Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Shares Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) traded down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $624.00 and last traded at $627.17. 10,570,460 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 16,790,488 shares. The stock had previously closed at $643.81.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A teen plaintiff dropped his lawsuit against Meta over alleged social-media addiction harms just days before trial, removing a near-term legal overhang for the company. Reuters: Teen plaintiff suing Meta over mental health harms drops his claims against company days before trial
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen supply-chain checks and other reports point to record hyperscaler demand for data-center capacity, with Meta highlighted as one of the biggest drivers of leasing activity tied to AI infrastructure growth. 247WallSt: Sorry, AI Bears: Meta, Microsoft, and Google Lead Record Data Center Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a meaningful long-term hardware growth opportunity, citing first-mover advantage and strong product feedback. Proactive Investors: Meta’s AI glasses position company for long-term hardware growth, Jefferies says
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Rothschild & Co Redburn both raised price targets on Meta, reinforcing bullish sentiment ahead of earnings. Benzinga: Meta Platforms had its price target raised…
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Meta is likely to beat second-quarter expectations, supported by healthy ad demand and AI-driven improvements. Proactive Investors: Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates…
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is also being watched for its expanding AI spending and potential compute-leasing strategy, which could help margins long term but also raises questions about capital intensity. Benzinga: Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Earnings Will Spotlight AI Spending…
• Negative Sentiment: France approved a social-media ban for users under 15, adding another potential regulatory headwind for platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Benzinga: France Just Took on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X…
• Negative Sentiment: Some headlines continued to highlight legal and worker-related AI concerns, including a lawsuit alleging Meta used discriminatory AI tools in layoffs. Reuters: Meta employees’ lawsuit shows that if AI fires you…

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $835.64.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.6%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $604.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $626.52. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% 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 three months, insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during 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. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. 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.