Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Trading Up 4.7% – Time to Buy?

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price was up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $601.27 and last traded at $593.48. Approximately 17,354,726 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 16,254,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $566.98.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched new “AI Mode” features on Facebook that use public information across its platforms to help users search, create content, and interact more deeply with the app, reinforcing its AI strategy and engagement potential. Meta’s new ‘AI Mode’ on Facebook pulls from public info across its platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Call traders were active after Meta’s AI-fueled move, suggesting options market participants are betting the new product push could keep the stock moving higher in the near term. Call Traders Cheer Meta Platforms Stock’s AI-Fueled Pop
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary highlighted Meta’s chip ambitions as a possible underappreciated AI catalyst, with investors viewing in-house silicon as a way to lower future AI costs and improve margins. Move Over, NVIDIA. Meta’s Chip Ambitions May Yet to Be Priced Into the Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also completed an operational split from Manus and stopped data sharing as it works to unwind a $2 billion deal, a move that reduces strategic complexity but does not appear to be a major immediate stock driver. Meta Completes Operational Split from Manus amid Unwinding of $2 Billion Deal, Bloomberg Reports
• Negative Sentiment: Separately, a report described turmoil inside Meta’s AI unit, with employees facing heavy workloads and disorganization; that could raise concerns about execution risks even as Meta spends aggressively on AI. Toxic mix of chaos and drudgery turns Meta’s AI unit into a real-world hell: ‘Soul-crushing’

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.7%

The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $621.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $636.05.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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 sold 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Carmignac Gestion increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 134.3% during the 1st quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 114,410 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,457,000 after purchasing an additional 65,579 shares in the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $428,000. S&A Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $863,000. E Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. E Wealth Partners LLC now owns 736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,177,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.