Pivotal Research Cuts Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Price Target to $910.00

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) had its price objective cut by Pivotal Research from $930.00 to $910.00 in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the social networking company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $716.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $652.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $696.01.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This trade represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger‑than‑expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After‑Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long‑term upside but unclear near‑term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data‑center plan while confirming heavy multi‑year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near‑term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi‑billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non‑ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content‑blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple‑quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit‑taking & headline noise: high short‑term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

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.