Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifty-seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, forty-five have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $791.86.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Arete Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advertising remains the core bullish argument. Meta’s revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion in fiscal second-quarter 2026, and micro-drama content is emerging as a potential source of incremental advertising demand. Why Meta is winning the micro drama wars
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s AI-driven growth. TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $865 price target, while Wells Fargo sees a path toward a substantially higher valuation if AI improves ad performance and creates new revenue streams. Meta Could Hit $1,000, Says Wells Fargo
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its AI ecosystem. The company’s Muse agent, enterprise AI platform and AI-enabled smart-glasses strategy could provide new commerce, productivity and hardware opportunities beyond traditional social-media advertising. Meta’s decision to ban ByteDance and TikTok advertising in several markets also intensifies its competitive positioning. Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Decision to Pull the Trigger on Meta’s A.I. Agent
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s AI investment is producing both growth and financial strain. Revenue growth is strong, but free cash flow fell to $784 million from $8.55 billion a year earlier as data-center and AI infrastructure spending surged. Investors need evidence that Muse and other AI projects can eventually generate returns. Meta’s Sales Jumped 28% While Free Cash Flow Shrank
• Negative Sentiment: Muse faces adoption and monetization obstacles. Jefferies found that roughly one-third of tested websites blocked the agent, while Amazon reportedly blocked it, potentially delaying Meta’s plans to earn transaction fees from AI-powered commerce. Analysts also question whether the service can become profitable at scale. Meta’s Muse AI agent blocked by one-third of websites tested
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and reputational risks remain a drag. Florida is pursuing restrictions on teen access and infinite-scroll features, while criticism surrounding the film The Social Reckoning and Meta’s handling of harmful AI-generated content could increase scrutiny. A planned-transaction sale by COO Javier Olivan adds a modest insider-selling concern. Meta Stock Falls as Florida Asks a Court to Switch Off Infinite Scroll for Teens

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $718.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $640.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $620.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total value of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,735,814.24. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in META. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. now owns 4,732 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,432,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.5% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.3% in the third quarter. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. jvl associates llc lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.9% in the third quarter. jvl associates llc now owns 1,372 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $995,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 114.7% during the third quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 6,122 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,439,000 after buying an additional 3,270 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.