KeyCorp Has Lowered Expectations for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price target cut by KeyCorp from $875.00 to $835.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the social networking company’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective points to a potential upside of 24.08% from the company’s previous close.

META has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 target price (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $672.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $645.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $696.04. Meta Platforms has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,277,237 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of META. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Signs of stronger monetization and AI tailwinds — analysts expect Q4 ad revenue to surge on AI-driven tools and higher engagement, boosting revenue outlook ahead of earnings. Will Higher Ad Revenues Aid Meta Platforms Stock in Q4 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Big infrastructure commitment supports AI growth — Meta agreed to pay Corning up to $6 billion for fiber‑optic cables to expand U.S. AI data centers, signaling deep investment in capacity that underpins future ad and AI services. Meta signs deal to pay Corning up to $6 billion for fiber-optic cables, CNBC reports
• Positive Sentiment: New revenue stream potential — Meta is testing paid premium tiers for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that bundle exclusive AI features and controls, which could diversify revenue beyond ads if adoption scales. Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings event risk/reward — Meta reports Q4 after the close Wednesday; traders expect a sizable move, making near-term volatility likely even if results are strong. Here’s How Much Traders Expect Meta Stock To Move After Wednesday’s Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — Meta is a focal point of the “Magnificent 7” earnings week; macro/Fed headlines and AI‑spend scrutiny could amplify stock moves independent of company fundamentals. Tech’s massive AI spend is under scrutiny ahead of earnings. Here’s what to watch
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal overhang — Meta and YouTube head to a high‑profile youth‑addiction trial this week (TikTok and Snap settled), creating reputational and potential financial risk depending on jury outcome and damages. TikTok joins Snap to settle social media addiction lawsuit, as Meta and YouTube head to trial
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy risks — Global moves to restrict children’s social‑media use (e.g., Egypt and other countries debating limits) add policy risk that could affect user engagement and compliance costs. Egypt to adopt restrictions on children’s social media use to fight ‘digital chaos’
• Negative Sentiment: Expense/capex scrutiny — Investors will focus on 2026 expense guidance and Reality Labs losses; aggressive AI and infra spending could pressure margins and drive near‑term stock volatility. Meta Platforms’ 2026 expense guidance in focus ahead of Q4 earnings

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.