Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target Lowered to $835.00 at Mizuho

Key Points

• Price target cut: Mizuho lowered Meta's target to $835 from $850 but kept an "outperform" rating; the consensus price target is about $840.31 and analysts' consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy."
• Q1 beat: Meta reported $10.44 EPS (vs. $6.67 est.) and $56.31B revenue (up 33.1%), with AI-driven ad pricing boosting revenue and margins.
• Risk factors: Regulatory and governance pressures (e.g., New Mexico seeking $3.7B, board probe) plus heavy insider selling (166,638 shares, ~$106.7M last quarter) pose potential headwinds.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Mizuho from $850.00 to $835.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the social networking company's stock. Mizuho's price target indicates a potential upside of 36.79% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $610.45 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $629.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $647.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 30.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,232.48. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 166,638 shares of company stock worth $106,697,681 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing lifted revenue and margins, underscoring that ad demand remains strong and AI is improving ad pricing power. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic M&A: Meta acquired ARI to accelerate humanoid-robot AI efforts, signaling continued investment in long-term AI/robotics growth areas. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term infrastructure deals (e.g., power PPAs for data centers) reduce operating risk for hyperscale growth and support predictable operating costs/reliability for AI workloads. (See "Atomic Dividends" coverage on long PPAs and Meta energy deals.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst tweak: Truist cut its price target from $900 to $840 but kept a Buy rating — shows confidence in fundamentals but lowers near‑term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital/financing moves: Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data‑center project (lead banks Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan) — supports expansion but highlights scale of capex funding needs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk intensifies: New Mexico is seeking $3.7B and platform changes in a youth-harm trial that could create precedent for costly remedies and operational constraints. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal headlines: Reuters won a Pulitzer for investigations showing user harms and fraudulent ads on Meta platforms — amplifies regulatory, legal and reputational scrutiny. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Governance/legal probe: A plaintiffs' law firm is investigating Meta's board for possible fiduciary breaches tied to privacy and AI training practices, adding another governance uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and volatility: Major outlets called the stock an "investor trap" and opinion pieces plus immediate post‑earnings selloffs (nearly double‑digit drops in some reports) reflect investor fear about heavy AI capex and guidance that wasn’t seen as convincingly conservative. Read More.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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