Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has recently been identified as a compelling buying opportunity following a substantial depreciation in its stock value relative to Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG). The discrepancy in valuations, particularly in forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, has drawn analytic attention as Meta’s anticipated advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) position the company for appreciable growth.
The period following Meta’s last earnings announcement witnessed a notable stock downturn, widely linked to investor concerns over heightened expenditures on AI infrastructure. This sentiment-driven decline has resulted in Meta trading at a forward P/E multiple of approximately 20.1 times earnings, contrasting markedly with Alphabet's forward P/E of 28.3 times earnings. The gap denotes investor skepticism specifically towards Meta’s AI spending decisions.
Brent Thill, an analyst at Jefferies, has argued that the current negative market sentiment surrounding Meta is excessive and that "peak pressure" has largely been incorporated into the current share price. Thill emphasized the potential impact of Meta’s forthcoming AI initiatives, particularly its new text and image AI models scheduled for release in the first half of 2026. These models are expected to demonstrate the efficacy of Meta’s recent high-profile hires in the AI space and may serve as a catalyst to reframe perceptions of the company's AI competence.
The analyst also highlighted recent strategic budget reductions within Meta's metaverse division as evidence of an increasing focus on controlling costs, an initiative that may enhance the company’s financial sustainability. Complementing this, Meta has been leveraging AI to optimize advertising effectiveness, a strategy yielding heightened user engagement across its various platforms.
An area of particular interest is Meta’s messaging platform WhatsApp, which currently commands the largest daily active user base among Meta’s suite of applications but remains notably under-monetized. Thill projects that WhatsApp’s revenue could experience a fourfold increase by fiscal year 2029, signaling significant growth potential within this segment.
Despite the recent pullback in Meta’s stock price, Thill maintained a buy rating with an optimistic price target of $910, suggesting a potential upside of nearly 40 percent from existing levels.
Echoing these perspectives, Eric Lynch, managing director and co-portfolio manager at Suncoast Equity, characterized Meta’s stock decline as "self-inflicted" and underscored the company’s strategic emphasis on AI integration across its platforms combined with capital expenditure reductions as pivotal to future growth trajectories.
Supporting the positive outlook, a recent report underscored robust daily user growth for Meta’s Threads app, in contrast to Elon Musk’s xAI-backed social media platform X, which shows signs of lagging behind. This growth trend in user engagement counters concerns linked to Meta’s stock performance, indicating an expanding and active user base.
Meta’s overall investment profile is further quantified through Benzinga's Proprietary Edge Rankings, which assign the company a value rating of 42.82 percent and a quality rating of 94.84 percent. These metrics provide investors with a comparative framework to assess Meta’s performance relative to industry peers.
Examining recent market movements, Meta’s stock declined by 6.1 percent since early 2026 until Wednesday, based on data from Benzinga Pro. However, there was a strong rebound on Thursday, with the stock closing up by 5.66 percent at $647.63, recovering much of the prior losses.
This nuanced market activity reflects the dynamic investor sentiment towards Meta as it navigates through a pivotal phase marked by AI innovation and strategic financial adjustments.