Meta Platforms

Citi is more bullish than the rest of Wall Street about Meta Platforms. It all comes down to ads. Analyst Ronald Josey is upping his estimates for Meta’s third-quarter earnings based on new internal Citi data for Reels, the company’s short-video service. The company is expected to report results on Oct. 23. Josey predicts Meta will deliver $5.48 per share in earnings on $40.7 billion in sales. Both numbers indicate year over year growth will be a percentage point higher than his earlier estimates. The consensus is $5.19 per share in earnings on $40.1 billion in sales, FactSet data show. The new data show that the number of ad loads — the percentage of ads encountered while watching Reels — has reached 22.2% to date in the third quarter, up 70 basis points from the previous quarter. More than 75% of Meta’s advertisers use Reels, Josey said. “Given our view […]

By Angela Palumbo Meta Platforms stock has soared this year on confidence in the company’s generative artificial intelligence initiatives. But management’s plans to spend heavily on AI are a reason to sell the stock, according to BNP Paribas. Analyst Stefan Slowinksi initiated coverage of Meta with an Underperform rating and a target of $360 for the price. That implies a decline of 18% from Wednesday’s closing price of $439.19. Slowinksi cited the high cost of investing aggressively in generative AI, plus the fact that he believes “Meta has no new revenue streams to replenish its resources, which will also continue to be drained by its Metaverse adventures.” Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Only three Wall Street analysts, including Slowinski, rate Facebook’s parent company at Sell, or the equivalent. Of the 67 analysts tracked by FactSet, 57 say the stock is a Buy, while seven say it

European Commission reportedly plans to investigate Meta Platforms Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) Facebook and Instagram over concerns regarding Russia disinformation, with suspicions of inadequate moderation. Regulators are alarmed by Meta’s purportedly insufficient efforts to combat political advertising disinformation, risking electoral integrity, according to a report from Financial Times. Also See: How Apple’s Arch Rivals Meta And Google Are Revamping Their Plans To Take On The Might Of iPhone And Vision Pro EU officials express unease over Meta’s handling of Russian interference in upcoming European elections, underlining broader concerns about misinformation spread by foreign entities. Moreover, the accessibility of Meta’s content flagging system under the EU’s Digital Services Act raises apprehensions, with fears that it might not meet regulatory standards. The investigation, spurred by Meta’s report on disinformation handling and the EU’s assessment, will scrutinize whether Facebook and Instagram comply with the law in placing political content. The probe also delves into Meta’s discontinuation of

Meta Platforms’ (META) accelerated artificial intelligence investments are expected to drive more durable engagement and revenue growth, Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients Thursday. The company said late Wednesday that it expects full-year 2024 capital expenditures to be in the range of $35 billion to $40 billion, compared with $30 billion to $37 billion previously, as it continues to accelerate its AI infrastructure investments. “We agree with higher investment to come as Meta continues to accelerate AI infrastructure investments for more durable engagement and revenue growth,” Morgan Stanley said. The $39 billion top end of Meta’s Q2 revenue guidance was 1% ahead of Morgan Stanley’s expectations and the company’s Q1 revenue of $36.5 billion was also roughly in line with the firm’s forecast, according to the note. Morgan Stanley maintained its overweight rating and $550 price target on Meta. Meta’s shares were down 11.7% in recent trading Thursday.

Meta Platforms (META) will likely deliver a modest upside against consensus estimates when it reports its Q1 results on April 24, BofA Securities said in a note Friday. BofA expects Q1 EPS of $4.48 on revenue of $36.4 billion, compared with Street estimates of $4.33 on $36.2 billion revenue. It also forecasts ad revenue rising 26% to $35.5 billion from a year ago, above estimates at $35.4 billion. BofA analyst Justin Post also pointed to “some sentiment risk” on a year on year deceleration in the company’s Q2 revenue outlook because Q1 had benefits from favorable January comps, the Leap Year, Easter and forex effects. “We remain positive on Meta and reiterate our thesis that Reels, Messaging, and AI driven ad improvements are still early, and could lead to positive product surprises & revenue momentum in 2024,” Post said. “Moreover, with a large capex budget, internal AI supercomputer, inhouse LLM

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintains Meta Platforms with a Buy and raises the price target from $500 to $555.

By Angela Palumbo Meta Platforms stock has more room to grow because users remain engaged with its social-media platforms even as the amount of advertising there increases, Citi says. Analyst Ronald Josey increased his price target on Meta to $590 from $525 on Monday. That implies a 15% increase from the stock’s closing price on Friday. Josey also reiterated his Buy rating on the company, Facebook’s parent, and said the stock remains his top pick. “With Meta’s newer ad innovations (Adv.+ Creative, Reminder Ads, longer form Reels, etc.), a new AI video architecture, and greater overall advertiser adoption, we believe advertiser demand for Reels (and Meta) continues to improve,” Josey wrote in a research note. In 2023, Meta unveiled additions to its Ads Manager software suite that are intended to make it easier for advertisers to produce their content. Josey said that increased advertising on Meta’s social-media platforms hasn’t made

Piper Sandler analyst Thomas Champion maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Overweight and raises the price target from $525 to $600.

Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Overweight and raises the price target from $536 to $609.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 02/05/2024 8.44% Goldman Sachs $414 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 16.03% JP Morgan $420 → $535 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 13.86% Truist Securities $405 → $525 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 14.3% Stifel $405 → $527 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 14.95% UBS $425 → $530 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 13.86% Oppenheimer $385 → $525 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 8.44% JMP Securities $410 → $500 Maintains Market Outperform 02/02/2024 22.54% RBC Capital $400 → $565 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 8.44% Roth MKM $365 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 8.44% Goldman Sachs $414 → $500 Maintains Buy 02/02/2024 24.71% Keybanc $465 → $575 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024 19.28% Raymond James $450 → $550 Maintains Strong Buy 02/02/2024 12.78% Wedbush $420 → $520 Maintains Outperform 02/02/2024 19.28% Susquehanna $400 → $550 Maintains Positive 02/02/2024 19.28% Barclays $400 → $550 Maintains Overweight 02/02/2024

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan maintains Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with a Buy and raises the price target from $414 to $500.

Dividend-loving investors around the globe probably woke up on Friday with a little extra spring in their step. Meta Platforms did it. The company announced, on Thursday, its first-ever quarterly dividend. The company will pay a 50-cent dividend, on Mar. 26 to shareholders of record on Feb. 22. Big tech investors might be confused though. They aren’t used to getting quarterly payouts from the likes of Meta. They shouldn’t worry though and should like what payments mean for Meta stock down the road. Meta’s annualized $2 payout gives its stock a dividend yield of 0.4% based on an early Friday price of some $472 a share. Meta stock was up almost 20% in early trading following better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. The average yield for a dividend-paying stock in the S&P 500 is about 2%. Meta’s payout is lower than