regulatory scrutiny. Insider share sales under pre-arranged trading plans are an additional, though limited, cautionary signal.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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