My Favorite 10 Investments for 2026
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 19 2025
0mins
Should l Buy META?
Source: NASDAQ.COM
Market Performance: Wall Street has seen significant gains in 2025, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq up 14%, 16%, and 20% year-to-date, respectively, while the author remains focused on long-term investments despite being a net seller of stocks.
Top Holdings and Strategies: The author emphasizes the strength of their top 10 holdings, which account for over 81% of their portfolio, and highlights companies like SSR Mining and Teva Pharmaceutical as key players benefiting from market trends and strategic shifts.
Investment in ETFs and Cash Management: The author utilizes the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF for cash management, achieving a better yield compared to traditional brokerage cash accounts, while maintaining a long-term investment strategy.
Growth Potential in Digital Advertising: Companies like Meta Platforms, PubMatic, Pinterest, and PayPal are noted for their strong positions in digital advertising, with potential for growth despite current market challenges, showcasing the importance of advertising revenue in their business models.
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Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for META is 824.71 USD with a low forecast of 655.15 USD and a high forecast of 1117 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 668.690
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 668.690
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Stock Split Motivation: Meta has yet to execute a stock split despite its stock price rising over 200% in the past three years, currently trading around $670, which may deter some investors due to its psychological price barrier.
- Market Performance Analysis: Although Meta's stock has declined over 6% in the past year, its market capitalization remains at $1.7 trillion, indicating the company's strong position and potential investment appeal in the market.
- AI Investment Priority: Meta has recently focused on enhancing its AI capabilities and infrastructure investments, suggesting that a stock split is not a current priority but may be reconsidered in 2026.
- Future Outlook: Should Meta's stock gain momentum and rise quickly in the coming year, it may contemplate executing a stock split, aligning itself with other tech giants to attract more investors.
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- Disclosure Details: The trades were executed by McGuire's spouse through an IRA, with a maximum disclosed trade size of $15,000, suggesting he may not have been directly involved in the transactions, which raises questions about transparency.
- Market Reaction Analysis: Microsoft shares traded between $438.68 and $452.69 at purchase and fell to $426.45 to $439.60 at sale, indicating a potential loss of 5.8%, highlighting the risks associated with his investment decisions.
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- Volatility Analysis: Volatility skew data shows that for the March 20 expiration, put options have significantly higher implied volatility than call options, indicating a heightened focus on downside risk, which could lead to increased demand for hedging against Microsoft stock.
- Trading Parameters: According to the Black-Scholes model, Microsoft stock is expected to trade within a range of $402 to $423 over the next 36 days with a 68% probability, suggesting a conservative market outlook where a strong catalyst is needed to drive significant price movement.
- Hedging Strategy: Investors might consider a 410/415 bull call spread, which could yield a maximum profit of 117% if Microsoft stock exceeds $415 at expiration, indicating potential profit opportunities despite the prevailing market risks.
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Freight Brokers Fall to AI Disruption: Which Other Stocks Remain Secure?
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- Shift in Perception: The shift in perception highlights the evolving landscape of the freight industry as AI continues to advance and disrupt traditional roles.
- Impact on the Industry: This change suggests that freight brokers may need to adapt to remain competitive in an increasingly automated environment.
- Future Considerations: The situation raises questions about the long-term implications of AI on various sectors within the logistics and transportation industries.
See More
Wall Street Tech Stocks Lose Over $500 Billion in Value
- Market Value Loss: On Thursday, Wall Street's tech sector saw over $500 billion wiped off market value across 10 major companies, indicating a sharp decline in investor confidence amid simultaneous pressures on both software and hardware sectors.
- Cisco Earnings Impact: Cisco's stock plummeted 11% despite reporting earnings of $1.04 per share, exceeding expectations, as the company’s gross margin guidance of 65.5%-66.5% fell short of the 68% consensus, highlighting the impact of rising hardware costs.
- Memory Shortage Risks: Lenovo confirmed mounting pressure on PC shipments, with CEO Yang Yuanqing stating that while unit pressures are expected, the company aims to maintain profitability, reflecting growing concerns over memory shortages in the industry.
- Software Sector Decline: The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF dropped over 3% on Thursday, with the sector down over 20% year-to-date, illustrating the ongoing impact of fears surrounding AI disruption on software stock performance.
See More
Meta May Consider Stock Split in 2026
- Stock Split Motivation: Meta has yet to execute a stock split despite its stock price rising over 200% in the past three years, currently trading around $670, which may deter some investors due to its psychological price barrier.
- Market Performance Analysis: Although Meta's stock has declined over 6% in the past year, its market capitalization remains at $1.7 trillion, indicating the company's strong position and potential investment appeal in the market.
- AI Investment Priority: Meta has recently focused on enhancing its AI capabilities and infrastructure investments, suggesting that a stock split is not a current priority but may be reconsidered in 2026.
- Future Outlook: Should Meta's stock gain momentum and rise quickly in the coming year, it may contemplate executing a stock split, aligning itself with other tech giants to attract more investors.
See More
US Stocks Plunge Amid AI Disruption Fears
- Tech Stocks Plummet: Fears of potential disruptions from artificial intelligence led to a significant decline in tech stocks, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 2% and Apple shares falling around 5%, indicating market anxiety about the future of the tech sector.
- Dow Jones Decline: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell approximately 1.3%, or over 650 points, breaking a three-day winning streak, reflecting investor caution ahead of upcoming inflation data that could influence Federal Reserve rate decisions.
- Gold and Bitcoin Drop: Gold futures sank 3%, while Bitcoin prices also declined to around $65,000, as investors adopted a risk-off stance, highlighting concerns about the future economic outlook.
- Employment Data Impacting Policy Expectations: Despite January's job additions being double the expected amount, the strong labor market has dampened expectations for near-term interest rate cuts by the Fed, increasing uncertainty in the stock market.
See More
Congressman’s Rapid Microsoft Trade Raises Eyebrows
- Questionable Timing: Congressman John McGuire's rapid buying and selling of Microsoft stock within just 10 days raises concerns about the unusual nature of his trading activities, particularly given his role on the Armed Services Committee, which may present potential conflicts of interest.
- Disclosure Details: The trades were executed by McGuire's spouse through an IRA, with a maximum disclosed trade size of $15,000, suggesting he may not have been directly involved in the transactions, which raises questions about transparency.
- Market Reaction Analysis: Microsoft shares traded between $438.68 and $452.69 at purchase and fell to $426.45 to $439.60 at sale, indicating a potential loss of 5.8%, highlighting the risks associated with his investment decisions.
- Historical Trading Context: Since joining Congress in 2025, McGuire has had minimal trading activity, with previous trades also drawing scrutiny regarding potential conflicts of interest in the healthcare sector, intensifying public scrutiny of his trading behavior.
See More
Analysis of Microsoft's Poor Stock Performance
- Investor Insight: Prominent investor Chamath Palihapitiya highlights that since late November 2022, Microsoft has had the worst stock performance among tech giants, indicating limited returns on its investment in OpenAI, which may lower market expectations and negatively impact stock price.
- Volatility Analysis: Volatility skew data shows that for the March 20 expiration, put options have significantly higher implied volatility than call options, indicating a heightened focus on downside risk, which could lead to increased demand for hedging against Microsoft stock.
- Trading Parameters: According to the Black-Scholes model, Microsoft stock is expected to trade within a range of $402 to $423 over the next 36 days with a 68% probability, suggesting a conservative market outlook where a strong catalyst is needed to drive significant price movement.
- Hedging Strategy: Investors might consider a 410/415 bull call spread, which could yield a maximum profit of 117% if Microsoft stock exceeds $415 at expiration, indicating potential profit opportunities despite the prevailing market risks.
See More
Freight Brokers Fall to AI Disruption: Which Other Stocks Remain Secure?
- Freight Brokers and AI: Freight brokers, once seen as beneficiaries of artificial intelligence, are now facing challenges from software companies leveraging AI technology.
- Shift in Perception: The shift in perception highlights the evolving landscape of the freight industry as AI continues to advance and disrupt traditional roles.
- Impact on the Industry: This change suggests that freight brokers may need to adapt to remain competitive in an increasingly automated environment.
- Future Considerations: The situation raises questions about the long-term implications of AI on various sectors within the logistics and transportation industries.
See More
Wall Street Tech Stocks Lose Over $500 Billion in Value
- Market Value Loss: On Thursday, Wall Street's tech sector saw over $500 billion wiped off market value across 10 major companies, indicating a sharp decline in investor confidence amid simultaneous pressures on both software and hardware sectors.
- Cisco Earnings Impact: Cisco's stock plummeted 11% despite reporting earnings of $1.04 per share, exceeding expectations, as the company’s gross margin guidance of 65.5%-66.5% fell short of the 68% consensus, highlighting the impact of rising hardware costs.
- Memory Shortage Risks: Lenovo confirmed mounting pressure on PC shipments, with CEO Yang Yuanqing stating that while unit pressures are expected, the company aims to maintain profitability, reflecting growing concerns over memory shortages in the industry.
- Software Sector Decline: The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF dropped over 3% on Thursday, with the sector down over 20% year-to-date, illustrating the ongoing impact of fears surrounding AI disruption on software stock performance.
See More
