Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target for Meta from $825 to $775 but kept an overweight rating, with the new target implying roughly a 45.8% upside from the current share price.
• Other major brokers largely raised targets (Truist $900, BofA $885, Piper $880, JPMorgan $825), leaving a consensus target of $845.54 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Meta beat quarterly expectations with EPS $8.88 (vs. $8.16 est.) and $59.89B revenue (+23.8% YoY), but shares trade near $531.47 and insiders have sold about 161,967 shares (~$103.7M) in the last 90 days.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by Morgan Stanley from $825.00 to $775.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the social networking company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 45.82% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on META. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $845.54.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of META traded up $5.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $531.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,565,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,326,282. The company has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $643.93 and a 200 day moving average of $666.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $366,571.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 161,967 shares of company stock worth $103,675,648. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co of the South lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,359,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of 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 lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is accelerating energy and infrastructure support for AI, striking a deal to help build advanced nuclear capacity that could supply large, reliable power for its compute needs. Meta Just Made a Nuclear Power Bet Worth 6.6 Gigawa
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s El Paso data-center plan has expanded into a roughly $10 billion, 1‑gigawatt complex — a material capex commitment that supports future AI scale and long-term revenue growth potential from AI-driven services. Meta El Paso data center plan grows to $10 billion, 1 gigawatt complex
• Neutral Sentiment: At least one analyst has raised FY2026 EPS estimates for Meta, which could be supportive for valuation if earnings revisions continue. FY2026 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Boosted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Some investors and commentators (including contrarian buyers) view the current pullback as a buying opportunity given Meta’s lower forward P/E and heavy AI investment — a signal that opinions are split among market participants. Meta: I'm More Than Willing To Catch The Falling Knife Now
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent courtroom defeats — and broader coverage of Meta as a frequent defendant — are raising concerns about liability, research constraints and consumer‑safety exposure, which could increase legal costs and regulatory scrutiny. Meta's court losses spell potential trouble for AI research, consumer safety
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage highlights heavy AI spending, uncertain monetization beyond advertising, and recent big single‑day share drops — factors that have prompted the selloff and heighten near-term earnings/valuation risk. Meta stock price falls to nearly 1-year low: 3 reasons why the Facebook parent company is sinking in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Broader media and analyst narratives framing Meta as a frequent defendant and a company facing legal headwinds amplify downside risk and may keep short-term sentiment weak until litigation clarity improves. Meta the Defendant

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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