Citi raises its price objective on Meta stock to a Street high

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) has already more than doubled year-to-date but a Citi analyst still dubs it the top pick in North American internet stocks.  

Meta stock could climb further to $360

On Tuesday, Ronald Josey recommended buying Meta stock and raised his price objective to a Street high of $360 – up another 25% from here.

The analyst drives his optimism specifically from “Reels” and more broadly from a continued recovery in online advertising.

We now project Meta’s ad revenue to grow 14% year-over-year in 2024 with Reels generating ~$10.5 billion of revenue in 2024.

Meta Platforms is expected to report its financial results for the second quarter in the final week of July. Consensus is for it to earn $2.82 a share versus $2.46 per share a year ago.

Why else is he bullish on Meta stock?

Josey noted that ad loads on Reels climbed to 18% this month as marketers continued to prioritise scale and ads innovation when picking platforms to spend their ad budgets.

The Wells Fargo analyst is constructive on Meta stock also because it’s well-positioned to capitalise on the rapid growth in artificial intelligence. He added.

Continued adoption of Click-to-Message, newer Advantage+ verticals, potential around AI agents, and improving digital ad environment could support higher margin ad growth going forward.

Meta Platforms is particularly attractive since it’s delivering on its promise to turning leaner. The multinational lowered its headcount by 11,000 in the fall of 2022 and announced another round of mass layoffs earlier this year (find out more).