Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $626.00 and last traded at $646.01. 21,964,565 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 16,938,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $664.54.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly in early talks to lease computing power to Anthropic in a potential deal worth as much as $10 billion, which could turn excess AI infrastructure into a new revenue source. US judge won’t block Meta from laying off workers who filed AI discrimination lawsuit
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Meta as a favored AI beneficiary, with recent coverage highlighting its agentic AI strategy, strong AI spending metrics, and a newly launched Muse Spark 1.1 model as signs it can monetize AI more effectively. Meta Platforms stock rises as Muse Spark 11 AI model debuts
• Neutral Sentiment: A U.S. judge refused to block Meta from laying off 26 employees while they pursue claims that AI tools targeted workers with disabilities or medical leave, keeping the lawsuit alive but removing an immediate legal hurdle. US judge won’t block Meta from laying off workers who filed AI discrimination lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The employee lawsuit and related reports could keep investor focus on Meta’s use of AI in workforce decisions, adding reputational and legal overhang. Meta Faces Employee Lawsuit Over AI Assisted Layoffs

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $602.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $626.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,503 shares of company stock worth $24,241,859. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during 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 buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.