Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Falls 1.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) were down 1.5% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $610.13 and last traded at $614.99. 24,976,023 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 18,076,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $624.52.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its partnership with Advanced Micro Devices partnership article AMD through a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design. The agreement supports Meta’s gigawatt-scale AI data-center buildout and may improve access to computing capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing rising ad prices, strong user engagement and AI-driven improvements in advertising conversions. One analyst also raised a price target to $779 from $687, according to Daiwa Securities price target article.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta settled a teen social-media addiction lawsuit, with financial terms undisclosed. The settlement removes one plaintiff from an upcoming test trial, but thousands of similar cases remain and the company continues to face litigation risk. Reuters teen lawsuit settlement article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is raising substantial capital for AI infrastructure, including a reported $25 billion common-stock offering and approximately $12.5 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock. The financing raises dilution concerns and highlights the scale of expected spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned about AI economics: Meta’s Muse service could cost as much as $40 per user monthly to operate, while 2026 capital expenditures are projected at roughly $135 billion to $145 billion. The spending is pressuring free cash flow and could limit near-term shareholder returns. Muse cost analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. competition regulator opened an investigation into Meta’s planned terms for using publisher content, including for AI products. Meta also lost a legal challenge over the regulator’s moderation-data requests, increasing compliance and potential enforcement risks. U.K. competition investigation article

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Citic Securities cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $885.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $945.00 price target (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $668.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $632.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.