Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $750.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird lowered Meta’s price target from $830 to $750 but maintained an “outperform” rating, implying roughly 40% upside from the previous close. Other analysts also cut targets, though the consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $795.89.
• Meta’s shares fell to $535.40 after quarterly earnings per share of $6.18 missed expectations, despite revenue rising 28% year over year to $60.8 billion. Lower-than-expected guidance and uncertainty over AI monetization further pressured the stock.
• Investors remain concerned about Meta’s aggressive AI investment, including projected capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion and rising data-center lease obligations, which could weigh on cash flow and margins.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $830.00 to $750.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the social networking company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target suggests a potential upside of 40.08% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on META. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $795.89.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $50.21 on Thursday, hitting $535.40. 31,878,409 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,813,016. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $603.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $624.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 29.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of approximately $60.2 billion. Advertising trends remained healthy, with ad impressions, pricing and Instagram engagement benefiting from AI-powered recommendations. Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings despite reducing their price targets. Truist, TD Cowen, DA Davidson, Cantor Fitzgerald and others still see substantial upside, suggesting the selloff may have improved Meta’s risk-reward profile if advertising growth continues. Analyst Price Target Updates
• Positive Sentiment: Meta highlighted potential longer-term monetization opportunities, including enterprise AI agents, new AI-enabled applications and possibly leasing excess computing capacity to outside customers. WhatsApp also reported record usage during the FIFA World Cup final. Zuckerberg lays out Meta’s AI capacity dilemma
• Neutral Sentiment: India summoned Meta executives after Facebook briefly restricted a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The incident adds regulatory and political scrutiny in a strategically important market, though no material financial impact was reported. India summons Meta executives
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings per share of $6.18 missed consensus estimates near $7.20 and fell from $7.14 a year earlier. Legal and severance charges, along with higher operating costs, weighed heavily on profit. Meta’s Stock Tumbles After Profits Disappoint
• Negative Sentiment: Meta plans to spend roughly $130 billion to $145 billion on capital expenditures this year, while operating cash flow was largely absorbed by AI infrastructure spending. Future lease obligations tied mainly to AI data centers reached $279 billion, up 53% in three months, intensifying concerns about cash flow, margins and balance-sheet risk. Meta narrows annual capex forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion was below the roughly $63.2 billion analyst consensus. Investors also remain unconvinced that Meta has offered a clear timeline for converting its AI spending into meaningful incremental revenue. Meta leaves investors wanting more on AI monetization timeline

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.