Citizens Jmp Reaffirms "Market Outperform" Rating for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• Citizens JMP reaffirmed its “Market Outperform” rating on Meta Platforms and set an $885 price target, implying approximately 35.75% upside from the reported share price. Analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $825.53.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings were $7.40 per share versus the $6.54 consensus, while revenue reached $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year. Despite the strong results, shares fell 6.5% to $651.93 during Thursday trading.
• Insiders sold shares while institutional ownership remained high: insiders sold roughly 149,906 shares worth $102.3 million over the past quarter, whereas institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 79.91% of Meta’s stock.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market outperform" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $885.00 target price on the social networking company's stock. Citizens Jmp's target price would indicate a potential upside of 35.75% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Roth Capital lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Citic Securities decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $825.53.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 6.5%

Shares of META stock traded down $45.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $651.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,634,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,591,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $662.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $629.10. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.25 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms will post 27.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total transaction of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,233,299.20. This represents a 13.65% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.3% during the third quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 2,406 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Seros Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $258,000. Legacy Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 5.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Financial Group Inc. now owns 764 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,545,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,611 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,970,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly performance: Meta reported adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus the $6.54 consensus, while revenue rose 26.1% year over year to $64.6 billion, exceeding estimates. Advertising growth and AI-enhanced ad targeting remained key strengths. Meta Q3 2026 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: AI adoption is gaining traction: Meta said its Muse AI assistant surpassed 10 million users, while AI advertising tools reportedly improved conversions, click-through rates, and ad pricing. This supports the case that AI is already strengthening Meta’s core advertising business. Meta Muse surpasses 10 million users
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish: JPMorgan, Bank of America, KeyCorp, Pivotal Research, Susquehanna, and Guggenheim raised or maintained positive price targets, citing Meta’s advertising momentum and AI opportunity. Analyst views on Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New share class: Meta plans to issue nonvoting Class C shares to help finance its AI expansion without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. The structure may provide funding flexibility, but investors are assessing potential dilution and governance implications. Meta new share class
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is overwhelming the earnings beat: Meta raised the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Investors are concerned that high data-center, chip, and compute costs are reducing cash generation; Meta reportedly experienced its first operating cash-flow shortfall since its IPO. Meta AI spending and earnings reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Significant legal exposure: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over alleged privacy violations tied to Cambridge Analytica. Meta plans to appeal, but the ruling adds to a separate $9.9 billion legal charge related to teen mental-health litigation and raises concerns about recurring liabilities. Meta New Mexico privacy penalty
• Negative Sentiment: Risk sentiment has deteriorated: Meta’s credit-risk indicator reached a record high after the results, while Reality Labs is expected to remain deeply unprofitable and new AI competitors are intensifying pressure on Muse.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company's principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.