Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 1.7% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares rose 1.7% to $688.55 on Friday with volume slightly below average; the stock trades at a market cap of about $1.74 trillion and a P/E near 29.3.
• Expanded AI partnerships and infrastructure deals (e.g., Broadcom extension, CoreWeave capacity) have boosted AI roadmap visibility and prompted analyst target increases — the average price target cited is about $837.72 with several firms at or above $900.
• Meta plans major cuts (~10% of its workforce, ~8,000 jobs) and faces regulatory and reputation risks (European scrutiny of WhatsApp AI access and AI‑generated fake accounts), which could pressure execution and monetization.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $691.52 and last traded at $688.55. 15,293,445 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 15,891,025 shares. The stock had previously closed at $676.87.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded AI partnerships and infrastructure deals boost revenue/AI roadmap visibility — Meta deepened and extended its Broadcom AI‑chip relationship (scaling capacity through 2029), supporting faster AI feature rollout and higher ad/engagement monetization potential. Meta Platforms Taps AVGO for AI Expansion: Buy or Hold META Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Large capacity commitments to CoreWeave underline sizable, long‑dated AI infrastructure spending that supports Meta’s compute roadmap and revenue mix. This signals durable demand for Meta’s AI stack and gives investors visibility on AI spend scale. CoreWeave's April Shockwave — Meta, Anthropic, Jane Street All Say Yes
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: TD Cowen reiterated a buy and assigned a high $820 price target, which can drive positive sentiment and flows into the stock. Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META Receives Buy Rating from TD Cowen
• Neutral Sentiment: Hardware pricing update: Meta will raise U.S. prices for Quest VR headsets to offset rising component costs — a margin/profitability mix impact that’s ambiguous for top‑line growth. Meta to raise Quest VR headset prices in US on rising component costs
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan (disclosed SEC filing) — routine but noted by traders as liquidity/positioning data. SEC ownership filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Reputation/regulatory watch: Reports of AI‑generated fake influencer accounts across platforms (TikTok/Instagram/Facebook) add moderation and policy risk, but near‑term financial impact is uncertain. Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media
• Negative Sentiment: Major layoffs planned: Reuters reports Meta will cut roughly 10% of its global workforce (~8,000 jobs) in an initial wave targeted for May 20, with additional rounds later in 2026. That reduces near‑term operating costs but raises execution, morale and product roadmap risk; markets often react variably to large cuts. Exclusive: Meta targets May 20 for first wave of layoffs; additional cuts later in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure in Europe: The European Commission is considering interim measures to force WhatsApp policy rollbacks that could limit how third‑party AI services access WhatsApp Business — a potential hit to monetization plans in a key market. European Action On WhatsApp AI Access Tests Meta’s Monetization Plans

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $837.72.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $626.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $652.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 164,499 shares of company stock valued at $105,237,895 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 20.7% in the first quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 414 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. Anchyra Partners LLC now owns 13,562 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,759,000 after buying an additional 6,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Novare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 22,306 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,762,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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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