Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank raised Meta’s price target from $750 to $820 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying about 8.1% upside from the previous close. Analysts overall remain positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $785.90.
• Meta shares fell 2.4% to $758.67, though the stock remains near its 52-week high and has a market capitalization of approximately $1.93 trillion.
• Meta’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion and exceeded estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed expectations. Insiders sold approximately $80.8 million of stock during the last quarter, while institutional investors own nearly 80% of the company.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $750.00 to $820.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft's target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.08% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on META. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $770.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.4%

META stock traded down $18.92 on Friday, reaching $758.67. 4,290,624 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,365,387. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $613.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $612.10. The company has a market cap of $1.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. 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 announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% 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 have sold 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets across the board. CICC lifted its target to $776 and maintained an Outperform rating; Deutsche Bank raised its target to $820 with a Buy rating; and Canaccord Genuity increased its target to $950 while retaining Buy. The revisions reinforce expectations for further upside from AI-related growth. Deutsche Bank Raises Price Target on Meta Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Muse is strengthening Meta’s consumer AI narrative. Early adoption has reportedly outpaced ChatGPT’s comparable launch, while investors see potential revenue from subscriptions, advertising, commerce referrals and business services. The product’s momentum is helping justify Meta’s significant AI infrastructure spending. Meta's AI Spending Suddenly Makes Sense
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse’s distribution through hardware. The company announced Muse integration with Ray-Ban AI glasses, a camera-free audio-glasses line, the Muse Charm handheld device and $1,299 VR glasses. These products could create new user touchpoints and eventually support non-advertising revenue. Meta's Muse Charm Device Strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is approaching a major valuation milestone. Shares have surged about 36% in September and the company’s market capitalization is near $2 trillion. Momentum remains strong, but the sharp advance leaves the stock more sensitive to profit-taking or disappointing AI adoption data. Meta Stock Surges on Muse AI Boom
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s decision to block Muse creates a commerce risk. Amazon reportedly restricted Muse from accessing its marketplace, highlighting potential conflicts as AI agents seek to control online shopping traffic. Meta’s partnerships with Shopify and others may mitigate the setback, but platform access remains uncertain. Amazon and Meta Muse Dispute
• Negative Sentiment: Spending and insider selling remain cautionary signals. Analysts have raised concerns that surging capital expenditures could pressure free cash flow, while insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Privacy concerns surrounding AI glasses and ongoing legal scrutiny also pose longer-term risks.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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