Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Up 4.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded up 4.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $633.27 and last traded at $631.48. Approximately 25,355,214 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 52% from the average session volume of 16,646,268 shares. The stock had previously closed at $603.12.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Spark 1.1 and opened developer access, signaling stronger AI product momentum and a more direct challenge to Google and OpenAI. Reuters: Meta debuts Muse Spark 1.1 with preview open to developers
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta plans to start manufacturing its own AI chips in September raised hopes for lower GPU costs and better control over its AI supply chain. Reuters: Meta to put AI chip into production in September
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI infrastructure buildout, including a major data center investment in Canada, reinforces its commitment to scaling compute and monetizing AI over time. Reuters: Meta to build C$13 billion Alberta data center
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue debating whether Meta’s large AI spending will pay off, with some warning that capex concerns could pressure margins in the near term.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has also faced negative headlines around privacy, legal risk, and scrutiny of its AI products, but those issues appear secondary to today’s AI growth narrative.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.64.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.7%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $598.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $626.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were 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 owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 44,748 shares of company stock worth $27,565,292 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.