Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares dropped 1.5% on Friday. The company traded as low as $610.13 and last traded at $614.99. 24,976,023 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 38% from the average daily volume of 18,076,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $624.52.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its partnership with Advanced Micro Devices partnership article AMD through a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design. The agreement supports Meta’s gigawatt-scale AI data-center buildout and may improve access to computing capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing rising ad prices, strong user engagement and AI-driven improvements in advertising conversions. One analyst also raised a price target to $779 from $687, according to Daiwa Securities price target article.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta settled a teen social-media addiction lawsuit, with financial terms undisclosed. The settlement removes one plaintiff from an upcoming test trial, but thousands of similar cases remain and the company continues to face litigation risk. Reuters teen lawsuit settlement article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is raising substantial capital for AI infrastructure, including a reported $25 billion common-stock offering and approximately $12.5 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock. The financing raises dilution concerns and highlights the scale of expected spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned about AI economics: Meta’s Muse service could cost as much as $40 per user monthly to operate, while 2026 capital expenditures are projected at roughly $135 billion to $145 billion. The spending is pressuring free cash flow and could limit near-term shareholder returns. Muse cost analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. competition regulator opened an investigation into Meta’s planned terms for using publisher content, including for AI products. Meta also lost a legal challenge over the regulator’s moderation-data requests, increasing compliance and potential enforcement risks. U.K. competition investigation article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $885.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $668.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $632.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. William John Sempolinski acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. 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.