Meta shares sink on higher AI spending, light revenue forecast

10 analysts discuss Meta Platforms (META) stock after earnings selloff

Following the Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) earnings report after the close on Wednesday, analysts have weighed in with their views of the company's stock.

Meta's Q1 EPS of $4.71 was $0.39 better than the analyst estimate of $4.32. The company's revenue for the quarter, $36.46 billion, also exceeded the consensus estimate of $36.14 billion, further highlighting its strong financial standing.

Here's what Wall Street analysts said:

Wolfe Research: "META's 1Q results came in above street estimates on both top and bottom line. 2Q guide implies slight top-line decel with increased FY24 Opex/Capex... More

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) PT Raised to $562 at Rosenblatt, 'Squishy-ish guidance'

Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett raised the price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) to $562.00 (from $520.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

The analyst comments "Squishy-ish guidance -- The revenue growth outlook for 2Q24 -- up 14% to 22% Y/Y -- is strong, but decelerating, reflective of comps that get 8 percentage points tougher Q/Q, and also of a 3 percentage point tougher foreign exchange backdrop and the lack of 1Q24's... More

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) PT Raised to $520 at MoffettNathanson, 'a more attractive entry point for Meta investors'

MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson raised the price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) to $520.00 (from $185.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

The analyst comments "Management guided to second quarter 2024 revenues in the range of $36.5 to $39 billion, which at the midpoint of $37.75 billion implies year-over-year growth of +18%. Yes, that is a marked deceleration from the... More

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) PT Lowered to $500 at Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank analyst Leo Horowitz lowered the price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) to $500.00 (from $540.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

The analyst comments "Meta is entering an investment cycle. We have been here a couple of times before, and each time it ended the same waygood for META's longer-term equity value. This time, Meta is making bigger investments in AI than we anticipated, which will likely result in Capex being much higher, for far... More

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) PT Raised to $510 at Roth/MKM, 'Buy On Weakness; AI Moat Now Deeper'

Roth/MKM analyst Rohit Kulkami raised the price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) to $510.00 (from $500.00) while maintaining a Buy rating.

The analyst comments "META shares were down as much as -15% last night despite a clean beat on 1Q expectations and... More

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) PT Lowered to $570 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Brad Erickson lowered the price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) to $570.00 (from $600.00) while maintaining a Outperform rating.

The analyst comments "META's Q1 was solid in terms of top-line/ad demand trends - the issue is an accelerated, multi-year AI... More

Goldman Sachs on Meta Platforms Inc. (META): 'We expect investors to have an initial negative reaction'

Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan reiterated a Buy rating and $555.00 price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META).

The analyst comments "We expect investors to have an initial negative reaction to META's Q1 24 earnings report as the Q1 results were broadly inline but a mixture of more muted revenue forecast for Q2, narrowing its opex FY guide by increasing the bottom end of the range and shifting its capex... More

Evercore ISI Believes Meta Platforms Inc. (META) is Down Due to High Expectations into the Print

Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney reiterated an Outperform rating and $550.00 price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META).

The analyst comments "Quick Look At Q1 Results: META printed a Beat & Bracket quarter, with Revenue up 27% Y/Y (both reported basis and ex-FX), 1% above the Street, Op Income (implying 37.9% margin) 4% above the Street, and EPS at... More

RBC Capital Comments on Meta Platforms Inc. (META) Earnings

RBC Capital analyst Brad Erickson reiterated an Outperform rating and $600.00 price target on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META).

The analyst comments "META reports in-line revs; EPS ahead of Street. The company reported revenue at the high-end of its guidance (27%) which was slightly ahead of sell-side consensus and we estimate roughly in-line with buy-side expectations. Growth was driven by a healthy mix of impressions being up 20% while price/ad was up 6% (directionally squares with our ad load analysis coming in). The company has... More