Meta stock price target raised to $900 from $880 at Truist Securities

Investing.com - Truist Securities raised its price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) to $900 from $880 while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. Meta, currently trading at $734 with a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, has demonstrated impressive financial strength with an industry-leading gross profit margin of 82%.

The firm cited expectations for Meta’s earnings to be in line with or slightly ahead of their estimated 22% year-over-year revenue growth, which represents the high end of the company’s guidance range. According to InvestingPro data, Meta has maintained strong momentum with revenue reaching $178.8 billion in the last twelve months.

Truist Securities attributed the potential strong performance to robust user engagement and improving monetization resulting from better ranking and recommendation systems.

For the fourth quarter, the firm anticipates management will provide revenue guidance in the range of $55-58 billion, representing approximately 18% growth, which would bracket the current consensus estimate despite tough year-over-year comparisons.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, Truist Securities adjusted its revenue estimates to reflect better traction with wearables and expects Meta to maintain sustained capital expenditure levels of approximately $100 billion and operating expenses between $142-146 billion to fuel AI investments.

In other recent news, Meta Platforms has announced a joint venture with Blue Owl Capital to develop the Hyperion data center campus in Louisiana, valued at approximately $27 billion. Meta will hold a 20% stake, while Blue Owl will own 80%. Additionally, BofA Securities has maintained its Buy rating for Meta, setting a price target of $900, with expectations for third-quarter revenue to reach $50.0 billion and earnings per share of $7.30. These figures are above consensus estimates of $49.5 billion in revenue and $6.69 earnings per share.

Meta has also faced charges from the European Union regarding its handling of illegal content on Facebook and Instagram. The EU alleges that Meta lacks adequate systems for users to flag illegal content and appeal content-moderation decisions. In another development, Meta is planning to cut around 600 positions from its Superintelligence Labs AI unit, impacting several teams within the company. Despite these cuts, Meta continues its hiring efforts in other areas.

Furthermore, Meta is introducing new parental controls to manage teenagers’ interactions with artificial intelligence on its platforms, allowing parents to limit or block specific AI characters.

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