Morgan Stanley cut the security's price target to $225 from $280
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) is feeling the heat this morning, after Morgan Stanley cut the security's price target to $225 from $280. The firm cited the Facebook and Instagram parent's declining time spent on social platforms by U.S. users, as engagement moves toward its Reels short-video feature, which has lower capacity for monetization at the moment. At last check, META is down 3.4% to trade at $168.77.
The brokerage bunch remains mostly optimistic towards Meta Platforms stock, though, with 22 of the 30 analysts in question sporting a "buy" or better rating, while the remaining eight carry a tepid "hold" or worse. What's more, the 12-month consensus target price of $235.80 is a 39% premium to current levels, leaving the equity exposed to more price-target cuts moving forward.
Down 52.1% year-over-year, the security has struggled with a ceiling at the $190 level since early June, and is fresh off a June 23, roughly two-year low of $154.23. Meanwhile, the 80-day moving average has served as a constant level of pressure for the shares for most of 2022.