Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Falls 3.7% – Here’s Why

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) fell 3.7% on Friday. The company traded as low as $702.71 and last traded at $709.33. 19,957,037 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 17,519,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $736.72.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI partnership and product launch: Meta’s open-weight Muse Spark model can run locally on high-end Apple Macs, expanding developer access and potentially strengthening Meta’s AI ecosystem. Meta also released a version focused on coding and AI-agent tasks. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising outlook remains favorable: Bank of America expects third-quarter revenue of $63.8 billion, above the $63.3 billion consensus estimate, citing AI-driven improvements in advertising, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and assigned a $920 price target, implying substantial upside from the recent trading level. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta Overweight rating

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $865.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $808.88.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $653.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $625.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total value of $688,782.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,932 shares in the company, valued at $5,047,189.20. The trade was a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock worth $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 15,373 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,148,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Intelligence LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the third quarter. Wealth Intelligence LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. James T. Borello RIA lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 718 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Cyr Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cyr Financial Inc. now owns 2,219 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,609,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.