Facebook Parent Meta Shares Plunge As Analysts Slash Price Targets Following Dismal Q4

Analysts slashed their price targets on Meta Platforms Inc FB following fourth-quarter disappointment.

BMO Capital analyst Daniel Salmon downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $290, down from $425 (10.2% downside).

Apple Inc's AAPL app-tracking authorization remains the most significant targeting/measurement headwind, and the peak impact is likely mid-year 2022. Meta also faces "smaller incremental ones" like iOS 15 and Android ID deprecation that will linger through 2022.

Salmon says the immediate impact of new advertiser tools and the adoption rate by small businesses are weaker than he anticipated. He believes competitive threats, mainly from TikTok, are overwhelming Meta's commerce business.

Related: What To Watch On Meta's (Facebook) Chart After The Stock Reacts To Q4 Earnings

Raymond James analyst Aaron Kessler downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy with a price target of $340, down from $410 (5.3% upside).

Keybanc analyst Justin Patterson maintained an Overweight and lowered the price target from $420 to $280 (13.3% downside).

Piper Sandler lowered the price target from $385 to $301 (6.8% downside).

Goldman Sachs lowered the price target from $445 to $355 (9.9% upside).

Mizuho lowered the price target from $450 to $425 (31.6% upside).

META Price Action: Shares traded lower by 20.3% at $257.50 in the premarket session Thursday.

Photo by Anthony Quintano via Wikimedia