Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report)’s share price traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $539.55 and last traded at $536.38. 22,510,174 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 15,596,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $525.72.
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Jefferies says regulatory scrutiny has been persistent but may not be as damaging as feared, and views current levels as a long-term buying opportunity—supporting investor confidence. Meta faces regulatory risks but Jefferie sees buying opportunity
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and other firms reiterated Buy/Top Pick views on META, calling the pullback a tactical entry given strong fundamentals and AI-driven growth potential—this endorsement helps underpin demand for the shares. Meta Stock Is Having a Rough Year. Why It’s a ‘Top Pick’ at Morgan Stanley.
- Positive Sentiment: Meta has begun testing a premium Instagram subscription (“Instagram Plus”) in select countries—potential to diversify revenue and raise ARPU if adoption scales. Meta starts testing a premium subscription on Instagram
- Positive Sentiment: Infrastructure moves: Meta’s El Paso data‑center plan has expanded (a multi‑billion dollar, large‑scale complex) and the company is pursuing advanced power agreements (including a deal tied to small modular/nuclear power) to support AI compute—these reduce energy risk and secure capacity for growth. Meta El Paso data center plan grows to $10 billion, 1 gigawatt complex Meta Just Made a Nuclear Power Bet Worth 6.6 Gigawa
- Neutral Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms lowered price targets even while keeping Buy/Overweight ratings (e.g., Morgan Stanley cut its target from $825 to $775). That signals continued analyst conviction but also more conservative near‑term assumptions. Wall Street sets META stock price target
- Neutral Sentiment: Some investors/analysts see META as cheap (sub‑20 P/E vs peers) and are waiting for lower entry points (e.g., Seeking Alpha piece arguing for a $450 target), highlighting divergent views on valuation vs. near‑term cash flow risk. Meta: Why I’m Waiting For $450
- Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory headwinds remain acute: recent court losses and media scrutiny raise the risk of future liabilities and tighter oversight—a key reason for recent YTD weakness and investor caution. Meta’s court losses spell potential trouble for AI research, consumer safety Meta the Defendant
- Negative Sentiment: Heavy CAPEX for AI and Reality Labs (a multi‑year $100B+ program) is pressuring near‑term free cash flow and is cited by analysts warning of negative FCF risk before long‑term optionality materializes. That remains a sell/concern catalyst for some investors. Meta: A Deeper Look At Its Capex Burdens
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Pivotal Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.54.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.0%
The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $643.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $666.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,967 shares of company stock worth $103,675,648. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 44.4% in the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
Further Reading
Receive News & Ratings for Meta Platforms Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Meta Platforms and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
