Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 30th, there was short interest totaling 75,483,549 shares, an increase of 165.6% from the October 15th total of 28,417,942 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 27,812,646 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.03, for a total transaction of $596,954.38. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,986,482.44. This represents a 23.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,973 shares of company stock valued at $103,128,307 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 116.7% during the 3rd quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. now owns 52 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

Investors following META have been watching these headlines:

• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s longtime infrastructure chief Santosh Janardhan is set to leave in early 2027, with former AWS executive David Brown named as successor. The transition is distant, though it comes as Meta expands its AI infrastructure. Meta head of infrastructure will leave and be succeeded by former AWS cloud exec
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of rising hate speech on Facebook after the midterm elections could renew scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation and platform safety. Midterms highlight rise in hate speech
• Negative Sentiment: A broader selloff in Meta and Nvidia weighed on a Big Tech ETF, pointing to market-wide pressure on large technology shares. Big Tech ETF dragged down by selloff in shares of Nvidia and Meta

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $7.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $631.16. The stock had a trading volume of 5,290,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,044,641. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $679.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $631.88. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. 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 $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. is a global technology company that develops social networking, messaging, and digital communication products. Its services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, which connect people and help businesses reach audiences around the world. The company also develops virtual and augmented reality products and technologies through its Reality Labs division, including Quest headsets and related software and services. Advertising is a central part of Meta’s business, with its platforms providing tools for businesses to promote products and services.