Q1 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Raised by Roth Capital

Key Points

• Roth Capital raised its Q1 2026 earnings estimate for Meta Platforms to $6.82 per share from the previous $6.32, maintaining a "Buy" rating with a price target of $740.00.
• Meta Platforms reported $7.14 earnings per share in Q2, exceeding the consensus estimate of $5.75, along with revenue of $47.52 billion, which was above expectations.
• Large institutional investors showed increased interest in Meta, with 79.91% of the stock currently owned by these investors as they made several new position acquisitions during the first and second quarters.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Roth Capital boosted their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a research report issued on Wednesday, July 30th. Roth Capital analyst R. Kulkarni now forecasts that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $6.82 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $6.32. Roth Capital has a "Buy" rating and a $740.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Roth Capital also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q3 2026 earnings at $7.39 EPS.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $815.09.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded down $23.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $750.01. 18,985,910 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,087,110. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $701.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $645.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms has a 12-month low of $450.80 and a 12-month high of $784.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.19%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total value of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,181,574.40. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 152,980 shares of company stock valued at $105,708,832. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after buying 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.