Rothschild Redb Upgrades Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) to “Strong-Buy”

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) was upgraded by investment analysts at Rothschild Redb from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

META has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $740.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $754.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1%

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

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

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,277,237 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after acquiring an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $23,155,393,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Signs of stronger monetization and AI tailwinds — analysts expect Q4 ad revenue to surge on AI-driven tools and higher engagement, boosting revenue outlook ahead of earnings. Will Higher Ad Revenues Aid Meta Platforms Stock in Q4 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Big infrastructure commitment supports AI growth — Meta agreed to pay Corning up to $6 billion for fiber‑optic cables to expand U.S. AI data centers, signaling deep investment in capacity that underpins future ad and AI services. Meta signs deal to pay Corning up to $6 billion for fiber-optic cables, CNBC reports
• Positive Sentiment: New revenue stream potential — Meta is testing paid premium tiers for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that bundle exclusive AI features and controls, which could diversify revenue beyond ads if adoption scales. Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings event risk/reward — Meta reports Q4 after the close Wednesday; traders expect a sizable move, making near-term volatility likely even if results are strong. Here’s How Much Traders Expect Meta Stock To Move After Wednesday’s Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — Meta is a focal point of the “Magnificent 7” earnings week; macro/Fed headlines and AI‑spend scrutiny could amplify stock moves independent of company fundamentals. Tech’s massive AI spend is under scrutiny ahead of earnings. Here’s what to watch
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal overhang — Meta and YouTube head to a high‑profile youth‑addiction trial this week (TikTok and Snap settled), creating reputational and potential financial risk depending on jury outcome and damages. TikTok joins Snap to settle social media addiction lawsuit, as Meta and YouTube head to trial
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy risks — Global moves to restrict children’s social‑media use (e.g., Egypt and other countries debating limits) add policy risk that could affect user engagement and compliance costs. Egypt to adopt restrictions on children’s social media use to fight ‘digital chaos’
• Negative Sentiment: Expense/capex scrutiny — Investors will focus on 2026 expense guidance and Reality Labs losses; aggressive AI and infra spending could pressure margins and drive near‑term stock volatility. Meta Platforms’ 2026 expense guidance in focus ahead of Q4 earnings

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.