Meta Platforms Analysts Opinions

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$575, Buy: Analyst James Lee of Mizuho said their analysis established that Meta’s product drivers are more than enough to offset any slowdown from Chinese-based advertisers. He added that even if Meta increases capital spending from the current 35% to 70%, its margins are likely to remain unchanged.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4112245-meta-platforms-in-focus-miuzho-maintains-as-top-pick

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Strong buy, $525->$550: Raymond James sees strong potential in Meta’s GenAI projects. Analyst Josh Beck estimates that monetization of the AI products could boost Meta’s revenue by $40 billion.

“The optionality to pursue multiple GenAI models simultaneously while facing minimal core social business risk supports our Strong-Buy rating and top pick preference for Meta,” He said.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4113190-meta-platforms-rises-as-raymond-james-ups-target-on-gen-ai-ambitions

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Overweight, $475->$540: Keybanc expects Meta’s Q2 revenue to approach the high end guidance given that it has seen meaningful uptick in ad prices since the start of the quarter.

Meta gains as KeyBanc boosts target amid ‘meaningful uptick’ in ad prices

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• Underperform: Needham said Large Language Models (LLMs) are already influencing around 20% of Meta’s content generation and monetization, citing conversations with former Meta employees. The analysts pointed out that though Meta’s user growth is declining, user engagement remains strong at 35-50 minutes/day. They are also concerned that Chinese advertisers led by Temu could decrease their spend as US-China relations worsen. They also think that 2024 expenses and CapEx estimates could significantly exceed consensus estimates.
• Strong buy, $550->$660: Raymond James lowered their 2025 EPS estimates by 3% to $24.26 to reflect higher infrastructure costs. However, they are bullish on Meta’s GenAI and think that its around $40 billion monetization opportunity is underappreciated.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4121124-metas-content-monetization-see-20-influence-from-gen-ai-needham-raymond-ups-price-target?source=section%3Asummary|section_asset%3Anews_news|first_level_url%3Asymbol|button%3ATitle|lock_status%3ANo|line%3A5

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Overweight, $593->$625: Wells Fargo said checks indicate robust ads performance in Q2.

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Buy, $530->$600: TD Cowen said they raised they revenue estimates due to positive engagement trends in Cowen’s Q2 survey data and a solid Q2 ad check.

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Buy; $580->$645: Citi believes that Meta’s competitive advantage is now “deeper and wider” given improvements in engagement, investments in AI and multiple newer offerings.

Meta Platforms price target raised by $65 at Citi, here's why META

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Here are the analysts opinions and ratings following Meta’s Connect 2024;

• Buy, $643->$811: Analyst Barton Crockett said Meta’s Connect 2024 highlighted that Meta is continuously advancing its AI capabilities.

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• Outperform, $600: Wedbush praised Meta’s progress on AI products.

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• Buy, $600: Jefferies said the Connect 2024 event left them more bullish on Meta’s consumer and AI opportunities, pointed to Meta AI’s impressive traction.

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• Buy, $645: Citi said they are incrementally confident that Meta’s AI products and Ray-Ban glasses can deliver more engagement and monetization.

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• Buy, $550->$635: JMP Securities said Meta is at the forefront of a new compute platform.

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ValueAct takes a $1 billion stake in Meta

• ValueAct has taken a $1 billion stake in Meta platforms, CNBC reported.
• ValueAct’s stake is not an activist position.
• The hedgefund sees Meta’s share price reaching $800 thanks to " the impact of GPU computing on Meta’s ad targeting."

Activist investor ValueAct has $1 billion stake in Meta, sources say

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Meta Platforms AI Developments

I=4 Buy, $675: Analyst Brent Thill of Jefferies is optimistic that Clara Shih’s experience in developing AI tools at Salesforce will be an advantage to Meta.

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Buy, $675: Raymond James expects engagement with Meta AI to unlock a $10 billion+ search and assistant opportunity in 2026 within select verticals. The firm also expects Reality Labs losses to peak next year as smart glasses gain traction.

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Meta Platforms added to Analyst Current Favorites List at Raymond James META

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Overweight, $650->$670: Piper Sandler said their advertising buyer survey indicates that teen engagement in Facebook and Instagram has been improving and that they see Meta as an AI technology leader.

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Outperform, $730: Wolfe research said the benefits of video unification and Threads monetization aren’t currently captured in consensus estimates. They expect Threads to generate $3-$4 billion revenue in 2026 and video unification to bring in several billion dollars in additional revenue.

https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Wolfe+Research+on+Meta+Platforms+Inc.+(META)%3A+We+are+constructive+on+META+shares%3B/24170434.html

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Meta is already monetizing its GenAI tools in WhatsApp, William Blair said

• William Blair analyst Ralph Schackart told clients that Meta Platforms is currently offering GenAI tools to businesses on WhatsApp in a testing phase in selected countries while charging 2.5 cents per conversation every 24 hours.
• Since WhatsApp has 2.7 billion users, Schackart said these chatbots could deliver incremental revenue of $16.6 billion in 2025 and up to $45 billion by 2030.

https://www.investors.com/news/technology/meta-stock-buy-ai-whatsapp-chatbots/

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Overweight, $750->$710: Keybanc said they applied lower multiples to advertising stocks to reflect greater macro uncertainty.

“The challenge we see today is that the AI cycle is increasing fixed costs at Meta, which limits the ability to reduce expenses in a downturn,” analyst Justin Patterson wrote.

Meta becomes final Magnificent 7 stock to turn negative in 2025

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WhatsApp business messaging is a $30 – $40B revenue TAM for Meta Platforms

• Analysts at Wolfe Research said Meta Platforms could gain $30-$40 billion in revenue from WhatsApp business messaging.

• They are also forecasting “a high-single-digit to low-double-digit billion-dollar incremental revenue opportunity” in medium term.

• WhatsApp’s business messaging currently contributes $1.5 to $2 billion annually.

Meta Could Rake In $30-40 Billion In Revenue From WhatsApp Business...

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Buy, $775: Monness, Crespi, Hardt analyst Brian White said he believes Meta is well positioned to benefit from digital ad trend but regulatory scrutiny persists ad macro remains fragile.

“We believe Meta is well positioned to benefit from the digital ad trend, expand the platform’s reach, and innovate with gen AI; however, regulatory scrutiny persists, and the macro remains fragile,” White wrote.

“Digital ad spending is “highly sensitive to the vicissitudes of the economy,” he added. “Essentially, history has proven there is no place for ad-driven business models to hide during a downturn.”

https://www.barrons.com/articles/meta-platforms-stock-risk-outlook-8045cf14

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Buy, $810->$725: Analyst Brent Thill of Jefferies said uncertainty around tariffs and Department of Efficiency in the US government (Doge) are increasingly weighing on investment decisions in the tech sector. He added that initial signs of an economic slowdown are impacting deal-making decisions in the sector. As a result, more and more investors are waiting on the sidelines to assess the effects.

JEFFERIES: Meta Platforms (ex Facebook) "buy" - boerse.de

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TD Cowen still expects Meta ad revenue to grow 14% in 2025 despite macro uncertainty, cites increasing video engagement and introduction of new ad products

• Buy, $785->$725: TD Cowen said the reduced price target reflects macroeconomic concerns that could impact Meta’s performance in Q2 and beyond. The analysts expects Meta to report a strong quarter, with revenue coming in above management’s upper guidance and projects advertising revenue to increase 17% year-over-year, excluding FX.
• The analysts said said they remain optimistic about Meta’s advertising revenue, projecting growth of 14% y/y in 2025, excluding FX.
• The confidence is supported by increasing video engagement and introduction of new ad products under the Adv+ brand.

https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/meta-platforms-stock-target-cut-to-725-by-td-cowen-93CH-3968142

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Buy, $725->$600: Jefferies analysts said they lowered Meta’s 2025 earnings per share by 13% due to macro uncertainties.

Jefferies tells tech giants that tariffs are a 'free hall pass' to reset...