Wall Street analysts remain bullish Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) property even the social media giant faces instability in 2026.
So far this year, META’s stock is down more than 6%. Shares closed the last session at $610, up about 0.5% on the day.
Despite its weakness, Meta continues to be supported by strong fundamentals, with analysts betting that the company is bullish. artificial intelligence (AI) money they will pay off in time.
Notably, Meta shares rebounded after the company released its results for the first quarter of 2026 on April 29. The company reported revenue of $56.31 billion, a 33% year-over-year increase, while earnings per share came in at $10.44.
Daily users of its family of programs reached 3.56 billion. However, the stock fell after Meta raised its full-year spending guidance to $125 billion and $145 billion to accelerate the growth of its AI infrastructure.
Despite the difficulties, experts see the dip as a buying opportunity. Meta’s ad business, which generates nearly all of its revenue, continues to benefit from AI-driven improvements in ad targeting, creative design, and campaign execution, helping to boost advertising and pricing.
Looking ahead, Meta guided for the second quarter of 2026 revenue between $58 billion and $61 billion. While heavy investment in AI investments is expected to pressure long-term margins and free cash flow, the financial success of its Llama models and Meta AI features could support long-term growth.
Key risks include increased spending, regulatory oversight of antitrust, privacy, and content control, and increased competition in AI and social media.
As for the META stock format, experts at TipRanks have given the stock a ‘Strong Buy’ consensus rating. The average price for 12 months is $ 817.71, which means that the probability is 33.99%. The highest forecast is $1,015, while the lowest is $622.25.
His view is based on the opinion of 38 Wall Street researchers in the last three months. Among them, 31 share the Meta as ‘Buy’, seven accept ‘Hold’, and none carry ‘Sell’.
Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski slightly lowered Meta’s price target to $765 from $770 and maintained ‘Overweight’, indicating continued confidence in the company’s AI strategy. The analyst said Meta is still well positioned for profitability and growth Investor The expectation surrounding companies that make big investments in AI accounts for the money, even if they don’t directly sell cloud services. Gawrelski also highlighted the acceleration of the use of AI tools.
On the other hand, Mizuho lowered Meta’s target price to $835 from $850 while maintaining ‘Outperform’, saying the company still has long-term potential despite recent weakness. The company expects the upcoming AI launch to clarify Meta’s key strategies and investment plans, especially as the company focuses on consumer-focused AI tools while its competitors focus on enterprise customers. Mizuho was encouraged by the rise in use of Meta AI following the launch of Muse Spark but said the company needs to demonstrate product progress, strong adoption, or further improvements and spending before its second-quarter earnings report.
