Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth Sells 7,847 Shares

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

Andrew Bosworth also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 18th, Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $620.35 and a 200-day moving average of $637.91.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bayban boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.31.

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.