Raymond James Financial Lowers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $800.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from $825.00 to $800.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “strong-buy” rating on the social networking company’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.88% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on META. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $754.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp restated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1%

META opened at $672.97 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $645.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $696.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion during 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%.Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total value of $314,516.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,319.15. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,277,237. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 19,382 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,794,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 30,826 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 953 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $629,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,017 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.