Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the company's stock.
• Despite the downgrade, several brokerages including Sanford C. Bernstein and Loop Capital have raised their price targets for Meta Platforms, signaling continued optimism among some analysts.
• Meta Platforms reported a strong quarterly performance with an EPS of $7.14, surpassing estimates and indicating significant year-over-year revenue growth of 21.6%.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on META. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of META stock opened at $747.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $727.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $657.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,749,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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