TD Cowen Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Key Points

• TD Cowen lowered Meta’s price target from $800 to $750 while maintaining a “buy” rating; the new target still implies about 40.7% upside from the stock’s $533.13 price after a 9% decline.
• Meta reported strong revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above expectations, but quarterly EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus and fell from $7.14 a year earlier.
• Investors remain concerned about Meta’s heavy AI investment, including planned 2026 capital spending of $130 billion–$145 billion, although analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $800.77.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $800.00 to $750.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the social networking company's stock. TD Cowen's target price indicates a potential upside of 40.68% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $766.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $800.77.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 9.0%

META stock traded down $52.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $533.13. The stock had a trading volume of 19,444,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,714,834. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $603.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $624.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 29.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,376.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta reported revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above Wall Street expectations. Advertising trends remained strong, with ad revenue growth, higher impressions and improved pricing; AI-driven recommendations also helped increase time spent on Instagram. Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained favorable ratings despite lowering price targets. Citizens JMP, Cantor Fitzgerald, Rosenblatt Securities, KeyCorp, Bank of America and Monness Crespi & Hardt still rated the stock market outperform, overweight or buy, with targets ranging from $680 to $883. Analyst Price Target Updates
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish commentators argue Meta’s advertising business can fund its AI investments, while potential leasing of excess computing capacity and expansion into enterprise AI could create additional revenue streams. Meta Potentially Leasing AI Compute
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is advancing a $14 billion data-center project with BlackRock and is considering how to balance selling computing capacity with reserving it for internal AI models. The strategy could improve returns, but investors want clearer evidence of monetization. Meta’s AI Compute Conundrum
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter EPS was $6.18, below the roughly $7.19 consensus and down from $7.14 a year earlier. Legal and severance charges contributed to the miss, while Reality Labs continued to lose more than $4.6 billion. Meta Misses Profit Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Meta plans approximately $130 billion to $145 billion of 2026 capital spending, with third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion below the $63.2 billion analyst estimate. The resulting concern is that AI spending is consuming nearly all operating cash flow without yet demonstrating sufficient returns. Meta and Microsoft Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street’s broad price-target reductions indicate lower near-term expectations, even though most firms remain bullish. Investors are contrasting Meta’s spending-heavy AI strategy with Microsoft’s clearer evidence that AI investments are generating growth. Why Investors Prefer Microsoft’s AI Spending

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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