Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Raised to “Buy” at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) was upgraded by research analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $900.00 price target on the social networking company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $740.00. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 33.74% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of META stock opened at $672.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $645.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $696.04.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $1,191,175,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the period. 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: 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.