Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 5,297 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,695 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,297 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $107,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see Meta’s AI investments improving ad targeting and engagement, potentially allowing the company to challenge Google for digital-advertising leadership. The strong advertising outlook is particularly important after Meta’s latest quarter delivered 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion. Meta versus Google advertising analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports characterize META as undervalued, citing a forward P/E of roughly 16—well below its historical average—and arguing that legal clarity plus new AI products could support substantial upside. The settlement may remove a major overhang even though it carries a large financial charge. Meta valuation and AI upside analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed a Neutral rating but raised or maintained a $595 price target, implying modest upside from the referenced trading level. Separately, the planned IPO of Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms could improve the value and liquidity of an important investment. Meta market news Jio Platforms IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is switching internal communications from Google Chat to Slack because management considers Slack better suited to AI agents. The move highlights Meta’s push to integrate AI into operations but is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Meta switches to Slack
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta-backed AI startup Manus said it has resumed independent operations after China blocked Meta’s proposed acquisition. This removes some uncertainty around the transaction but also means Meta will not immediately gain full ownership of the startup. Manus resumes independent operations
• Negative Sentiment: The approximately $17 billion–$18 billion settlement over alleged harm to children creates a substantial cash cost and requires stronger age verification, potentially increasing compliance expenses and reducing young-user engagement. Critics also question whether the agreement will resolve regulatory pressure. Meta child-safety settlement requirements
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta spent heavily on AI infrastructure underscore depreciation and capital-expenditure risks: investors must determine whether the spending will generate enough incremental advertising and product revenue. Meta also removed dozens of India-based malware advertisements, highlighting continuing platform-safety and reputational risks. Big Tech AI spending risks Meta removes fraudulent India ads

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $578.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $592.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $609.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $910,200. This trade represents a 45.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% 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.