Meta Platforms' (META) "Buy (B)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reiterated a "buy" rating for Meta Platforms (META), reflecting confidence in the company's stock performance.
• Multiple brokerages, including HSBC and Raymond James Financial, have upgraded their ratings and increased price targets for META, indicating a strong bullish sentiment.
• Meta Platforms reported a 21.6% year-over-year revenue increase and surpassed earnings expectations, with an EPS of $7.14 for the last quarter.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on META. HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $811.00 to $837.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $829.66.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $738.36. 9,133,480 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,104,014. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $742.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $691.34. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $736.37, for a total transaction of $382,176.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 28,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,820,861.75. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total transaction of $333,391.05. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,947 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,697,760.59. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 214,182 shares of company stock valued at $164,951,541 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 488 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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