Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $802.00 to $795.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.97% from the company’s previous close.

META has been the topic of a number of other reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 price target (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.96.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ META opened at $631.09 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $641.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $702.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,054 shares of company stock valued at $24,799,940 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $44,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness — TD Cowen raised its price target on META to $820 and kept a Buy rating, giving investors a near‑term valuation upside narrative amid the recent pullback. Benzinga: TD Cowen price target
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger commercial demand for Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses — Meta and EssilorLuxottica are reportedly discussing doubling production capacity (10M→20M units, with upside to 30M) this year, signaling product-market fit for AI wearables and potential revenue growth outside advertising. Reuters: doubling Ray‑Ban output
• Positive Sentiment: Executive hire to drive AI strategy — Meta named Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chair to help steer its AI and infrastructure buildout, a governance move investors see as strengthening execution. Reuters: Dina Powell McCormick joins Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic repositioning in Reality Labs — Wedbush views the cuts and resource reallocation as a discipline shift toward consumer wearables (and away from broad metaverse bets), which could improve capital efficiency but delays returns. ProactiveInvestors: Wedbush on Reality Labs cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy/infrastructure play — Meta’s Meta Compute and deals (including the Oklo prepayment) to secure gigawatt‑scale baseload power are a long‑term moat for AI scale but lock in very large capex outlays and long timelines. MarketBeat: Meta energy strategy / Oklo
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs job cuts and restructuring — Reports say Meta will cut ~10–15% of Reality Labs (1,000–1,500 jobs) as it shifts from VR/metaverse projects to AI wearables; this highlights past capital waste and near‑term restructuring costs that weigh on sentiment. Fox Business: Reality Labs cuts
• Negative Sentiment: CapEx and execution concerns — Meta continues to plan massive capex (Meta Compute, data centers, nuclear prepayments). Some investors fear the pace/scale of spending and execution risk, and high-profile critics (e.g., Michael Burry commentary) amplify downside pressure. Benzinga: Michael Burry critique
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory noise — Brazil’s antitrust suspension of a WhatsApp policy and Australia account‑removal/teen‑ban issues add jurisdictional regulatory risk that could create headline volatility. TechCrunch: Brazil WhatsApp order

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.