Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 3.7% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price traded down 3.7% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $702.71 and last traded at $709.33. 19,957,037 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the average session volume of 17,519,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $736.72.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, 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: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. New Street Research cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $796.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $865.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Arete Research lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.88.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

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 has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $655.78 and its 200 day moving average is $625.86.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for 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%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,797 shares of company stock worth $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.