Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Up 6% – Should You Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s stock price shot up 6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $677.86 and last traded at $669.21. 40,175,382 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 138% from the average daily volume of 16,869,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $631.48.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI products and planned in-house chip production are fueling optimism that the company can turn its huge AI spending into new revenue and lower infrastructure costs. Meta to put AI chip into production in September as it looks to double computing capacity, memo shows
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to Meta’s broader AI monetization push, including developer access to Muse Spark 1.1 and aggressive pricing meant to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. Meta enters the crowded AI coding battle with Muse Spark 1.1
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary has turned more constructive, with analysts and market watchers saying Meta’s AI strategy and compute expansion may support further upside after a weak first half. Meta’s stock heads for best week since early 2024 as optimism builds around AI strategy
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is also drawing attention for plans to build a large AI data center in Alberta, which supports long-term capacity growth but adds to near-term capital spending. Meta to build C$13 billion Alberta data center, its first in Canada
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk is weighing on sentiment after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate digital rules because of “addictive” design features and warned Meta to make changes or face fines. EU tells Instagram, Facebook to change addictive features or risk fines

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $838.26.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 6.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $598.10 and its 200-day moving average is $626.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 44,748 shares of company stock worth $27,565,292 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Bayban raised its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.