Meta Stock Sees Price Target Hikes Ahead of Earnings
Analysts Bullish on Meta’s Future
Meta Platforms (META) stock received a boost on Thursday as analysts from Wedbush and BofA Global Securities raised their price targets ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings results, set to be released next week. Wedbush analysts reiterated an outperform rating and increased their price target from $680 to $700, citing “positive momentum into 2025” for the social media giant.
Strong Revenue Growth Expected
BofA Global Securities analysts also reiterated a buy call for Meta and upped their price objective to $710, from $660. According to BofA analyst Justin Post, Meta stock rose 65% in 2024, outperforming broader indices and Alphabet (GOOGL), driven by revenue upside, strong cost discipline, and optimism on AI capabilities.
Earnings Expectations
On average, analysts expect Meta’s earnings to increase 27% to $6.75 per share, according to FactSet. Consensus estimates project Meta’s revenue will increase 17% year over year to $46.98 billion. Wedbush’s Devitt wrote that advertiser feedback about the December-ended quarter indicates a “more modest deceleration” for Meta’s year-over-year revenue growth than initially thought.
Focus Shifts to 2025 Expense Guidance
However, investor focus has shifted towards 2025 expense and capital expenditure requirements. Meta will share expense and capex guidance for the year alongside its fourth-quarter results. Investors are expecting Meta to guide for 2025 capital expenditures of about $51.4 billion, a 31% increase from the roughly $39 billion Meta is projected to have spent in 2024.
TikTok Ban Could Benefit Meta
Meanwhile, analysts are making sense of what the loss of a major competitor could mean for Meta stock. BofA’s Post said there is still uncertainty about President Trump’s executive order and the president’s stated desire for a joint-venture where a U.S. company owns 50% of TikTok. The possibility for a ban still looms over TikTok, which could benefit Meta.
Meta Stock Nears Buy Point
Meta stock bounced up from its 50-day line in trading last week and has pushed higher so far this week. Shares are approaching a 638.40 flat base buy point, according to MarketSurge. Further, Meta is an IBD Leaderboard stock with a best-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99.
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