One of the largest Dutch eyewear retail chains said on Friday it had suspended sales of Meta's (META.O) Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium amid growing privacy concerns, in one of the first such moves by a retailer.
"This decision follows the ongoing public and political debate surrounding smart glasses and the questions being raised about the conditions under which this technology can be used," a spokesperson for the Hans Anders chain said.
A growing Dutch outcry over the glasses mirrors a broader backlash against smart glasses equipped with cameras.
In Britain, pub chain Wetherspoon has restricted use of Meta's glasses over concerns about covert recording, while Meta and Luxottica face a US suit alleging videos captured by the glasses were viewed by human annotators without the knowledge of people filmed.
A Meta spokesperson said the company is continuing to develop the popular glasses. "Every pair with a camera has a bright light on the front that blinks when you take a photo or video — it can't be turned off, and the camera is disabled if someone covers or tampers with it," they said.
In the Netherlands, privacy regulator AP last month warned that videos made with smart glasses showing identifiable people cannot generally be shared or published without their permission, which would be difficult to obtain in a public place.
Consumer rights group Consumentenbond this week said it would take Meta to court unless the company changes the glasses to comply with privacy law.
Offlimits, a group that combats online abuse, on Friday also urged Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA) to voluntarily remove the glasses from sale until a way can be found to make surreptitious recordings impossible.
EssilorLuxottica could not immediately be reached for comment.
Hans Anders is a subsidiary of Nexeye, which is owned by private equity firm KKR (KKR.N). Nexeye operates 776 stores across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Sweden. It does not sell the glasses in the latter three countries.
BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones remains constructive on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), pointing to strong early downloads for Meta Muse while cautioning that habitual engagement and long-term monetization remain unproven.
Muse downloads have trended higher since its Sept. 8 launch, peaking on day 12 before stabilizing through day 23.
The app has generated more than 5.6 million downloads, with early U.S. downloads surpassing Sora and ChatGPT. Jones said Meta’s large installed base across Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook gives the company a natural distribution advantage.
However, Muse’s mobile app open rate spiked shortly after launch before settling below Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, ChatGPT and Meta’s own Family of Apps.
Jones said the pattern shows solid initial interest, but Muse still needs to build habitual user engagement.
Monetization Opportunity Remains EarlyMeta currently charges partners small transaction fees, while Muse offers a free basic tier and monthly subscriptions for users seeking higher usage.
Jones believes Meta is prioritizing adoption and engagement for now.
He sees advertising as a potential longer-term monetization opportunity if engagement increases, but said investors still lack clarity on how large the revenue opportunity could become.
BNP Paribas also expects Meta to continue using its Family of Apps to drive additional Muse downloads.
Competition And Engagement Remain Key RisksJones does not yet view Muse as a near-term threat to vertical marketplaces because the service lacks the direct inventory, transaction capabilities and customer-service infrastructure those platforms provide.
He said investors should watch competition from OpenAI’s Dots and future consumer AI agents from Alphabet and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX), along with security and privacy concerns.
Jones also highlighted future partnerships and daily active-user trends as key indicators. If downloads remain steady but daily usage stalls, Meta may need to adjust the product to improve market fit.
BNP Paribas maintains a positive view on Meta with a $885 price forecast, representing about 22% upside from the Oct. 1 price of $725.90.
META Price Action: Meta Platforms shares were up 0.78% at $731.62 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
The social media and AI business Meta Platforms Inc. (META, Financials) seems to have little issue attracting customers to its new AI agent Muse. The more difficult aspect could be figuring out how to profit from that interest.
According to BNP Paribas, Muse has reached the top of Apple's App Store and has continued to grow in popularity since its introduction last month.
As Meta fights for customers in a congested AI sector, its early adoption sends a positive signal. However, BNP brought up an issue that will become increasingly significant as Muse develops: What does monetization look like in the end?
That difference is crucial for Meta. Although broad use alone may not ensure favorable returns on the significant effort needed to build and run sophisticated AI services, a popular AI product can increase engagement throughout its ecosystem.
It is too early to assess Muse's financial impact because the source does not offer revenue statistics, paid-user data, or a clear monetization strategy.
Investors now have two different metrics for success. Meta has already demonstrated its ability to draw users to Muse. Demonstrating that such users can eventually increase income or improve the platform's overall economics is the next hurdle.
Investors will now keep an eye out for information regarding Muse engagement and, more crucially, Meta's strategy for making money off of that expanding audience.
were in focus as BNP Paribas highlighted a key question around Muse: whether rapid consumer adoption can eventually translate into a durable revenue stream.
Jones maintained an Outperform rating and an $885 price target on Meta.
The AI assistant has passed 5.6 million downloads since its September debut and reached the top of Apple's App Store, according to BNP Paribas, which used third-party data to track its early performance.
Analyst Nick Jones said Muse initially outpaced the U.S. download growth seen for OpenAI's Sora and ChatGPT. The early lead may partly reflect Meta's ability to promote a new product across Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.
Still, engagement has cooled below several of Meta's established platforms, Google and ChatGPT. Jones said that pattern indicates Muse has attracted attention but has yet to establish regular usage.
Meta currently offers Muse free at the basic level, with subscriptions for heavier use, while also collecting small fees from partners. BNP Paribas said advertising could become another option as usage develops, but the longer-term monetization path remains uncertain.
The biggest dividend checks in tech and travel come from companies most income investors never put on a screen because the yields look too small to bother with. Four names hiding in plain sight are quietly building the kind of…
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Most income portfolios are built from utilities, telecoms, and consumer staples. Some of the most cash-rich businesses in the market also pay quarterly dividends, and they seldom show up on income screens because their yields look small and investors know them for AI chips, advertising, travel bookings, or Florida farmland. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO | AVGO Price Prediction) alone paid $3.1 billion of cash dividends in its latest quarter. All four names yield under 1%, and each one makes the list because cash flow or hard assets that most dividend hunters never look at stand behind the payout.
Broadcom: An AI Chip Powerhouse Quietly Writing Billion-Dollar Dividend Checks Broadcom designs semiconductors and infrastructure software for data centers, networking, broadband, wireless, and storage. Income investors miss it because it trades as an AI growth story, with a trailing P/E of 45 that looks nothing like a dividend stock. At a recent price of $350.10, the annualized dividend of $2.60 per share works out to a yield of 0.73%.
Dividend safety: This is one of the best-covered payouts in the market. Free cash flow reached an all-time high of $13.7 billion last quarter (46% of revenue), while dividends took $3.1 billion. Trailing EPS of $7.76 sits far above the $2.60 annual payout. Cash rose to $24 billion from $19.6 billion the prior quarter, and the company paid down $5.6 billion of long-term debt. The remaining fixed-rate debt of $59.6 billion carries a weighted average coupon of 4%. On the track record: once you adjust for the 10-for-1 stock split, the dividend history shows at least one increase in every calendar year from 2011 through 2025. The most recent raise lifted the quarterly payment from $0.59 to $0.65.
Bull case: The earnings engine is picking up speed. AI semiconductor revenue reached $16.7 billion, up 221% year-on-year, and fourth-quarter revenue guidance stands at $34.8 billion. CEO Hock Tan told analysts the company is “very much on target to exceed $30 in earnings per share in fiscal 2028.” With a forward P/E of 19, income investors get a growing dividend attached to one of the fastest-growing profit streams in large-cap tech.
Risk: Customer concentration. Management said “the vast majority of compute demand for AI workloads today originates from this concentrated group that develops state-of-the-art frontier models.” If a few hyperscalers cut spending, the cash flow behind future raises shrinks quickly.
Meta Platforms: A Social Media Giant With Plenty of Room to Raise Its Payout Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) runs the world’s largest family of social apps, and that segment brought in $60.4 billion of revenue last quarter. Income investors overlook it because the dividend is new: the first record dates to 2024-02-21. The quarterly payment is $0.525, or $2.10 annualized, which yields 0.29% at a recent price of $732.90. Meta earns its spot on payout capacity and growth potential. The current yield is too small to carry an income plan by itself.
Dividend safety: Trailing EPS of $26.57 dwarfs the $2.10 annual dividend. Operating cash flow came in at $31.86 billion in the second quarter. For a company this size, leverage is conservative: debt to equity of 0.386, net debt to EBITDA of 0.47, and interest coverage of 71.5x. The company held $90.3 billion in cash and marketable securities against $83.7 billion of debt. So far there has been one raise, from $0.50 to $0.525, beginning with the 2025-03-14 ex-dividend date.
Bull case: The core business continues growing. Revenue grew 28% to $60.8 billion, and the stock just had its best month since 2022 on AI momentum, rising 26.77% over the past month. A dividend this small next to earnings this large leaves management lot of room to raise it once the spending cycle cools.
Risk: Capital spending is eating free cash flow. Second-quarter free cash flow fell to $784 million, below the about $1.35 billion paid in dividends and dividend equivalents. Full-year capex is expected to $130 to $145 billion, so for now the dividend is leaning on debt markets to bridge the gap.
Booking Holdings: A Buyback Machine That Pays a Growing Dividend Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) owns Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Kayak, and OpenTable. Investors know it for buybacks: last quarter it “returned $4.1 billion to shareholders including $3.7 billion of share repurchases.” The dividend also got harder to read after a twenty-five-for-one forward stock split. The current quarterly payment is $0.42, or $1.68 annualized, for a yield of 0.99% at $162.42.
Dividend safety: Coverage is excellent. Second-quarter free cash flow was $3.643 billion (+16% YoY), and trailing EPS of $9.01 far tops the $1.68 annual payout. Cash stood at $17.214 billion. The dividend record begins in 2024 at a pre-split $8.75, which rose to $9.60 and then $10.50 before the split. That is two raises in a short history. One quirk: shareholders’ equity is negative at -$10.783 billion, the result of years of aggressive buybacks. It shows years of capital returns, but it can trip conservative screens.
Bull case: Shares are down 23.63% this year and trade at a forward P/E of 13, while the business continues growing. Room nights rose 5%, gross bookings rose 9%, and full-year guidance calls for low-to-mid-teens adjusted EPS growth. With $14.5 billion left on the buyback authorization, each future dividend is spread across a shrinking share count.
Risk: Geopolitics. The Middle East conflict is pressuring long-haul international travel, and a deeper slowdown in cross-border trips would hit Booking’s most profitable bookings.
Alico: A Florida Land Micro-Cap Hiding in Plain Sight Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO) is shifting away from citrus and toward land leasing, land sales, and real estate development across about 47,300 acres of Florida. Income investors miss it because it is a $284M micro-cap filed under farm products. The quarterly dividend is $0.05, or $0.20 annualized, which yields 0.52% at $38.31. The stock goes ex-dividend 2026-10-02, with payment due 2026-10-16.
Dividend safety: Earnings coverage is thin. Trailing EPS of $0.21 just clears the $0.20 annual payout. Cash and debt do the heavy lifting: $55.584M in cash against $85.4M of total debt. Full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance was raised to about $15M, and CEO John Kiernan says the company’s financial runway now extends through fiscal year 2029 without needing additional asset sales. The dividend record goes back to 1999, but it includes a cut. The quarterly payment was $0.50 from 2021 into 2022 and has been $0.05 every quarter since 2023-03-30.
Bull case: You get paid a small, regular check while the land story plays out. The Corkscrew Grove Villages project plans about 9,000 homes, and East Village received local entitlement approval in April. Third-quarter GAAP EPS of $0.29 beat expectations for a loss of $0.73, and a completed $10M buyback retired about 245,000 shares.
Risk: Timing. Results swing on one-off land sales, such as the $19.73M gain on a 2,950-acre grove sale, and construction may not start until 2028-2029. Recurring income that could support a larger dividend is still years away.
Where These Four Overlooked Payers Fit in an Income Portfolio All four names yield under 1%, so they go here because of what stands behind the payout. Broadcom is the strongest of the group, with record free cash flow, a long history of raises, and AI growth that should continues lifting the dividend. Booking pairs a cheap valuation with large cash flow and two raises in a short history, while Meta has the capacity to raise but is spending its free cash flow on AI for now. Alico is the asset play, paying a token dividend on a land base that could turn into real recurring income later in the decade.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
SummaryThe market changed its mind on Meta Platforms, Inc. after Muse.We like the clearer strategy, which has pushed shares up 22% since our last buy call, but now we need to see Muse generate returns.To us, sustained upside hinges on Muse's monetization and privacy-related execution.We share an in-depth analysis of how we see this playing out.We are maintaining a cautious buy on META.Looking for a portfolio of ideas like this one? Members of Tech Contrarians get exclusive access to our subscriber-only portfolios. Learn More » DNY59/E+ via Getty Images
Investment Thesis Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) shares ended September with a 29% gain, marking the company's strongest monthly performance in about four years.
Earlier in the month, we published “Something is Wrong with Meta,” where we
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.
Shares of this social media company have returned +18.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. The Zacks Internet - Software industry, to which Meta Platforms belongs, has gained 12.7% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, Meta Platforms is expected to post earnings of $6.39 per share, indicating a change of -11.9% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +1.4% over the last 30 days.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $31.39 points to a change of +33.6% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -0.8%.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $34.39 indicates a change of +9.6% from what Meta Platforms is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.6%.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Meta Platforms.
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
For Meta Platforms, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $63.18 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +23.3%. For the current and next fiscal years, $254.04 billion and $306.87 billion estimates indicate +26.4% and +20.8% changes, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryMeta Platforms reported revenues of $60.8 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +28%. EPS of $6.18 for the same period compares with $7.14 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $60.21 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.98%. The EPS surprise was -12.96%.
Over the last four quarters, Meta Platforms surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
Meta Platforms is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Meta Platforms. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
Key Takeaways Meta surged 27% in September after its Muse AI assistant launch, reaching a 52-week high of $779.82.Muse's adoption could unlock new revenue streams through subscriptions.ETFs including XLC and METV offer exposure to Meta and the communication services and metaverse sectors. Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) delivered a stunning performance in September, with shares surging approximately 27% during the month. The social media giant started the month trading around $570 before catapulting to an intraday high of $779.82 on Sept. 24, setting a new 52-week record.
While the stock pulled back slightly in the final days to close September at $725.18, the month still marked Meta’s strongest monthly stock performance in nearly four years. This has put a spotlight on the Facebook owner and, by extension, the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold significant positions in this tech behemoth.
Investors eager to gain exposure to Meta can consider several ETFs that offer concentrated positions in the stock. But not all ETFs are created equal when it comes to high-growth potential — while some are designed for income, others spread their exposure across dozens of unrelated industries, and only a few stay focused on the themes actually driving Meta's momentum.
Before identifying those funds, it is important to analyze what drove META’s rise, what could continue to support its rally, and how ETFs can provide exposure to the WhatsApp owner.
What Led to META's Rally in September?The primary catalyst for Meta’s September surge was the Sept. 8 launch of Muse, the company’s personal AI agent. Muse quickly became the top free app in Apple's U.S. App Store, surpassing ChatGPT, with over 3.4 million downloads in its first few weeks. The AI assistant can handle tasks ranging from online purchases and travel bookings to managing subscriptions and providing personalized recommendations.
This product launch fundamentally changed the narrative around Meta's massive AI spending. Earlier in 2026, the company suffered a share price pullback over investors’ concerns about its huge capital expenditures worth $130-$145 billion, with very little return on investment. Muse provided tangible evidence that Meta's AI investments could generate consumer-facing products with monetization opportunities through subscriptions and transaction fees.
Analysts responded enthusiastically to this development, with JPMorgan raising its price target to $920 and Monness Crespi lifting its target to $830, both citing Muse's success.
What Might Continue to Boost META?Meta's AI business represents the most significant near-term growth driver. Muse has already demonstrated strong consumer adoption, and Meta is actively expanding its monetization potential through subscription tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month. According to TD Cowen analysts, Muse could reach 1 billion daily active users by 2031 and generate potentially $27 billion in annual revenues.
In late September, the company launched its Meta Enterprise Platform, which would enable META to sell software, APIs and AI solutions directly to enterprise clients and developers, thereby opening substantial new revenue streams.
In the communication services space, Meta’s core advertising business continues to show strong momentum, with revenues rising 27.5% year over year in the second quarter of 2026. The integration of AI capabilities across Meta's family of apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — has been enhancing user engagement and advertising effectiveness, creating a virtuous cycle of growth for the company.
As the broader communication services industry is experiencing a digital transformation wave, AI-powered content recommendation and personalized advertising are set to drive higher monetization rates across META’s social media platforms.
Meanwhile, Meta's metaverse investments, though more long-term in nature, complement its AI strategy through hardware like smart glasses and the recently announced palm-sized device for Muse. Meta's substantial investments in virtual and augmented reality position it as a foundational player in the emerging metaverse market.
Why ETFs Are the Best Choice for ExposureThe communication services, AI ecosystem, and metaverse sectors each represent distinct growth trajectories with substantial long-term potential.
The communication services sector benefits from secular trends, including digital advertising growth, streaming media expansion and 5G adoption. AI ecosystem companies are at the forefront of perhaps the most significant technological shift of this generation, with applications spanning enterprise software, consumer products and infrastructure. Metaverse-focused companies are building the foundational technologies for immersive digital experiences that could transform how people work, socialize and entertain themselves.
Investing in ETFs that track these industries offers investors diversified exposure to these themes while capturing Meta's growth story. ETFs provide access to these industries as a whole, reducing single-stock risk while maintaining exposure to Meta's growth.
ETFs to Bet on Considering the factors discussed above, investors seeking to participate in Meta’s momentum while gaining broader exposure to the themes driving its growth may consider the following four ETFs:
State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLC - Free Report)
This fund, having assets under management (AUM) worth $22.88 billion, offers focused exposure to the communication services sector, with META as its largest holding at a 22.19% weight. This ETF captures the broader media and telecom landscape benefiting from digital transformation.
XLC charges 8 basis points (bps) in fees and traded at a good volume of 6.66 million shares in the last trading session.
This fund, having AUM worth $5.54 billion, provides concentrated exposure to the Magnificent Seven technology giants, with Meta Platforms holding 14.30% of this fund’s assets. This ETF is ideal for investors seeking exposure to the companies driving the AI revolution.
MAGS charges 30 bps in fees and traded at a good volume of 3.89 million shares in the last trading session.
Global X Social Media ETF (SOCL - Free Report)
This fund, with net assets worth $85.2 million, provides exposure to the social media ecosystem, with Meta as its top holding at an approximately 11.85% weight. This ETF offers concentrated exposure to the social commerce revolution.
SOCL charges 65 bps in fees and traded at a volume of 0.001 million shares in the last trading session.
Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (METV - Free Report)
This fund, having AUM worth $228.1 million, targets the metaverse ecosystem, holding companies building virtual reality, gaming and blockchain technologies that will define the future of digital interaction. META holds 6.14% of this fund’s assets.
METV charges 59 bps in fees and traded at a volume of 0.03 million shares in the last trading session.
Meta's ad engine is firing on all cylinders, yet a single line item in its budget has the power to flip bullish momentum into a costly trap for investors who ignore it.
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Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Meta (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) is $916.40 over the next 12 months. That implies 25.05% upside from a reference price of $732.82, and our model rates the stock a buy.
Metric Value Current Price $732.82 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $916.40 Upside/Downside 25.05% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% The number to watch is capital spending. Meta guided 2026 capex to $130 billion to $145 billion, up from $72.22 billion in 2025. If AI keeps ad revenue climbing at a 27% clip, the spending builds a moat. Our high confidence rests on near-unanimous analyst support and a forward multiple that looks reasonable.
A 26% Monthly Rally Runs Into Fresh AI Spending Jitters Meta is up 26.3% over the past month and 10.79% year to date. It trades between a 52-week high of $779.82 and a low of $519.37. Shares fell this week on concerns about AI spending, even though Meta’s Muse agent was a September hit.
Q2 2026 earnings showed the same tension. Revenue of $60.80 billion rose 27.96% and beat estimates. Diluted EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.22 estimate. Operating margin fell to 31% from 43%, and free cash flow dropped to $784 million from $8.55 billion.
Why Bulls See $1,054 Ahead AI is already paying off inside the ad engine. In Q2, ad impressions rose 14% and price per ad rose 12%. Meta’s Advantage Plus tools hit “over $75 billion in annual revenue run rate”, and model upgrades drove “a 15.7% uplift in conversions on Facebook.”
The apps reach 3.60 billion daily active people. More than 1 million businesses use Meta’s business agents every week. The finance chief also said Meta has “numerous ROI positive places” to put more compute.
Analysts are heavily bullish, with 8 strong buy, 47 buy, 7 hold and zero sell ratings. If that ad momentum holds, our bull scenario reaches $1,054.69.
What Could Go Wrong With a $145 Billion Budget Long-term debt rose to $83.66 billion. Full-year expense guidance went to $165 billion to $169 billion. All of that buildout still has to be powered and cooled by somebody, and we pulled together seven suppliers doing exactly that in a free AI infrastructure guide.
Management warned that youth-related U.S. trials in 2026 may result in material losses. The Q2 miss included $2.40 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance. Management expects 2026 operating income above 2025 levels. Our bear scenario is $781.71.
Is Meta Pricier Than Alphabet and Pinterest? Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) trades at 15x trailing earnings, compared with 27x for Meta. Its Q2 free cash flow was negative $5.855 billion. Meta’s faster ad growth and positive cash flow help justify its premium.
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) is a pure social-ad peer that also sells AI-driven ad performance. Its revenue grew 18.17%, but it posted a GAAP operating loss of $55.198 million. Meta grows faster at far greater scale and earns a 41.44% operating margin. Next to Pinterest, our target looks reasonable.
Company Trailing P/E Latest Quarter Revenue Growth Meta 27 27.96% Alphabet 15 24.23% Pinterest N/A (GAAP loss) 18.17% Meta Price Prediction 2026-2030 Our 24/7 Wall St. price target of $916.40 carries a buy rating and 90% confidence. Ad growth is paying for the buildout. View the stock favorably if Q3 revenue lands inside the $61 billion to $64 billion guidance and capex stays within its range. Grow cautious if spending guidance rises without faster ad growth.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $757.58 2027 $938.61 2028 $1,080.89 2029 $1,219.81 2030 $1,298.32 Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
The state of New Mexico asked a judge on Thursday to order Meta Platforms (META.O) to pay between $35 billion and $40 billion in penalties after a jury found the company had misled consumers about the privacy of their data on Facebook in a case that came out of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Attorneys for New Mexico made the request at a hearing in a lawsuit brought following revelations that the British political consulting firm, which worked on Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, harvested personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app without their consent.
The jury returned its verdict on September 25. Judge Francis Mathew, who oversaw the trial in Santa Fe, will decide how much Meta must pay in financial penalties.
Attorneys for Meta and New Mexico clashed at the hearing over how much was appropriate to order, with Meta arguing that the penalties the state was seeking don't match the conduct the state focused its case on at trial.
"Well, when the parties go to trial, they roll the dice," said Mathew. "They have to accept the consequences of their decision to go to trial, do they not?"
TRIAL FOCUSED ON MISSTATEMENTS
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, accused Meta of lying to Facebook users in the state about who had access to their data, how the company handles hate speech and misinformation posted on the platform and other internal policies. The company knew that third parties had broad access to users' personal data, and it tolerated hate speech or other harmful content when it benefited the company's bottom line, the state said.
Jurors examined 29 statements made by the company and its leadership on those issues and found 26 of them misleading. They said the company had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws, based on the number of Facebook users or New Mexico residents who were the audience for each misleading statement.
Attorneys for Meta had argued at trial that the statements were cherry-picked snippets, and the company had repeatedly acknowledged its handling of misinformation or privacy issues was not perfect.
State law allows the judge to decide how much to fine Meta per violation, up to $5,000.
At the hearing on Thursday, Randi McGinn, a lawyer for New Mexico, said applying the full $5,000 penalty to the number of violations would create too large of a penalty under the US Constitution’s protections on due process.
But the judge should order a significant payment that will impact the company, McGinn said.
"This court should speak to Meta in the only language it understands, which is money, and the value of its stock price," McGinn said. She said $35 billion to $40 billion, which represents about 20% of the possible penalties that could be awarded under state law from the verdict, would impact the stock price while complying with Meta's right to due process under the Constitution.
At the hearing on Thursday, Matt Nicholson, a lawyer for Meta, called the state's request an "astronomical penalty that would obviously violate a host of constitutional provisions."
In court filings, Meta urged Mathew to cap the penalties at $3.45 billion. The jury may have said it found Meta’s statements misleading, but the evidence shows that Meta does not sell user data and New Mexico did not prove that any consumer had actually been misled, the company said in court filings.
The judge said he expected to issue a ruling later this month.
The case is State of New Mexico, et. al., v. Meta Platforms, Inc., case number D-101-CV-2021-00132 in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.
For New Mexico: Randi McGinn of McGinn Montoya Love Curry & Sievers
Gigascale Capital Founding Member and former Meta CTO Mike Schroepfer tells Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi how he uses Meta's Muse, why he expects massive enterprise adoption, and why Mark Zuckerberg is in founder mode on AI and hardware. Schroepfer also weighs in on Meta hiring MongoDB's CEO, what he'd tell Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about sounding AI alarm bells, and why cybersecurity is the near-term AI risk to focus on.
Meta's ad machine keeps growing, but a massive capex bill just cratered free cash flow and snapped a six-quarter earnings streak. Here is whether the math actually works for doubling the stock price by 2030.
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Meta (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction | META Price Prediction) runs the biggest ad business in the world, and it is still getting faster. Ad revenue reached $59.36 billion last quarter, up 27%, across 3.60 billion daily users.
The stock trades at $720.16. It is up only 9.37% this year and down 3.53% over 12 months. Can Meta reach $1,500 per share by 2030, about double today’s price? I think there’s a real path.
A $145 Billion Spending Bill Is Holding Meta Back The problem is spending. Meta guided 2026 capex to $130 billion to $145 billion, and second-quarter free cash flow fell to $784 million from $8.55 billion. EPS of $6.18 missed expectations by 14.42%. That ended a six-quarter run of beats. A Forbes headline summed up the mood: AI overspending fears.
The recent rally is shaky. Shares gained 25.09% over the past month and 8.25% over the past week, then dropped 4.19% today. With a beta of 1.243, Meta tends to swing more than the market. Analysts keep cutting estimates too: 45 downward revisions to 2026 EPS in 30 days, against 4 up.
Wall Street Sees 9.7% Upside. Our Model Says 29.4% The consensus target is $790.27. That’s 9.7% upside, based on 8 Strong Buys, 47 Buys, 7 Holds and 0 Sells. Our one-year forecast projects $931.99, or 29.4% upside. Bear-case estimates go as low as $792.62 and bull-case estimates as high as $1,073.84, with model confidence high at 0.9.
I think the Street is too cautious. 89% of analysts are bullish, yet their targets just clear the 52-week high. The earnings growth factor (-0.013) shows one-time costs. Strip out legal charges and severance, and operating income would have grown 9%.
Here’s What It Takes for Meta to Reach $1,500 Getting from today’s $720.16 to $1,500 would take a gain of 108.3%. Forward EPS is $31.6803, so $1,500 works out to a forward P/E of 47x. The base case already means 23x. The bold target would need 24x more.
Earnings growth closes that gap. At the consensus growth rate of 19.16%, EPS would reach about $53.60 in three years. At that level, $1,500 is only 28x. Our 2030 bull path reaches $1,560.67 by September of that year.
These catalysts are real. Advantage Plus is running at over $75 billion in annual revenue. More than 1 million businesses use Meta’s business agents every week, and Meta has a BlackRock venture for a one gigawatt data center. Zuckerberg put it this way: “AI is accelerating our core business today, powering our next generation of products, and opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities.”
All of that data-center capacity has to be powered, cooled, and connected by somebody, which is why the suppliers behind the hyperscaler expansion keep showing up in our free report on seven AI infrastructure stocks that aren’t chipmakers.
If capex keeps growing faster than revenue, margins could stay pressured for years.
Where Meta Trades Today Versus Its Earnings Power Meta trades at 23x forward earnings with a PEG ratio of 0.985. That looks cheap for a business growing revenue at over 20%. Shares sit between a 52-week low of $519.37 and a high of $779.82.
Over 10 years, the stock has returned 464.86%. Today’s multiple leaves room for earnings growth to do most of the work.
$1,500 Is a Stretch, But Here’s Why It’s Possible Reaching $1,500 takes a 108.3% gain. I’d call it a stretch, but a reachable one. Three things need to happen. Ad growth has to stay above 20%.
Business agents and API services have to become real revenue. And capex has to start producing free cash flow again. A long ad slowdown or large legal losses from the youth-related trials could derail it.
We’ve outlined the plan for how Meta could reach $1,500 in 2030, though gains like this shouldn’t be expected every year.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
After months of poor performance, Meta Platforms (META +0.46%) is finally bouncing back. Over the past four weeks, the company's shares have climbed 27%. The S&P 500 is slightly in the red over the same period. Still, Meta's shares remain down by about 1% over the past 12 months, and there may be more upside ahead for the tech giant. Let's consider four reasons why it's not too late to invest in Meta Platforms.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
1. Muse appears to be a hitOne reason why Meta's stock has lagged broader equities in recent months is that the company has failed to convince many investors that its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is sound. True, AI-related initiatives have helped the company improve its advertising business, but it continued to spend large sums on AI infrastructure, which is partly why its earnings and free cash flow declined in the second quarter.
But that spending may be about to pay off. On Sept. 8, Meta released Muse, a personalized AI agent. Muse was an instant hit and quickly rose to the top of the list of the most downloaded iOS apps in the U.S. Muse is free to use up to a certain limit, though there is a paid tier for those who want more features. Meta could make some money from those subscriptions.
However, there is an even larger opportunity. Meta has indicated that it would make money from Muse by charging merchants a fee when the personalized AI agent helps its users make purchases. Provided Meta can attract a large number of users to Muse (it already had about 730,000 downloads after roughly five days on the app store), this could be a highly lucrative business.
And in all likelihood, Meta will continue to improve Muse over time, something its significant AI spending will enable.
2. Meta's new AI business On Sept. 28, Meta announced that it was launching Meta Enterprise Platform, a new venture through which it will sell AI tools and software to other businesses. This is, yet again, a result of Meta's significant AI investments. The company's infrastructure spending enabled it to train advanced models and to build AI agents and tools on top of them, some of which it has used internally.
Now, Meta plans to make those tools available to other businesses. And although other companies are doing the same, Meta has an advantage. The tech leader already has a vast ecosystem of users, as well as many businesses with which it has worked for years to help them reach its users.
These long-standing relationships could help Meta hit the ground running and quickly access a large clientele with its new AI business. This could help boost the company's revenue over the medium term, while diversifying away from its core advertising operations, which still account for the lion's share of its sales.
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3. Addressing its legal issuesHere's another reason Meta has lagged broader equities over the past year: The company has faced legal problems. Specifically, Meta is dealing with lawsuits alleging that its social media apps have harmed young users. And according to the lawsuits, Meta knew about these risks. However, Meta has settled many of the lawsuits brought by a bipartisan group of attorneys general from dozens of U.S. states and territories.
Meta agreed to pay up to approximately $18 billion in annual installments over a decade (with $5.3 billion of that total contingent on certain actions by YouTube and TikTok). The company will also establish stronger guardrails to protect teens on its social media apps. This isn't a catastrophic outcome for Meta Platforms. It generates well over $18 billion in profits annually.
And although there are more lawsuits against the company, resolving this major group of state claims was an important achievement.
4. The price is still right Meta has, to a large extent, addressed two of its biggest challenges. It is showing that its AI spending wasn't just for fun, and it has settled many lawsuits against it. The company's medium-term prospects appear attractive, and even after its recent run of form, the stock doesn't seem prohibitively expensive. Meta is trading at 22.1x forward earnings, versus an average of 20.9x for information technology stocks. Meta is arguably worth a premium, considering the strength of its core advertising business and the several new opportunities at its disposal. At current levels, there may still be plenty of upside left.
Key Takeaways META expands Muse to automate small-business sales, marketing, financial and administrative tasks.META's Q2 2026 ad revenues rose 27% to $59.4B as impressions gained 14% and ad prices increased 12%.Muse subscriptions could add a revenue stream as Meta expands AI agents across its business ecosystem. Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) is now offering Muse with new capabilities to help small businesses automate day-to-day work. Muse for Small Business can connect with Facebook Pages, Instagram professional accounts and Meta ad accounts, as well as third-party platforms such as Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks, Canva, Slack, Klaviyo and Zoom. Businesses can use the AI agent to analyze sales and marketing performance, create growth plans, improve ads and content, review financial performance and handle routine administrative tasks. Meta said actions such as publishing, sending or spending still require user approval. Muse is free for most functionality, while additional capabilities are available through subscription plans.
The expansion strengthens Meta’s efforts to make AI a more integral part of how small businesses operate rather than limiting AI to ad creation. The company is connecting Muse directly with a company's social accounts, advertising data, storefronts, financial systems and productivity applications. This potentially increases engagement with its business ecosystem while making Facebook and Instagram more central to merchants’ workflows. The ability of Muse to analyze campaign performance and draft new campaigns also complements Meta’s existing AI-powered advertising tools.
META is benefiting from advertising growth. In the second quarter of 2026, Family of Apps advertising revenues increased 27% year over year to $59.4 billion. Ad impressions rose 14%, and the average price per ad increased 12%, reflecting engagement growth and better advertising performance. More than 9 million small businesses were already using at least one of Meta’s generative-AI creative tools, while adoption of image-generation capabilities more than doubled sequentially. Meta’s Advantage+ end-to-end advertising solutions also reached an annual revenue run rate of more than $75 billion. The company expects Muse Image to further improve advertisers’ ability to produce high-quality, on-brand creatives at scale.
Muse for Small Business also fits Meta’s broader strategy of developing AI agents for enterprises and merchants. Meta Business Agents were already being used by more than one million businesses each week across WhatsApp and Messenger in the second quarter, with Instagram rollout underway. The company ultimately envisions these agents evolving into a "business-in-a-box" offering and expects monetization to include subscriptions, volume-based pricing and performance-linked models. The addition of subscription plans for Muse therefore offers another potential revenue stream beyond advertising.
META Faces Tough Competition in the Ad SpaceMeta is facing stiff competition from the likes of Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) in the ad domain.
Alphabet is challenging META through the growing strength of Search, YouTube and Gemini-powered advertising tools. In the second quarter of 2026, Google Search and Other advertising revenues increased 17% year over year to $63.3 billion, while YouTube advertising revenues rose 13% to $11.1 billion. Alphabet is integrating Gemini across its ads infrastructure to improve ad quality, advertiser tools and AI-powered user experiences, strengthening its ability to capture both performance and brand advertising spending. More than half of Google’s SMB customers globally are also using AI to create or optimize advertising creatives.
Amazon is challenging Meta in digital advertising by leveraging its high-intent commerce ecosystem and growing use of AI across sponsored ads. Amazon’s advertising revenues increased 26% year over year to $19.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, with Sponsored Products remaining the largest offering. The company is also inserting sponsored prompts into agentic shopping experiences such as Alexa+ and Alexa for Shopping. Shoppers clicking sponsored prompts convert 48% more often and spend 21% more on average than those who do not, underscoring Amazon’s ability to connect advertising directly with purchase activity. Amazon’s Ads Agent also automates campaign setup and targeting, helping advertisers achieve an 8% lower cost per impression and 6% lower cost per acquisition.
META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesMeta shares have returned 9.8% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 21.7%.
META Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meta stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 6.29X compared with the broader sector’s 6.15X. META has a Value Score of C.
META’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $31.39 per share, down by 0.4% over the past 30 days, suggesting 33.6% year-over-year growth.
Meta currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SkyView Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 92.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 421 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,037 shares during the quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its position in Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6% Shares of META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $620.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $614.49.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $865.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.86.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,882 shares of company stock worth $103,032,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale About Meta Platforms (Free Report)
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.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
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Talon Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 136.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,008 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the second quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,016 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,952,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 104.1% during the 2nd quarter. Junto Capital Management LP now owns 110,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,436,000 after purchasing an additional 56,537 shares during the last quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,711,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $348,000. Finally, Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6% Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $620.47 and a 200-day moving average of $614.49. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year. Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86.
View Our Latest Stock Report on META
Meta Platforms News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test
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Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 13.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,799 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,114 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.8% of Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Silicon Valley Capital Partners’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $42,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week: Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Arete Research increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. CICC Research decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.86.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Stock Performance NASDAQ META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $620.47 and a 200-day moving average of $614.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
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The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,878,365 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 139,263 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.11% of Meta Platforms worth $1,621,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Watchman Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citic Securities lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.86.
View Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 151,882 shares of company stock worth $103,032,319 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6% Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $620.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $614.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
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Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,681 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.9% of Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Watchman Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Meta Platforms Price Performance META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $620.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $614.49. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Arete Research boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
About Meta Platforms (Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test
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Scholtz & Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 21.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,805 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,214 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.3% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Scholtz & Company LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Watchman Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 151,882 shares of company stock worth $103,032,319. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week: Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Meta Platforms Price Performance NASDAQ:META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $620.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $614.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. 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%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Roth Capital cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. CICC Research lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $886.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
(Free Report)
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.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test
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Meta Platforms' (META -1.84%) stock has emerged from its slumber, but I think the best days are still ahead of it as its AI infrastructure spending begins to pay off with new revenue streams. The stock has spent much of the past year down from its summer 2025 highs, but recently climbed back to breakeven year-over-year thanks to a strong rebound since mid-August, when it traded below $550.
The stock really broke out following the debut of its Muse AI agents. Over the past couple of years, Meta has invested heavily in AI, both through significant infrastructure capital expenditures and by poaching top AI talent from other companies, promising to become a leader in what it calls "personal superintelligence." However, given how Meta spent tens of billions of dollars on its metaverse ambitions and came away with essentially nothing to show for it, investors have been skeptical about the social media company's increasing AI-related capex.
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AI agents add more revenue streams That all changed with the launch of Meta Platforms' Muse AI agent, which introduced an intriguing product that could open up multiple new revenue streams. Muse AI agents can independently perform a wide array of multistep tasks for users starting from simple initial instructions, including making appointments and reservations, planning and booking trips, shopping, writing emails, creating budgets, and even negotiating with companies to lower bills. The agents are free to use, and Meta won't share the data with its ad systems. However, the company can monetize the agents in a couple of ways.
First, its free tier has a limited number of tokens, so power users who want to do more with Muse will need to buy higher-usage subscriptions. The $20-a-month plan includes 500 million tokens per week, while the $100-per-month maximum plans include 3 billion tokens per week. The latter subscription is largely for those who plan to use AI agents constantly.
There are no other differences between the plans besides token use. Meta expects most users to remain on its free plan, but that does give it a nice start toward a recurring subscription business.
The bigger revenue opportunity for Meta is through transaction processing and affiliate fees. The company will take a small cut of the proceeds when its AI Muse agents help facilitate transactions or direct users to certain products. Another huge opportunity involves using Muse agents to automate and monetize its large Facebook Marketplace presence, which currently generates little revenue.
The early reception for the agents has been strong. According to Apptopia, the new app saw 1.8 million downloads in the U.S. and Canada within its first 12 days. SimilarWeb reported approximately 700,000 daily users just 11 days after its introduction. Evercore analyst Mark Mahaney, meanwhile, is predicting Muse will reach 100 million users over the next six to 12 months.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meta also has plans to move its agents beyond personal AI. A few weeks after its original announcement, the company introduced Muse agents for small businesses, connecting them to popular software platforms such as Salesforce's Slack, Zoom, Box, and Canva. Similar to personal agents, the commercial version of the service will have a free tier with relatively low usage limits and subscription tiers with higher ones.
Meta also announced that it is launching an enterprise platform that will bring together its AI agents, AI models, coding tools, and AI infrastructure on one platform. This is a much broader and deeper push, and the company poached MongoDB CEO Chirantan "CJ" Desai to lead the charge. This is a huge opportunity, but it also pits the company against some pretty large foes.
Time to buy the stock? Despite the recent jump in its stock price, Meta is still attractively valued, trading at 21 times analysts' 2027 earnings estimates. Meanwhile, it's been seeing strong growth in its core social media advertising business, with AI helping improve its recommendation algorithm to keep users on its platform longer and boost ad conversions.
Meta was already hitting on all cylinders with its core business, so if you add new revenue streams beyond advertising, it has the potential to become the next big AI stock in the coming years. Expect its recent rebound to continue as it demonstrates that its AI investments were worthwhile.
SummaryMeta Platforms, Inc. offers an attractive long-term risk/reward, with current CapEx-driven cash flow fears creating a compelling entry point.Meta's Muse AI agent has achieved rapid adoption, strong reviews, and early monetization traction, positioning the company as a leader in Agentic AI.Massive CapEx is building a defensible moat; few competitors can match Meta's scale, data flywheel, and distribution advantages.Valuation is compelling: even conservative scenarios suggest double-digit annual returns, with exponential upside if Muse becomes a dominant platform.The Data Driven Investor members get exclusive access to our real-world portfolio. See all our investments here » Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) stock has delivered disappointing returns over the past year as investors worry about aggressive CapEx spending from the company. Interestingly, the valuation is now quite attractive for a business of
37.53K Followers
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of META either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 300,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,987,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.8% of Darsana Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.42, for a total transaction of $709,897.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 8,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,621,706.08. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $620.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $614.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.
Meta Platforms News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.86.
Get Our Latest Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test
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IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,944 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,166 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Meta Platforms Stock Performance META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $620.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $614.49. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.
Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. President Capital raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Read More Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
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Junto Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 104.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,537 shares during the quarter. Junto Capital Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $62,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.42, for a total transaction of $709,897.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,621,706.08. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance Shares of META stock opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $620.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $614.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.
Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $865.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $787.86.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Read More Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Deutsche Bank Makes a Contrarian Call on Netflix—What Does It Mean for Investors? O’Reilly Automotive’s Stock Slump Hides a Stronger Business McDonald’s Stock Slump Makes Its AI Pricing Bet Even Riskier Broadcom’s AI Growth Story Faces a $161 Billion Anthropic Test
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OpenAI unveiled Dots, a new AI agent built to take on Meta's Muse that it says connects to more than 4,000 apps, as a New York Times report says employees' safety warnings were ignored. Yahoo Finance Host Julie Hyman, Breaking Business News Reporter Jake Conley and Senior Autos Reporter Pras Subramanian discuss how fast new AI models are arriving, whether Muse has a first-mover advantage, whether AI labs are good businesses, and why OpenAI might keep raising private money instead of going public.
Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $725.18, demonstrating a -1.84% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.25%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.86%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.24%.
The stock of social media company has risen by 27.7% in the past month, leading the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.42%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Meta Platforms in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $6.39, down 11.86% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $63.18 billion, indicating a 23.3% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $31.39 per share and a revenue of $254.04 billion, representing changes of +33.63% and +26.41%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Meta Platforms. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.82% downward. Meta Platforms is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Meta Platforms currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 23.54. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.78 for its industry.
One should further note that META currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.15. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Internet - Software industry stood at 1.15 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 86, finds itself in the top 35% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) shares up 1,781% since first institutional outlier signal in 2013.
META offers a suite of top apps, including in AI (Muse AI), that combine with its advertising platform to drive huge value for users and shareholders alike. Its second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report showed revenue of $60.8 billion (a 28% year-over-year gain), operating income of $18.8 billion (a 31% margin), net income of $15.8 billion, diluted per-share earnings of $6.18, and third-quarter guidance of up to $64 billion in revenue.
It’s no wonder META shares are up 12% so far this year – and they could rise more. MoneyFlows data shows how Big Money investors are again betting heavily on the stock.
Institutional volumes reveal plenty. In the last year, META suffered from selling pressure. But recently it’s again enjoyed strong investor demand, which we believe to be institutional support.
Each green bar signals unusually large volumes in META shares. They reflect our proprietary inflow signal, pushing the stock higher:
Big Money inflows, especially recently, pushed META shares higher by 12% so far in 2026. Source: www.moneyflows.com Plenty of technology names are under accumulation right now. But there’s a powerful fundamental story happening with Meta.
Institutional support and a healthy fundamental backdrop make this company worth investigating. As you can see, META has had strong sales and earnings growth:
Also, EPS is estimated to ramp higher this year by +9.1%.
Now it makes sense why the stock has been generating Big Money interest. META has a track record of strong financial performance.
Marrying great fundamentals with MoneyFlows software has found some big winning stocks over the long term.
Meta has been a top-rated stock at MoneyFlows. That means the stock has unusual buy pressure and growing fundamentals. We have a ranking process that showcases stocks like this on a weekly basis.
It’s garnered 101 outlier inflow signals since 2013 and is up 1,781% since its first appearance on the rare Outlier 20 report. The blue bars below show when META was a top pick in the last three years…institutions keep buying the shares:
META garnered 101 outlier inflow signals since 2013 and is up 1,781% since its first appearance on the rare Outlier 20 report. Source: www.moneyflows.com Tracking unusual volumes reveals the power of money flows.
This is a trait that most outlier stocks exhibit…the best of the best. Big Money demand drives stocks upward.
The META action isn’t new at all. Big Money buying in the shares is signaling to take notice. Given the historical gains in share price and strong fundamentals, this stock could be worth a spot in a diversified portfolio.
Disclosure: the author owns META in personal and managed accounts at the time of publication.
If you are a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) or a serious investor, take your investing to the next level. MoneyFlows created 11 Frontiers indexes to help serious investors capture AI-driven themes and learn the leading stocks in each Frontier. Get started here.
Lucas is a well-versed equity investor and educator. He currently is co-founder of research and analytics firm, MAPsignals.com, which focuses on finding outlier stocks by following the Big Money.
Meta's stock just wrapped its best month since 2022 as investors cheer the social media giant's recent momentum in artificial intelligence.
The company's shares closed at $725.18 Wednesday, representing a 27% increase from the closing price of $572.34 at the end of August. Wall Street has been optimistic about the company's business since the Sept. 8 debut of its Muse personal AI agent app, which became a major hit and topped rival OpenAI's ChatGPT in Apple iOS downloads.
The last time Meta stock had a bigger month was November 2022, the month OpenAI launched ChatGPT. Meta was rebounding at the end of a brutal year as it was kicking off its efficiency push.
Meta also held its annual Connect conference for developers in September, when CEO Mark Zuckerberg characterized Muse as a "centerpiece" for its product and business strategy while revealing new hardware products such as the Muse Charm AI pendant.
As the company eyes a potential big business in the nascent AI agent market, rivals including OpenAI, which debuted its Dots agent tools Tuesday, are doing the same. Meanwhile, this week Meta also hired MongoDB CEO CJ Desai to head its new business unit called Meta Enterprise Platform while debuting Muse for Small Business agent technologies.
"The enterprise AI solutions market, including cloud capacity, is expected to exceed $1trn by 2028, and we think Meta's consumer data and communications apps could give Meta's advantages for AI enterprise sales to consumer-focused companies," BofA Global Research analysts wrote in a Monday note. "We would expect distribution of Meta's model APIs on leading hyperscaler platforms."
September was also the fifth best month on record for Meta. The stock outperformed all of its mega-cap peers and trounced the Nasdaq, which gained almost 2% over that stretch.
Correction: A prior version of this story referenced an incorrect date for the last big quarter for Meta's stock in the key points.
WATCH: BofA warns Meta's Muse could threaten Apple.
SVB Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,720 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.0% of SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,013,948,000 after buying an additional 1,046,715 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.3% Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $618.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $613.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS 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 in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,307 shares of company stock worth $101,851,357. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts have commented on the company. Arete Research lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.86.
Read Our Latest Research Report on META
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms CarMax Just Gave Investors a Better Reason to Believe in the Turnaround CoreWeave Comes With Risks: Analysts Split on What Matters Most Bottlenecking the Future: TSMC Prices Out the Competition Fervo Energy Hits Geothermal Milestone: Will It Matter For The Stock? Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
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Steamboat Capital Partners LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,828 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,268 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.8% of Steamboat Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Watchman Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance META opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $618.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $613.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year. Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,307 shares of company stock valued at $101,851,357. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms CarMax Just Gave Investors a Better Reason to Believe in the Turnaround CoreWeave Comes With Risks: Analysts Split on What Matters Most Bottlenecking the Future: TSMC Prices Out the Competition Fervo Energy Hits Geothermal Milestone: Will It Matter For The Stock? Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Meta Platforms Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Meta Platforms and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 90.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,048 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 12,856 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 9,150 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.9% in the second quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 932 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the second quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.3% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,720,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 20,214 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,386,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,646,237.90. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 150,307 shares of company stock valued at $101,851,357. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Roth Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.3% Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $618.47 and a 200 day moving average of $613.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
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Unlike its hyperscaler peers, Meta Platforms (META -0.71%) doesn't operate its own legacy cloud computing platform. It's still investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), though, with capital expenditures forecast to be between $130 billion and $145 billion in 2026. The business certainly wants to lead the consumer AI market.
The Mark Zuckerberg-led enterprise is making a huge push into AI hardware, as its Meta Connect 2026 event revealed. The market has become more bullish about it, too, with the "Magnificent Seven" stock soaring by 25% in the past month (as of Sept. 28).
Logical investors might wonder what Meta's recent product launches mean for consumer tech leader Apple (AAPL +2.11%). Do Meta's moves pose a threat to the iPhone maker?
History suggests that Apple shareholders have nothing to worry about.
Image source: Getty Images.
Zuck wants to take a bite out of Apple's dominance At the Meta Connect 2026 event, which took place on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, Meta Platforms introduced new hardware devices, like lightweight virtual reality (VR) glasses, a new iteration of its Ray-Ban smart glasses, and audio-only smart glasses. Additionally, it announced the Muse Charm, a small, handheld, always-on AI agent device.
The goal is to enable seamless usage of its Muse AI agent, which it released on Sept. 8. During their respective first 12 days of public availability, Muse AI downloads for iOS exceeded ChatGPT downloads in the U.S. and Canada.
This isn't Meta's first notable attempt to penetrate the hardware space, as Zuckerberg has tried to create and own an entirely new computing platform to lessen its dependence on Apple and Alphabet, which own the two top smartphone operating systems. Years ago, Meta was convinced that VR and augmented reality (AR) would be the future, and it made those technologies central to its broader metaverse push. By any measure, that pivot toward the metaverse was a massive financial and strategic failure.
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Overthrowing the iPhone would be a daunting task The jury is still out on how successful Meta will be with its newly revealed hardware devices, which will be available for sale in the coming months. One thing is for certain, however: Consumer behavior, once established, is usually slow and difficult to change. This truth plays to Apple's advantage. Former CEO Tim Cook said in January that the business had more than 2.5 billion active devices in the world, and iPhones are estimated to account for more than half of them.
It's not crazy to say that the odds are stacked against Meta. To be fair, though, its "family of apps" and their 3.6 billion combined daily active users give it a strong position in the digital advertising market. Meta can monetize its AI strategy primarily via ads.
But the iPhone might remain the leading device through which people interact with AI, at least for the foreseeable future. It will be a daunting task to topple the product line from its perch. It's celebrating its 20th birthday next year, and though it's theoretically in a mature state of its lifecycle, iPhone sales were up more than 20% year over year through the first nine months of fiscal 2026.
History says that Apple investors shouldn't worry.
Meta's AI story has dramatically improved, but Wall Street's earnings estimates haven't followed the stock higher yet. Summary
Meta shares are roughly 42% above their 52-week lows following a sharp rebound.
Meta Platforms (META, Financials) is soaring as investors are increasingly positive about its potential to monetize big AI investment.
TipRanks data indicate the stock is around 42% above its 52-week lows. But Wall Street's profit projections haven't kept pace.
Consensus expectations predict 2026 earnings of $30.92 per share, down from $31.77 three months ago. The forecast for 2027 has been reduced to $34.84 from $36.32.
But the confidence is about Meta's nascent AI products.
Muse has been downloaded 2.8 million times in its first 12 days in the U.S. and Canada. TD Cowen has projected out the AI agent someday producing $27 billion in yearly revenue, but that's an analyst scenario, not Meta advice.
Meta is also getting into corporate AI with its recently announced Meta corporate Platform, which is planned to bring together Muse, Business Agents, coding tools and other products.
Meta currently trades at roughly 23.1 times forecast non-GAAP profits, or about 4.9% over its five-year average.
After the stock's fast bounce, the next test for Meta's rising AI aspirations is whether it can convert into increased profit projections.
Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.
Meta is riding a 25% monthly rally while simultaneously pouring over $130 billion into AI and watching free cash flow crater. Whether that gamble transforms the ad giant into something far more valuable depends on a few critical variables analysts…
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The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Meta (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) is $931.99 over the next 12 months. Measured against today’s intraday price of $720.16, that implies 29.4% upside. The stock gets a buy rating from our model, with high confidence.
Metric Value Current Price $720.16 Price Target from 24/7 Wall St. $931.99 Upside/Downside 29.4% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% The model set this target from Friday’s close of $751.66. The key question is whether a $130-$145B 2026 capex plan will generate returns large enough to justify margin pressure.
A 25% Monthly Rally Meets Fresh Overspending Fears Meta is up 25.09% over the past month and 9.37% year to date. Today it fell 4.19% following AI overspending concerns. The 52-week range runs from $519.37 to $779.82.
Q2 revenue of $60.80B rose 28% and beat the $60.29B consensus. EPS came in at $6.18, missing the $7.22 estimate.
Why Bulls See $1,000+ Ahead AI gains already show in the ad business. Advantage Plus runs at over $75 billion per year. AI raised ad clicks 8.3% and Facebook conversions 15.7%. More than 1 million businesses use Meta’s business agents weekly. Daily Meta AI interaction is up 60%. Management says it received computing power offers at “a significant premium over what we paid for it.”
Analysts are heavily bullish: 55 Buy or Strong Buy ratings, 7 Holds, no Sells. Consensus target is $790.27. If the bull case plays out, our model points to $1,073.84.
Margin and Cash Flow Risks Investors Cannot Ignore Operating margin fell to 31% from 43%. Free cash flow dropped to $784M from $8.55B. Reality Labs lost $4.03B in Q1. Q2 included $2.40B in legal charges and $1.18B in severance. Without those, operating income would have grown 9%. Our bear case is $792.62.
Is Meta Cheaper Than Alphabet and Pinterest? Company P/E Latest Quarter Revenue Growth Meta 27 28% Alphabet 15 24% Pinterest N/A (GAAP loss) 18% Competing for ad budgets and AI leadership, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) remains a key rival. Its P/E of 15 looks low, but a $99.03 billion equity gain inflated earnings. Free cash flow turned negative at -$5.855 billion. Meta’s operating margin of 41.4% tops Alphabet’s 32%, supporting Meta’s premium multiple.
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) is a pure social-ad comparison. Revenue grew 18.2%, while the company posted a GAAP operating loss of $55.2 million. Meta grows faster at far greater scale. Against both peers, our 24/7 Wall St. price target looks reasonable.
Meta Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $931.99 has a buy rating and 90% confidence. The scale tips toward bulls on 27% ad revenue growth funding the expansion.
Shares look compelling if ad conversion gains continue and enterprise AI generates revenue. Caution advised if free cash flow remains near zero into 2027. Fundamentals favor the bulls.
Year Price Target from 24/7 Wall St. 2026 $789.91 2027 $922.85 2028 $1,108.43 2029 $1,225.44 2030 $1,325.18 The projections rest on Meta continuing to execute its current strategy. Actual results could land well above or below these levels depending on how enterprise AI revenue develops, how the youth-related trials turn out and how capex returns hold up.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
While its stock has been largely flat over the past year, Meta Platforms (META -0.24%) has seen a strong September rally, and this could be just the start. In fact, it feels like the artificial intelligence (AI) stock is just warming up. With $1,500, investors can buy about two shares.
Meta Platforms has already proven highly capable of using AI to drive growth in its core business. It has been doing that in two main ways. First, it's using AI to consistently improve its recommendation algorithm. This is feeding users more relevant content based on their interests and keeping them on Meta's social media apps longer, allowing it to serve those users more ads.
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Second, it supplies its advertisers with AI-powered tools they can use to create better, more effective ads, while also improving ad relevancy and increasing conversions. This is allowing it to charge higher ad prices. This dynamic could be seen at work in Q2, as Meta's ad load jumped 14%, while ad prices climbed 12%.
The company also has promising opportunities with WhatsApp and Threads, which are still in the early stages of serving ads to their users. WhatsApp has more than 3 billion users, and while the vast majority of them are outside the U.S., where monetization is lower, this is still a big opportunity. Threads, meanwhile, has over 500 million monthly users and is still in the early innings of monetization.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
A huge agentic AI opportunity What has investors excited about Meta stock in September, however, is the company's launch of its personal agentic AI product, Muse. These personal AI agents can handle a variety of tasks -- writing emails, comparing insurance policies, planning and booking travel, making reservations and appointments, managing money, and helping users shop, just to name a few. The app has been a huge early success, hitting around 700,000 daily users just 11 days after its launch, according to SimilarWeb, and seeing 1.8 million downloads in the U.S. and Canada within its first 12 days, according to Apptopia.
Meta plans to monetize its Muse AI agents in two main ways. The first is with subscriptions. While it expects the vast majority of users to stay on its free plan, it will have monthly paid tiers for "power users." It will also collect small fees from any transactions that Muse facilitates.
Meta also recently revealed that it plans to go after the enterprise AI market. It hired MongoDB CEO Chirantan "CJ" Desai to lead the charge, opening up a third big opportunity for the company.
Where could Meta trade in five years? Analysts are projecting strong revenue and earnings growth from Meta over the next five years. The revenue consensus goes from an estimated $254 billion this year to over $550 billion in 2031, while earnings per share (EPS) are expected to jump from nearly $31 to over $66.50 over the same period.
Meanwhile, if Meta's Muse AI agent becomes a major driver of revenue growth, those estimates could be meaningfully low. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Deepak Mathivanan recently estimated that the personal AI agent market could become worth $250 billion, including only subscriptions and retail commissions, and that doesn't include the enterprise market, which Meta also looks ready to attack.
Given its strong late-year growth projections and opportunities, I think Meta could command a forward P/E multiple of 25 in 2031. While there is no analyst consensus yet for 2032, another 20% earnings growth would bring its 2032 EPS to around $80. That would make Meta around a $2,000 stock in five years, and turn a $1,500 investment made now into a position worth around $4,000.
If Meta fails to scale and monetize its new AI agents and can't justify its heavy AI spending, I could see the market rating it with a much lower multiple. However, I think there is a greater probability that these forecasts will prove to be too conservative. As such, I think Meta looks like a great growth stock to buy even after its September run.
Meta is refuting a journalist’s claim that its AI agent Muse read the user’s private messages without permission. Following an earlier report from Inc. columnist Jason Aten that detailed the issue, Meta VP of Communications Andy Stone pushed back, making it clear that the company does not believe its product did this without the user’s consent.
“The Messages integration in the Muse app for Mac is entirely opt-in,” Stone wrote on X in response to the claims made by the piece. “You have to enable both Full Disk Access and the Messages connector for Muse to be able to read your Messages content. It can’t read your Messages unless you do this.”
Despite Meta’s denial, many people are still suspicious that Meta isn’t being truthful.
That’s not surprising, given the tech giant’s years of mishandling consumer data, which has led to lawsuits, FTC violations, and fines. Just days ago, for instance, a New Mexico jury determined the tech giant had misled users about its data practices in a case that resulted from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal.
Whether users can trust Muse will be a deciding factor in whether or not Meta wins the consumer AI market. Although its app is faring well now, and remains No. 1 on the App Store, Meta’s reputation may not recover if more reports like this emerge, true or not. If anything, the company should be engaging with the journalist directly to determine how this could have possibly happened, instead of just denying that it did.
Stone’s official statement from Meta follows a more technical reply from Meta Superintelligence Labs executive David Singleton, who responded directly to Aten on Threads, explaining that the set of permissions a user must grant to let Muse read their messages on the Mac involves “three separate steps of application-level permissions and built-in macOS system-level protections.” He said these “can’t be circumvented even if the Muse application had a bug.”
The steps involve explicitly choosing to grant Muse Full Disk Access, which would then allow the user to choose what level of access Muse is being granted to the Messages app (i.e., None, Read only, or Read). If Full Disk Access is not enabled, these options are grayed out.
In addition, when allowing Full Disk Access, the dialog invokes the macOS Settings user interface, where the user has to again manually confirm that they intend to take this action. Doing this triggers a full restart of the Muse app, Singleton wrote, which makes it even less likely that such a choice could be made accidentally without the user’s knowledge.
However, Aten’s report claimed that when Muse read his messages, Full Disk Access was off. He also said that when he asked Muse to explain how this occurred, the AI said that it was syncing his “device notifications.” That means, Aten believes, that Muse was passing along the text of his incoming banner notifications on the Mac to the AI agent.
Singleton disputed this, too, saying that the AI was confused and gave an incorrect explanation of what happened. He then pointed to Meta’s page about Muse’s security architecture and bug bounty process.
In short, the company’s response is essentially that what Aten said happened did not and could not have happened.
This is not the only incident where Muse has allegedly overstepped and won’t likely be the last. Another user, YouTuber Matt Robb, recently said that Muse mishandled a task in which he was selling things on Facebook Marketplace, leading to his address being shared and a buyer showing up when he wasn’t even home. Singleton is apparently looking into that one, per his response on Threads, suggesting that the company believes this one, at least, could be its fault.
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Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
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Meta Platforms META shares were under pressure on Wednesday even as broader US markets moved higher, as investors weighed the potential threat from OpenAI’s newly launched Dots AI agent to the social media giant’s fast-growing Muse platform.
The stock started the session down by almost 2%, but picked up later in the day, and was down 0.2% in afternoon trading.
The stock has gained more than 28% over the past month, helped by enthusiasm around Muse, which has emerged as a key part of Meta’s consumer artificial intelligence strategy.
But the launch of Dots has prompted investors to reassess whether Meta can maintain its early lead in the increasingly competitive AI agent market.
At the same time, StoneX analyst Mark Zgutowicz warned that Meta's muse could actually intensify concerns over the company's enormous AI infrastructure spending rather than alleviate them, adding to investors' worries.
OpenAI is rolling out Dots as an “always-on” AI agent app designed to compete with Meta’s Muse.
While Meta shares initially rallied on Tuesday afternoon following OpenAI’s presentation, the stock reversed course in Wednesday trading.
Investors had already anticipated greater competition for Muse after its viral launch earlier this month helped propel Meta shares more than 30% higher.
However, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney said Dots currently has a more limited distribution model than Muse.
“Importantly, unlike Meta's Muse, Dots is not launching as a broadly available consumer product, as access is initially concentrated in premium professional and business plans,” Mahaney told clients late Tuesday.
“For now, we see Meta with Muse as the clear leader in the personal AI agent space.”
Dots is initially available to users of OpenAI’s $100-a-month Pro plan and Business Premium plans, alongside more expensive custom tiers such as Enterprise. OpenAI has said it intends to “expand to more users soon.”
By comparison, Muse offers users free access to its core capabilities, with paid plans available for heavier usage.
The app provides more than 100 million weekly AI tokens, while power users can increase their allocation through $20- and $100-a-month subscription options.
Mahaney said the difference in access could play an important role in determining how quickly the two products gain users.
“We think that accessibility and massive distribution will continue to give Meta an early advantage in consumer adoption, while OpenAI's existing relationships with businesses and professional users could help Dots gain traction in more complex and economically valuable work,” he added.
Meta is also expanding Muse beyond individual consumers.
The company unveiled Muse for Small Business on Tuesday, allowing its AI agent to connect with software from Asana, Zoom, Intuit, Box, Canva and Salesforce’s Slack.
The tool can also connect with Meta advertising accounts and professional Instagram and Facebook profiles.
Pricing remains aligned with the existing Muse offering, which is free within usage limits and available through subscriptions for higher usage.
AI spending remains a concernDespite the enthusiasm around Muse, StoneX analyst Mark Zgutowicz warned that the product could intensify concerns over Meta’s enormous AI infrastructure spending rather than alleviate them.
Zgutowicz, who has a Hold rating on Meta, said Muse’s infrastructure requirements could put further pressure on the company’s returns.
“We…see Muse’s materially higher infrastructure-intensity adding to, not relieving pressure from, Meta’s existing ROIC debate,” he said.
Meta expects to roughly double capital expenditures to about $140 billion this year as it invests heavily to compete with other Big Tech companies in AI.
The scale of the spending has raised questions among investors over whether the investments will generate sufficient returns.
The launch of Muse has nevertheless prompted a wave of bullish analyst actions.
JPMorgan analysts led by Doug Anmuth raised their Meta price target to $920 from $820 earlier this month, saying Muse could become “the most widely used consumer AI application since ChatGPT.”
Citizens raised its target to $885 from $770, while KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson lifted his target to $900 from $780.
Cantor Fitzgerald also raised its target to $860 from $680.
The series of target increases has strengthened investor expectations that Meta’s AI investments could eventually create new monetization opportunities, although the emergence of Dots highlights the competitive pressure facing the company as it expands further into AI.
Meta is spending more than a hundred billion dollars on AI while free cash flow has cratered and earnings missed expectations, yet a five-year price model still sees your stake growing substantially. The question is which scenario plays out.
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Say you put $1,000 into Meta (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) and hold it until 2030. Our price model starts from a share price of $751.66. On Monday the stock traded near $719.83, down 4.24% for the session, as fears about AI overspending hit the shares.
That selloff came after a 25.03% gain over the past month. Meta deserves a forward look because it is growing ad revenue at nearly 30% a year while also funding one of the largest AI infrastructure buildouts in the market.
What $1,000 in Meta Could Become Under the model’s main scenario, a $1,000 investment could be worth about $1,892.30 at the five-year horizon. That works out to 89.23% overall, or 13.61% a year. The per-share target behind it is $1,422.37.
The model produces one-year and five-year targets, so every concrete figure here is linked to the five-year horizon. That horizon ends about nine months after 2030 closes. For a year-end 2030 estimate, the forecast path places shares at $1,343.67, which would make the $1,000 stake worth roughly $1,787.60. Treat that 2030 figure as illustrative.
Bull, Base and Bear Scenarios for Your Stake Scenario Five-Year Target Price Total Return Value of $1,000 Illustrative Year-End 2030 Price Bull $1,731.49 130.36% $2,303.60 $1,585.73 Base $1,422.37 89.23% $1,892.30 $1,343.67 Bear $945.91 25.84% $1,258.40 $906.12 Over one year, the model’s base target is $931.99, an upside of 23.99%. The bull and bear one-year targets are $1,073.84 and $792.62. Model confidence is 0.9, rated high.
Wall Street is more cautious. The analyst consensus target is $790.27, with 8 strong buy, 47 buy and 7 hold ratings and no sells. It is a projection, not investment advice.
Three Drivers That Could Lift Meta Toward Its Target An Ad Engine Getting Sharper With AI Second-quarter ad revenue reached $59.36 billion, up 27%. Both volume and pricing increased: impressions rose 14% and average price per ad rose 12%. Meta’s apps reach 3.60 billion daily active people, and its Advantage+ tools passed a $75 billion annual revenue run rate.
Earnings Growth at a Reasonable Multiple Analysts expect full-year EPS of $31.2122 this year and $34.0198 next year. The model uses a forward P/E of about 24x, compared with a trailing P/E of about 27. Management guided third-quarter revenue to $61 billion to $64 billion and expects full-year operating income to exceed 2025 levels.
New Revenue Lines Taking Shape More than 1 million businesses use Meta business agents each week. Meta has also received “a large number of offers” for its compute at a premium. The chief executive said AI is “opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities.” AI glasses are a third growth line: they raised Reality Labs revenue 16%.
Risks That Could Shrink Your Ending Value Heavy spending is the main risk. Meta expects capex of $130 billion to $145 billion this year (all of that expansion has to be powered, cooled and networked by someone, and we pulled together seven suppliers on the receiving end in a free AI infrastructure report).
Second-quarter free cash flow fell to $784 million from $8.55 billion a year earlier, and long-term debt reached $83.66 billion. Operating margin contracted to 31% from 43%.
Earnings momentum has also slowed. Second-quarter EPS of $6.18 missed expectations of $7.2214. Over the past 30 days, analysts made 45 downward revisions to full-year EPS estimates and only 4 upward ones.
Legal and regulatory costs add more uncertainty. The quarter included $2.40 billion in legal charges, and youth-related U.S. trials may result in material losses. Meta also faces EU pressure on Less Personalized Ads, and Reality Labs posted a $4.03 billion operating loss in the first quarter. With a beta of 1.24, the stock tends to move more than the market.
What to Watch Before Committing Your $1,000 Across the scenarios, a $1,000 stake in Meta ranges about $1,258.40 at the low end and $2,303.60 at the high end at the five-year horizon, with the base case at $1,892.30.
The 2030 estimate figures are illustrative. Watch the third-quarter earnings report, free cash flow trends and capex discipline. These are scenarios, not guarantees.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Following Meta's blockbuster release of its Muse AI agent earlier this month, OpenAI jumped into the personal agent market on Tuesday with Dots, setting the stage for what could be the next big battle in the artificial intelligence market.
At its annual DevDay developer conference, OpenAI described Dots as "always-on" agents designed to help users complete a range of tasks. Since the release of Muse three weeks ago, investors have rallied around Meta, sending the stock up 29% in September, on pace for its best month since 2013.
That level of enthusiasm underscores the power of personal agents and the promise that consumers and office workers will be able to use the technology to book travel, pay bills, respond to emails and perform many more tasks. But OpenAI's entry, arriving soon after the launch of Muse, serves as a reminder that the AI market includes a handful of large companies all converging around the same types of products with little ability to lock in users.
Google calls its Gemini Spark offering "your 24/7 personal AI agent" for help, and Apple is trying to step up its position in the AI battle with its redesigned Siri AI, which it describes as "a profoundly more capable and personal assistant."
"I think what we are watching is an inevitable evolution of the technology," said John Waldmann, CEO of HR tech startup Homebase and a user of various AI agent-related tools. "It's probably no surprise that it's all happening around the same time."
watch now
It's not just the big companies that see the opportunity.
AI assistant startup Instinct announced Monday that it raised $1 billion from venture firms including Sequoia at a $10 billion valuation. And another startup, Town, is reportedly looking at a $1 billion valuation.
Town CEO Jean-Denis Grèze told CNBC in a statement that OpenAI's debut of Dots, "continues to validate the category and the need for work assistants."
"It's been our focus at Town from the very beginning," Grèze said, adding that he welcomes the competition.
On Tuesday, all eyes were on OpenAI, as investors and AI enthusiasts anticipated what the ChatGPT creator would unveil in the wake of last week's Meta Connect developer conference. There, Meta announced forthcoming AI devices, including a pendant, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Muse the "centerpiece" of the company's AI strategy.
Taking the stage in San Francisco for DevDay, Altman called Dots "remarkably capable" and "built to handle really anything you can think of." Although developers could already use OpenAI's existing tools to manage scores of AI agents for various office tasks, Dots promises to be an easier way for workers to use powerful digital assistants to help with tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
More uplifting than AI safetyThe rush of new agents hitting the market offers a more uplifting story for AI companies at a time when the leading labs are facing intensifying scrutiny due to emerging concerns that the most advanced models are at risk of spinning out of human control.
On Tuesday, as Altman was attending DevDay, his second-in-command, Greg Brockman, was in Washington for a lunch that President Donald Trump was hosting for top technology leaders. The topic was AI safety, and the event came more than two weeks after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sent shock waves across the industry, writing an essay urging AI companies to slow the pace of frontier model development.
Nick Deveau, CEO of AI sales startup GrottoAI, is a fan of AI agent tools like Instinct and sees the vision as companies start building them for a wider audience.
"The interesting thing about all of these, which I think has become apparent really quickly and is evidenced by some of the valuations, is that people see this as the first successful proof point of true agentic work hitting consumers," Deveau said.
There's still the question of whether consumers will pay. Meta's Muse is free with a usage limit and can be purchased starting at $20 a month after that. OpenAI's Dots is only available starting at the $100 per month Pro plan and higher.
And even with Muse racking up millions of downloads across app stores, that doesn't mean people are actively using it or other AI agents, Waldmann said.
"People will try it, but is it really adding value?" Waldmann said. "Is it part of a daily habit?"
Thomas Randall, a research director at the Info-Tech Research Group, said in an email that "the race is on," as AI companies search to figure out how consumers want to use agents and what will keep them coming back.
"Once leading systems are broadly capable, the winner will likely be determined by which agent is the easiest to adopt, the most connected, and the hardest to leave," Randall said. "We'll see who's distribution will gather steam first."
Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), made a hefty Meta stock sale worth approximately $21.36 million.
Executed on September 24, 2026, according to the latest Form 4 filings, the transactions involved Class A Common Stock sold through entities affiliated with Zuckerberg, at roughly $775-$779 per share.
First, CZI Holdings, for which Zuckerberg serves as trustee, sold a total of 17,140 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on January 31, 2026, at prices ranging from $775 to $779.8 per share. The sales had an aggregate value of approximately $13.33 million.
Separately, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, over which Zuckerberg is deemed to have sole voting and investment power, sold 10,334 shares, conducted as part of the same trading plan. With shares sold at prices ranging from $775 to $779.8 per share, the sale was worth approximately $8.03 million.
Zuckerberg’s META stock sales. Source: SEC.gov The recent move was Zuckerberg’s first disclosed Meta sale in over a year. The last time he made a move was in August 2025, when he sold roughly $98 million worth of the stock in a couple of weeks.
However, CZI Holdings also acquired 17,140 shares of Meta Class A Common Stock at a price of $0 per share immediately after the September 24 sale. The acquisition resulted from the conversion of an equivalent number of Class B Common Stock shares.
Furthermore, Zuckerberg also owns a substantial number of Meta Class B Common Stock shares indirectly, through various entities and arrangements, including the Mark Zuckerberg Trust dated July 7, 2006, and Chan Zuckerberg Holdings. These shares are convertible into Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis.
For much of the year, Meta Platforms (META -1.27%) struggled to gain traction. As investors began to question hyperscalers' massive capital expenditures on artificial intelligence infrastructure and the returns they would reap, Meta's stock sold off because the company failed to show evidence of strong returns from the high capex.
Then the company announced a landmark settlement with most U.S. states in a lawsuit alleging the platform's features addicted teens and children, leading to mental health issues. While the $18 billion fine over the next five years is not considered a big deal, Meta agreed to make significant changes to its platforms for people under 18 to curb their usage.
While these factors pressured the stock earlier this year, Meta has rocketed nearly 32% higher over the past month (as of Sept. 27). Here's how Meta flipped the script.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Your own personal muse As I mentioned above, investors this year have been much more skeptical of the hyperscalers' plans to spend hundreds of billions on AI capex, especially as it has begun to turn several hyperscalers' free cash flow negative.
In its second quarter, Meta guided for full-year capex of $130 billion to $145 billion. The stock sank, however, after the company's earnings per share came in below Wall Street estimates and Meta provided weak third-quarter revenue guidance.
So what changed?
Meta rolled out its personal AI agent, Muse, which can complete a variety of tasks for a user, including making online purchases, setting up reservations and travel plans, managing goals, managing personal subscriptions, and even making personalized recommendations and decisions based on a person's data.
Recently, Muse became the top free app in Apple's U.S. App Store. Ben Thompson, who launched the popular tech and business website Stratechery, called Muse, "by a significant margin, the best and most approachable personal agent product I have tried."
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"Meta continues to move toward superintelligence with Muse off to a strong start, quickly iterating, improving, and expanding, with the potential to bring an extremely capable personal agent to billions of users," JPMorgan Chase analyst Doug Anmuth wrote in a recent research note. "While it is still early, we believe that Muse has the potential to become the most widely used consumer AI application since ChatGPT."
Anmuth reiterated his overweight rating on the stock and raised his price target from $820 per share to $920, implying about 22% upside from current levels. Like other large language models (LLMs), Muse can be used for free but also offers monthly subscriptions with higher usage limits, including $20/month and $100/month options, showing a clear path toward monetization.
Meta is now in the game, but things can change quickly Agentic AI, automated systems that can complete tasks with very little human intervention, has become the hottest area of AI, and Muse appears to have taken the lead with one of its LLMs/agents that is standing out in an already-crowded market.
So it's in the game, which is an impressive feat in itself. But investors should remember that the LLM space can change quickly. Anthropic and OpenAI regularly seem to trade places among the top of the more general LLM space.
Meta Muse is likely to face competition, but its ability to rise so quickly since launch is a strong predictor of its potential and eerily reminiscent of ChatGPT's dramatic rise. Additionally, the fact that Muse is from a proven, longtime, large tech player may also carry some weight in terms of credibility.
The situation shows that regardless of how much a company is investing in AI, or even if its free cash flow is trending in the wrong direction, the product is king in the AI boom. If a company can build an AI agent that strongly resonates with consumers, investors will buy into that thesis.
Meta's nearly 32% rise over the past month is evidence of that.
Snap is surging while its biggest rival in digital advertising slides, and the split reveals a battle investors in social media stocks cannot ignore right now.
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Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP | SNAP Price Prediction) stock is jumping 6% to $5.66 Wednesday as investors weigh improving operating momentum against significant legal and regulatory pressure. The move puts Snap well ahead of the broader market, with social-media peers also showing mixed action.
Snap’s latest results have given investors reasons to focus on improving fundamentals, including 19% revenue growth in the second quarter and stronger cash generation. At the same time, regulatory scrutiny surrounding teen safety and potential product restrictions remains an important risk for Snap’s engagement, costs and longer-term growth.
Snap’s Fundamentals Improve Snap’s second-quarter performance showed momentum across several parts of the business, with revenue increasing 19% from a year earlier. The company is also expanding beyond its traditional advertising business through artificial-intelligence glasses and a broader push into business-to-business advertising.
The focus on AI glasses gives Snap another potential growth avenue as the company looks to build products beyond its core social-media platform. Snap’s B2B advertising efforts could also help diversify revenue, although the company continues to operate in a competitive digital advertising market.
Legal and regulatory pressure remains the biggest counterweight to the improving operating picture. The company faces scrutiny involving teen safety, while potential product restrictions could affect user engagement and increase compliance-related costs.
Reddit Stock Rises on Its Own Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) stock is also moving higher, gaining 4% to $151.24. The move gives Reddit a stronger session than the broader market and puts another major social-media platform in positive territory alongside Snap.
Reddit’s business differs from Snap’s because its platform is built around communities and user-generated discussions rather than private messaging and visual communication. Even so, both companies are competing for digital advertising dollars, making their respective revenue growth and engagement trends relevant to investors following the social-media industry.
The contrasting business models also mean that company-specific developments can drive substantial differences in daily stock performance. For Snap, the immediate debate centers on whether improving fundamentals and new products can outweigh regulatory concerns, while Reddit stock is responding to its own growth expectations.
Meta Platforms Trails the Group Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) stock is moving in the opposite direction, slipping 1% to $729.55. The decline stands out because Meta Platforms remains one of the largest companies in the social-media industry and operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The gap between Meta Platforms and Snap is particularly notable because both companies depend heavily on digital advertising. Meta Platforms has greater scale and a broader collection of platforms, while Snap is attempting to strengthen its business through newer products and advertising initiatives.
The Global X Social Media ETF (NASDAQ:SOCL) provides another useful benchmark for the group. SOCL is up 1% at $43.90, showing that the broader basket of social-media companies is gaining even as Meta Platforms stock declines.
SPY Shows Broader Market Strength The broader market is also moving higher, although not as strongly as Snap or Reddit. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE ARCA:SPY) is up 0.52% at $768.15, giving investors a reference point for Wednesday’s overall market conditions.
Comparing the individual stocks with SOCL and SPY highlights how company-specific factors are influencing the session. Snap’s 6% gain is substantially larger than both ETF moves, while Reddit’s 4% advance also exceeds the broader benchmarks and Meta Platforms’ 1% decline moves against them.
Snap Stock: The Takeaway For Snap investors, the key question is whether stronger revenue growth, cash generation and new opportunities such as AI glasses can continue to offset regulatory and legal challenges. Snap stock‘s sharp move shows that investors are paying close attention to the improving fundamentals, but the ongoing teen-safety scrutiny means the regulatory risks remain an important part of the investment picture.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
World (WLD) token staged an impressive rebound in September, climbing to its highest levels in over three months.
WLD Left Blue-Chip Coins in the DustThe cryptocurrency soared 35% over the last month, with most of that advance packed into the final week. WLD traded as high as $0.58 this weekend, a price point not seen since late June.
WLD, currently valued at nearly $2 billion, overshadowed large-cap heavyweights, such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), in weekly and monthly returns.
World Ecosystem EruptsWorld is an identity verification project that captures people’s irises to confirm their humanness and build a digital ID. Historically, eligible users could receive WLD tokens through World’s airdrop program; new airdrop cycles stopped being created or renewed in June 2026.
Read Next
Tools For Humanity, a tech company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is the primary developer of the project.
World token is gaining attention amid the rapid growth of AI agents, reflected in strong ongoing demand for Meta Platforms Inc.’s (NASDAQ:META) Muse. Because of World’s proof-of-humanity approach, the token is seen as a beneficiary.
The cryptocurrency market’s broader rally in September also aided WLD’s recovery. The coin is down nearly 60% over the last year.
Price Action: As of this writing, WLD is up 1.67% in the last 24 hours to $0.5102, according to Benzinga Pro.
Shares of Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ORBS), the world’s largest publicly disclosed institutional holder of WLD, are up nearly 47% over the past month. The stock traded up 0.85% at $1.19 during Wednesday’s pre-market trading.
Read Next
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,739 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,630 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.2% of Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. William John Sempolinski acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,333,000 after purchasing an additional 45,130 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have commented on META. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 target price (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
Meta Platforms Price Performance META stock opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $618.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $613.86.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.
Insider Buying and Selling In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,646,237.90. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,307 shares of company stock valued at $101,851,357. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)
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.
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NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,214 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Watchman Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total transaction of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,646,237.90. This trade represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 150,307 shares of company stock worth $101,851,357 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance META stock opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $618.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.91%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $787.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
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.
See Also Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms CarMax Just Gave Investors a Better Reason to Believe in the Turnaround CoreWeave Comes With Risks: Analysts Split on What Matters Most Bottlenecking the Future: TSMC Prices Out the Competition Fervo Energy Hits Geothermal Milestone: Will It Matter For The Stock?
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NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 422,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,070 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.7% of NewEdge Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $237,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Roth Capital lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86. View Our Latest Stock Report on META
Insider Buying and Selling In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 150,307 shares of company stock worth $101,851,357. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.3% Meta Platforms stock opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $618.47 and its 200 day moving average is $613.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.
About Meta Platforms (Free Report)
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.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms CarMax Just Gave Investors a Better Reason to Believe in the Turnaround CoreWeave Comes With Risks: Analysts Split on What Matters Most Bottlenecking the Future: TSMC Prices Out the Competition Fervo Energy Hits Geothermal Milestone: Will It Matter For The Stock?
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