Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Cut to $840.00 by Analysts at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist cut its price target on Meta to $840 from $900 but kept a "buy" rating. The new target implies roughly a 38% upside from the stock's trading level at the time of the report.
• Meta reported a large Q1 beat (revenue $56.3B; EPS $10.44 vs $6.67 est) yet shares tumbled about 9% as management raised 2026 capex and may issue $20–$25B of bonds to fund AI data centers. Investors and some analysts reacted negatively to the higher spending and financing plans, prompting target cuts and downgrades.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: MarketBeat shows an average target near $830 and a "Moderate Buy" consensus, though multiple firms have trimmed targets and a few have downgraded the stock.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $900.00 to $840.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. Truist Financial's price target suggests a potential upside of 38.33% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on META. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $805.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $855.00 to $760.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.24.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 9.2%

Shares of META stock traded down $61.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $607.23. 25,174,688 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,628,888. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $630.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $648.65.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 29.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 167,155 shares of company stock valued at $107,067,129 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Bayban increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformance — Meta posted a sizeable revenue and EPS beat (revenue ~$56.3B; EPS well above consensus), confirming robust ad momentum and AI monetization that support longer‑term growth. PR Newswire: Meta Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Creator payments pilot — Meta began offering USDC stablecoin payouts to select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, expanding payment options and cross‑border monetization tools for the creator economy. PYMNTS: Meta Begins Offering Stablecoin Payments to Creators
• Positive Sentiment: Energy/infra moves — Meta announced partnerships (space‑based solar and long‑duration storage) to secure continuous power for AI data centers, addressing a key operational/ESG risk tied to huge compute demand. InsiderMonkey: Meta Pursues Space Solar
• Positive Sentiment: Business AI traction — Meta says its business AI now facilitates ~10 million conversations per week, evidence that AI products are gaining usage and generating monetization opportunities. TechCrunch: Meta business AI usage
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/model tweaks — Some houses nudged FY estimates (small EPS tweaks) and remain split between buy vs. hold as they weigh valuation against the large capex ramp.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; notable in size but pre‑planned and not unusual for exec plans. SEC: Insider Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Massive CapEx raise — Management lifted 2026 capex guidance sharply to build AI data centers; investors see this as a near‑term cash‑flow/headwinds risk that outweighs the quarter’s beat. Reuters: Meta Lifts CapEx Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Planned bond sale to fund AI — Reports say Meta may raise $20–$25B in investment‑grade bonds to finance its AI expansion, underscoring how the capex program will be funded and adding financing/flexibility concerns. Invezz: Meta eyes up to $25B bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: After‑hours/early selloff — Despite the beat, shares dropped sharply in extended trading as markets punished the higher spend and mixed forward signals. Invezz: Meta stock sinks after earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and costly bets — The EU charged Meta under the Digital Services Act for failing to block under‑13 users (potential fines/compliance costs), and Reality Labs posted another multi‑billion loss; both increase execution and legal risk. Reuters: EU Charges Over Underage Users CNBC: Reality Labs Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction — JPMorgan downgraded META to Neutral and several analysts cut targets after the guidance/capex move, amplifying selling pressure (downgrade reported by market sources).

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.

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